In October 2013, Dianna Huff of DH Communications, Inc., and Derek Edmond and Casie Gillette of KoMarketing Associates, with the help of Liza Semenova, a student at Northeastern University, issued a survey to customers, prospects and others involved within B2B marketing, to determine what buyers do once they get to a vendor website; which elements increase a vendor’s credibility in the mind of the buyer, which detract, and which cause them to leave the website. And how well do B2B vendor websites help buyers take the next step in the sales process.
The first annual B2B Website Usability Report revealed that buyers approach vendor websites with one thought in mind: qualifying a vendor in order to begin the process of moving toward a purchase.
Qualifying a vendor should be a straight forward process, opines the report, at least in the eyes of a buyer. Buyers, who are busy and efficient, head directly to the products and services pages when they arrive at a vendor website. They thoroughly dislike website elements that waste their time or distract them.
They need specific types of information in order to take the next step in the buying process; when asked what types of information vendor websites “must have,” buyers indicated the following:
Must Have Content |
|
Content | % of Respondents Saying Must Have |
Pricing information | 43% |
Technical information | 38% |
Case studies/white papers/articles/blog posts | 38% |
Shipping information | 37% |
Source: Huff/KoMarketing, March 2014 |
|
When asked “What do you want from your website?” the vendor answer is almost always “more leads and sales.” But, respondents indicated that vendor websites lack the crucial information they need. When asked, “What types of marketing collateral do you find to be lacking on most company sites”, respondents replied:
Content Lacking On Vendor Websites | |
Content Lacking | % of Respondents |
Case studies / white papers / articles | 54% |
Pricing | 50% |
Product reviews | 42% |
Details about technical support | 42% |
Testimonials/client list | 31% |
Source: Huff/KoMarketing, March 2014 |
In addition, buyers need another important piece of information in order to move forward with a vendor: contact information! According to survey respondents, 68% said that “Company Address and Contact Information” is critically important. Even more telling, survey respondents indicated they prefer to use email and the phone to contact vendors (81% and 57% respectively). Yet, vendor websites often lack this information – with vendors often forcing people to complete “contact us” forms rather than providing email or phone information. 55% of buyers indicated they’ll leave a vendor website if it lacks contact information, says the report.
Social media activity has minimal impact on the buying process, finds the study. When asked, “How much does a company’s social media activity impact your vendor decision making process?” only 30% stated it was “important but not a deal breaker.”
Social Media's Impact On The Buying Process | |
Impact | % of Respondents |
A lot | 6% |
It’s important but not a deal breaker | 30% |
Neutral | 26% |
Not a factor | 37% |
Source: Huff/KoMarketing, March 2014 |
Buyers come to a vendor website with a stated purpose, says the report: to gather information, research a vendor, make a buying decision, and annoying elements interrupt buyers’ train of thought. Elements that cause buyers to leave vendor websites due to annoying them include video or audio that plays automatically (93%) and animated ads that crawl across a page or pop up (88%).
Additional elements cause buyers to leave a vendor website. Anything that prevents them from achieving their purpose; from wasting their time, interrupting their train of thought or reducing a vendor’s credibility frustrates them.
One of the questions asked was, “When you’re on the home page [of a vendor’s website] what information do you want to see available?” The overwhelming majority of respondents indicated they want to see “Products and Services” information. Buyers also want to see “About” or company information “Marketing Collateral” and “Testimonials.” This information is a form of supporting validation. Few buyers looked for “Social Media Buttons” or a blog.
B2B Web Buyers Look at Products & Services First | |
Website Information | % Considered Important |
Products and services | 90% |
About | 61 |
Marketing collateral | 37 |
Testimonials | 36 |
Social media buttons | 14 |
Blog | 22 |
Source: Huff/KoMarketing, March 2014 |
To determine what types of content and information B2B buyers want to see on vendor websites, respondents selected items based on four objectives: “Must Have,” “Somewhat Important” “Not Important,” and “It Depends.” While B2B buyers clearly know what they want from vendor websites, the information they need to make purchasing decisions is clearly lacking.
“Must Have” Collateral Required By B2B Buyers | |
Collateral | % of Respondents Must Have |
Pricing | 43% |
Details about technical support | 38% |
Case studies/white papers/articles/blog posts | 38% |
Shipping information | 37% |
Testimonials/client list | 36% |
Product reviews | 28% |
Online ordering | 28% |
Locations in my city | 22% |
News releases/media mentions | 11% |
Cad drawings | 6% |
Source: Huff/KoMarketing, March 2014 |
Marketing Collateral Most Lacking On Vendor Websites | |
Collateral Missing | % of Respondents |
Case studies / white papers / articles | 54% |
Pricing | 50% |
Product reviews | 42% |
Details about technical support | 42% |
Testimonials/client list | 31% |
Shipping information | 20% |
News releases/media mentions | 17% |
Locations in my city | 17% |
Cad drawings | 13% |
Source: Huff/KoMarketing, March 2014 |
Overwhelmingly, people prefer to contact vendors through email, with the phone being the second choice at. Over one-third of respondents indicated they prefer to use a contact form.
Buyer Contact Preference | |
Contact | % of Respondents |
81% | |
Phone | 58% |
Contact form | 39% |
Live chat | 17% |
Schedule an appointment (example: timetrade) | 11% |
Social media platform (facebook message, twitter reply, etc.) | 9% |
Source: Huff/KoMarketing, March 2014 |
Over half indicated they would fill out a form in order to receive trial offers, research, white papers, and webinars. 50% of survey respondents indicated they visit a vendor’s website three to five times before contacting a vendor, with 46% indicating they visit just one or two times.
Over half of buyers indicated they’ll leave a website to research third-party references and information. For the respondents who checked that they prefer to contact a vendor through a contact form, the majority indicated “excessive form requirements.” would deter them from filling out a form.
Personal Information Buyers Prefer Not To Release In A Form Submission
Clearly, once prospects reach the website, they want to see information that supports the product and the company, concludes the report. It also appears from the data that prospects want to learn as much about the people behind the company as well as the solutions it offers.
Contrary to accepted belief, social media activity, press releases and media mentions all play a lesser role in helping to establish credibility. Third-party validation of these types is simply not a factor when a prospect is viewing a vendor website.
For additional information from KOMarketing, please visit here.
Thanks very much for sharing this survey. Do you have any information about the survey methodology and sample size? Any breakdown of industries respondents came from? Would appreciate any info you can provide.
Thanks, Mary
good questions,Mary... Visit KOMarketing here for the details of the work... http://www.komarketingassociates.com/b2b-web-usability-report-2014/