When I proposed to my wife, Heather, it was exciting and romantic — but the decision itself was serious. Before I gave her a ring and we called our parents, we spent lots of time together learning about each other. We both understood the commitment we were making, and we weren’t impulsive about it.
In some ways, making a commitment to the company that will handle your business-to-business solutions can be similar to moving forward in your relationship — deciding on a B2B partner takes careful evaluation, critical thinking, comparing and contrasting of other suitors (as well as many other factors), and it’s important to chose a company that understands the particular needs of B2B clients and has lots of experience handling them. Looking for your B2B soulmate? Here’s what I recommend:
Know What You Want out of the B2B Relationship
B2B websites have a unique purpose and mission for what they are trying to achieve. There usually isn’t a monetary transaction that takes place on the website and tying ROI to specific actions isn’t always obvious. Here at Infomedia, we get excited about the challenge of how to make the website have a significant impact but also focusing on proving out ROI. A “conversion” for a B2B website can be things like:
- Downloading a white paper
- Signing up for an email newsletter
- Requesting a quote
- Viewing a portfolio or list of services
The “First Date” Is Just the Beginning — Your Website Is a Relationship
Often, the website is just one of five to 10 different touch points in a complex sales process. The website is (or should be) a validator, an educator and an influencer and should be one of the weapons in the arsenal of your key sales people.
Invest in the Future
They key is to know how the website fits into the organization’s sales cycle and then tracking and measuring the desired outcome(s). This is critical for knowing what the return is and helping to inform future decision making about the website and digital strategy. Often, the investment into a good website and digital strategy will pay for itself with just a few meaningful interactions. The key is finding a digital partner with experience and expertise in understanding the complexities of B2B relationships.
Look for Experience and Stability
Infomedia has worked with many different organizations over our 20 year history. We’ve worked with retailers, non-profit organizations, wholesalers and many more. We excel in quite a few arenas, but one in particular that we are passionate about serving are business-to-business organizations. Perhaps because that’s what we are and because we understand how the web fits into the picture.
One of my favorite parts of my job is matching businesses with the solutions that work for them, and B2B interactions are particularly exciting to me. I’ve worked with so many companies whose B2B connections have improved significantly after working with Infomedia that I truly believe we are an excellent match for so many companies. Will we be a good match for yours? Give me a call and let’s find out.
