As a leading web design agency for B2B, Technology and Healthcare companies, we often come across websites that read much like print ads or brochures: going on and on about the virtues of the company and its products or services. Phrases like “most flexible”, “best-performing”, “cutting edge”, “revolutionary” and other such self-proclaimed superlatives appear to elbow each other for more and better page space.

Not that there’s anything wrong with that…to an extent. After all, it’s your site; so you have every right – in fact, a responsibility – to present your firm and its offerings in their best possible light. And especially in those early days… if you don’t say nice things about yourself, who else is going to?

But if that’s all your site is doing, you’re very likely disappointing your most cherished audience of potential purchasers of your products and/or services. So at least would say Neil Patel in his recent Hubspot blog post stating, “Jargon is jargon, and while it may bait some clicks, it won’t truly blow anyone’s minds.” So what exactly are users looking for from your website? Well, according to the 2015 B2B Web Usability Report, it boils down to two things: credibility and trust.

Fortunately, you can establish both trust and credibility by ensuring your site has these 3 components readily available:

  • Products and Services – your users are looking for solutions to their problems, so your homepage should tell them right away that they came to the right place. Don’t leave them guessing as to what your company does, tell them exactly what you can do for them by making that information up-front and visible. If you can, go a step further by including technical support, product reviews, or free demo trials.
  • Thorough Contact Information – no one wants to wait for a service representative to contact him or her in 24-48 hours, they want to pick up the phone and talk to you right away. So don’t just hide behind a contact form, let your site visitors know all the ways they can easily reach you. This means including not only your phone number and address but also an active email and links to your social media channels on your home page, footers and on a visible contact page.
  • About/Company Information – this is your chance to really show your user the human side of your business. As mentioned above, don’t overload it with industry terms and other jargons that can make your users feel as though you only care about well, yourself. Employee bios, client testimonials and company history will help establish credibility and trust with your users.

Once you’ve created the trust with your users and are considered a reliable and creditable vendor, build on that, by incorporating educational resources such as:

  • White papers …that aren’t thinly-disguised brochures or user guides for your product, but that treat the broader industry problem/solution context
  • Webinars and podcasts, with the same content caveat
  • Case studies that illuminate similar customers’ problems and their solution
  • Summaries of / pointers to analyst reports and other independent research
  • Summaries of talks given at industry conferences by your key executives and others in your company.
  • Press releases for company news, updates and achievements.

Education builds familiarity with your solutions and helps prospects see the world through your prism. Remember, good education starts with a problem, not an answer; and it tells prospects something they didn’t know …not just about your product, but about their business/industry and its relationship to you. It’s also crafted in their terminology, not your company/industry’s jargon.

One Final Note

Sometimes an independent viewpoint can be very useful. Our Web and Digital Marketing strategists can assess your site’s educational content and suggest improvements that will bring it closer to what your prospective buyers crave. Contact us for a free website analysis today.