How an Updated Website Can Drive Success for B2Bs: Three Key Opportunities
Overview
In the B2B world, a website serves as a digital front door. It establishes the first impression for a potential client and can make or break a new opportunity. For that reason, maintaining a professional website is critical for success.
B2Bs that fail to update their websites are missing three significant opportunities to advance their businesses:
Opportunity 1: Enhancing the User Experience and Increasing Accessibility
Opportunity 2: Strengthening Brand Identity and Messaging
Opportunity 3: Improving Conversion Rates and Lead Generation
Website design trends change and technology advances at a rapid pace. Failing to update a website can result in a loss of prospective customers, make a business look stale and old fashioned, and can also cause structural and technological problems such as mobile incompatibility, security breaches and outages.
The statistics are eye-opening; according to Forbes.com[i]:
61% of users say they will leave a site in 5 seconds if they don’t find what they are looking for.
54% of web traffic comes from mobile devices.
48% of users determine a business’s credibility by its web design.
The good news is that businesses can address these issues with clear navigation, a mobile-friendly site, and an attractive design. The better news is that businesses have even greater opportunities to enhance user experience and increase accessibility, strengthen brand identity and messaging, and improve conversion rates and lead generation through professional website design.
✓ Opportunity 1: Enhancing the User Experience, Increasing Accessibility
The Problem:
When a website is outdated, it often delivers a poor user experience (UX), causing visitors to depart immediately. Further, sites with poor UX frequently fall short of Website Current Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). Failing to comply with WCAG can result in consequences ranging from the loss of customers to bad press to fines and penalties. Finally, antiquated sites do not utilize the latest security technology, which can expose the business and site visitors to hacks and breaches. This can result in serious consequences for both the business and its customers:
Target’s 2013 breach cost the company $202 million.[ii]
IBM reports that the 2024 global average cost of a data breach is $4.88million, up 10% from last year.[iii]
Even without the massive financial impacts of these huge corporations, the loss of customer trust associated with a breach can devastate a business.
The Solution:
Improving website design through better navigation, mobile responsiveness, and fresh content ensures a positive UX.
The Impact:
Visitors remain on the site, engage, learn more about the business’s value proposition, and, ultimately, become a customer. In addition, incorporating accessibility features ensures compliance with WCAG, which broadens the audience and demonstrates a commitment to inclusivity.
Ensuring that a website is updated with the most current technology maximizes security and protects both the B2B and its customers.
✓ Opportunity 2: Strengthening Brand Identity and Messaging
The Problem:
Leaving a website to languish showcases a poor digital representation of a business’s brand and story. This reflects badly on the business, making it look stodgy, old-fashioned and out of touch. It may also suggest weak financial performance and an inability to devote resources to upgrading and refreshing the website. Simply put, an old site does not reflect a positive, cutting-edge brand identity or convey a strong market position.
The Solution:
With refreshed visual elements and sharpened content, a website can effectively communicate a value proposition, align with current market positioning, and advance a clear branding message.
The Impact:
Consistency across all platforms—website, social media, blog, e-publications--enhances brand recognition and trust, and can help grow market share. By adding and sharing new, interesting, relevant content regularly, businesses advance thought leadership, demonstrate industry expertise, and educate customers. This practice also breeds trust, which, in turn, encourages engaging a business for its service or purchasing its products. Refreshing website content with new blogs or videos and linking to social media channels can also help with Search Engine Optimization (SEO).
✓ Opportunity 3: Improving Conversion Rates and Lead Generation
The Problem:
An outdated website may have inefficient conversion paths and outdated lead capture forms, which can impede lead generation. In addition, if the calls to action (CTAs) are unclear and counterintuitive, potential customers will take their business elsewhere.
The Solution:
Updating the website provides an opportunity to optimize conversion pathways, redesign lead capture forms, and implement effective calls-to-action (CTAs).
The Impact:
Streamlining the user journey for optimized CTAs can improve conversion rates and create an efficient sales funnel. Modernizing lead capture forms to accurately reflect the customer’s needs enables an efficient assessment of the potential business, and optimizes lead generation management.
Conclusion
When B2Bs refresh and update their websites, they have the potential to expand their businesses by seizing key opportunities which lead to positive outcomes:
Delivers a better user experience and broadens accessibility
Optimizes security through latest technology and current design trends
Prioritizes innovation
Strengthens brand identity and
Amplifies company’s messaging
Tells a compelling, consistent story
Reflects the value proposition on every page
Improves conversion rates
Optimize lead generation
Increase revenues
Next Steps
Take the test below to assess your site and determine what improvements are needed.
Is your site clean and easy to navigate?
Is your information crisp, clear and comprehensible?
Will visitors understand your value proposition quickly?
Will visitors know how to navigate the site?
Are the calls to action (CTAs) clear?
Is the content up-to-date?
Is the lead generation/capture form accurate and efficient?
Is the site linked to social media platforms?
Do you add new content regularly for SEO and to communicate with prospective customers?
Is the site compliant with WCAG, privacy statements, and security protocols?
A “no” answer to any of the above questions suggests missed opportunities. An updated website can address these issues and improve business outcomes.
Let’s Get Started on your redesign! ABR Creative has worked with many B2Bs; we can help yours put your best digital foot forward.
Contact our team to schedule your free consultation.
[i] Haan, Katherine. “Top Website Statistics for 2024.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 4 June 2024, www.forbes.com/advisor/business/software/website-statistics/.
[ii] Reuters. “Target Settles 2013 Hacked Customer Data Breach for $18.5 Million.” NBCNews.Com, NBCUniversal News Group, 24 May 2017, www.nbcnews.com/business/business-news/target-settles-2013-hacked-customer-data-breach-18-5-million-n764031.
[iii] “Cost of a Data Breach 2024.” IBM, www.ibm.com/reports/data-breach?utm_content=SRCWW&p1=Search&p4=43700080542405592&p5=e&p9=58700008751471957&gclid=CjwKCAjwufq2BhAmEiwAnZqw8in_SLAishbe5N9lNFBN-2aoOeSP6C_1jJRqXzCoMPLRlczWFqM-7xoCty0QAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds. Accessed 9 Sept. 2024.Just in case you missed our past blog posts…
