By Bob West
Our website development work at Meister Interactive has led to having so many more conversations with clients about their own websites, and some trends regarding how ag marketers view their websites are clear:
- Companies are more aware of the need for a quality website than ever before, but
- Companies struggle with how to improve their website, so
- Most companies aren’t doing anything of note to their website.
If you’re one of these people who knows that their website needs to be a priority but struggles with finding the time / money / energy to make it happen, consider these findings from a Pardot study of B2B buyers and what they mean for you and your website:
Study Finding #1: Almost three quarters (72%) of B2B buyers planning to purchase a business product begin their research with a Google search.
What It Means For You: First and foremost, your site has to be optimized for search engine optimization, and just having a website does not mean it is easily found in search. Boosting your site’s search optimization does not need to be expensive or time consuming. If you’re not sure how easily growers can find your site, test it! Go to Google and enter the search terms growers will use that you hope leads them to your site. If you’re not on the first screen of results, then you’ve got work to do.
Study Finding #2: Nearly 90% of these buyers report that they do more research on more expensive purchases.
What It Means For You: If you want to sell a product to someone who goes online at least two or three times to research that product, you better have enough content to keep them coming back to your site two or three times. One simple brochure / online product page just isn’t enough if you want to sell to growers or retailers, particularly if you’re looking to sell a capital item or a product your customers will buy all year long (ie., fertilizer, herbicides, etc.).
Having the basic product information online is simply the starting point. Support it and serve the customers’ informational needs with more. Demonstration videos, technical white papers, case studies, and photo slideshows, are just a few examples of high-value content that can be easily produced and take your website to the next level.
Study Finding #3: More than 80% of buyers return online at least two to three more times to conduct additional research on the purchase.
What It Means For You: Consistency matters in online marketing. Growers get online repeatedly to learn all they can about different products and evaluate their buying options. Advertising your product for a limited time means you risk missing out on a chance to be in front of them when they’re looking for you.
The author is Director of Interactive Sales for Meister Media. He can be reached at 440-602-9129 or [email protected].