Our website is a constant topic of discussion for us – one of the subjects is how much information should we be publishing. I came across a post relating to this topic on the B2B Lead Generation Blog. There are a number of very good points made in this entry, but a couple really stand out.
People use the web for research; they are looking for fresh ideas, insight and actionable information. Intellectual property is difficult to protect and is quickly commoditized by the market. Why not leverage some of your IP to your advantage? Leverage it and demonstrate your thought leadership.
I have read numerous articles in the past couple of months that bring up similar points. In today’s market buyers are engaged much earlier in the selling process, sometimes even before a salesperson calls on them. I don’t know about you, but if something isn’t working right, I am on the web looking for solutions. After I have finished the research, I usually will make calls to a couple of the companies that have the most helpful websites.
There will undoubtedly be a few companies that look like they have great products/solutions, but the only way I can learn about them is to call the company. So why do I rarely call these companies? Because I am looking for some basic understanding of the problem I am encountering and I want to find that on their website. Instead, I figure that this company will want to start at the very beginning and try to troubleshoot the problem. After a long, tedious call, I expect that they will finally provide a solution. I also expect that I will be put on a call/email/follow-up list whether they solve my problem or not. Which leads me to the second point I wanted to share with you.
This is particularity important for companies engaged in a complex sale, where up to 70% of a customer€™s perception of your brand comes from their interactions with your sales people. I believe that the people and companies who succeed today are those who learn faster and teach others what they know more effectively.
And what better way is there to start building your brand then through your website, blog, white papers, etc. Start building your brand by sharing your expertise. The author of the B2B blog, Brian Carroll, uses this analogy:
I have a friend who is a NASCAR fan and what he loves is that it’s more about the driver than the car. All the cars are the same. It€™s the driver and the crew that make the difference. It’s kind of like that with business now. Most companies have the same basic car. It’s really about how well you drive it.