Sonja Jefferson

Web user behaviour is changing. Today we spend more time on the web, we have shorter attention spans and are way more demanding of the websites we visit than ever before. We are no longer impressed by self-serving marketing spin or cool flash graphics. These days there is no time for dawdling; we want to reach a site quickly, complete our task and leave.  As web usability guru Jakob Nielsen states:

"People want sites to get to the point. They have very little patience. Give people what they want or watch as they abandon your site for the competition’s."

But what do users want from a B2B website? As professional service companies or business consultants, what information do we need to include?

Many business sites I see fall down at the first hurdle. It is difficult for potential customers like me to find answers to my most basic questions. Jakob Nielsen’s research backs this up:

"User testing shows that B2B websites are substantially less easy to use than mainstream consumer sites. If they want to convert more prospects in to leads, B2B sites should follow more guidelines and make it easy for prospects to research their (often complex) offerings."

To address this it’s helpful to understand what your customers are looking for in the first place. Here is a useful checklist. It shows the top 6 things that web visitors want to know when they visit your site and what information you need to include to give them what they want. 

The Customer Test for your Website

Can people quickly find the answers to the following quesitons from your site?

Qu 1: "Am I in the right place?"

Your customer wants to know: "Is this relevant to me? Can this company solve my problem? Can I see immediately what they do and is this what I’m after?" 

Answer: Make sure your website includes the following information, written in language your customers understand:

• A brief description of what you do on the Home Page, stating who you work for and what sort of issues you solve
• Clear descriptions of your services, showing how they solve customer problems 

Qu 2: "Are you credible?"

Your customer wants to know: "Does this company work for people I respect? Do other people like what they do? Do they say good things about the company’s work?"

Answer: Make sure your website includes the following information:

• Client names and logos
• Customer testimonials
• Up-to-date case studies/success stories
• Press clippings and articles will increase your credibility considerably

Qu 3: "Are you an expert?"

Your customer wants to know: "Do they know what they’re talking about? Can I learn something?"

Answer: Make sure your website includes well written, relevant and regularly updated thought leadership content such as:

• Articles
• Blogs
• White papers
• E-books
• Business books

Qu 4: "Is it worth it?"

Your customers want to know: "What’s the benefit of this service? What results will I see? How will this help me and my business?"

Answer: Include:

• Up-to-date case studies/success stories that clearly show results and business benefits
• Information on the likely benefits in the ‘Services’ section
• Customer testimonials that talk about results

Qu 5: "Could I work with you?"

Your customer wants to know: "What sort of company are they? What’s their background? What’s their mission - is it something I buy into?"

Answer: The web is very impersonal. Give your customers a sense of the company behind the website with:

• Information on the professional background of key staff in your ‘About Us’ section
• A (passionate) account of why you’re in business and what you set out to do (see article ‘What’s your crusade?’)
• Additional relevant information such as CVs, photos, LinkedIn profiles

Qu 6: "How do I contact you?"

Answer: Make it easy for your customers to get in touch. (This sounds obvious but many sites fail to achieve this.)

• Put your contact details (phone number and email) on every page
• Make these very visible
• Don’t use pre-structured registration forms - customers are reluctant to use them and may not bother getting in contact

Does your website pass the Customer Test? Try it. Put yourself in your customers’ shoes. Can they find the information they want?

Trust, credibility, clarity and ease of use are major issues on the web. Get these right and you’ll convert more prospects into leads. Get them wrong and they’ll click away confused.

I’m very interested in your comments. Is this checklist useful? When you want to buy a complex business service, what do you look for? What do you really want to know?

Further reading: Jakob Nielsen’s book ‘Prioritizing Web Usability’ is a fantastic resource for anyone interested in learning what customers want and how to address this when creating your website.