When considering a website redesign, there are a few factors to consider when evaluating vendors for assistance. In the B2C space, the new site must have a target market and communication strategy that will help you reach the overall goal of selling more products or services. The B2B space, however, is a bit more complex. Often times, B2B industries neglect making updates to their website because they don’t see the value for the company to invest in a new design or other updates if they do not directly sell products. This is untrue because the website still serves a critical communications purposes, including the business’s first impression with potential clients in many instances.
By evaluating vendors based on some of the suggestions below, your new site is more likely to have a better impact in the B2B space:
Industry knowledge and data evaluation strategy:
This is an important aspect to consider as a B2B industry. Beyond a client portfolio of great looking designs, the best website agencies will have a strategy for how they will evaluate the current data on your site to make the redesign create value and impact for your business. Be sure to ask questions about their knowledge about your industry and competition, as well as what tools they have available to evaluate your current site’s data. Since there may not be direct sales data on a B2B website, they need to know how to evaluate time spent, content engagement, and how visitors are currently finding your site. With the proper knowledge of your site traffic, they then can give you a search engine optimization (SEO) strategy to drive more traffic, as well as a plan for increasing engagement with the new design. Also, be sure to take a look at some of the design elements and content presentation from their current client portfolio to get a feel for whether they can develop a site that will be well-suited for the needs of your business.
Ability to protect and secure data while working on a project:
Data protection and security is another aspect you may want to inquire about when evaluating vendors to redesign your site. Be sure to ask them about their current security credentials and steps they will take to ensure that any secured content continues to be well-protected on the site throughout the redesign process. They also should have proper knowledge about what security features need to be incorporated into the site to prevent data theft or loss.
Content management training:
After a project is completed, the site will need to be setup in such a way that non-technical staff will be able to easily edit and add content. A good website vendor will devise a plan for content management and how to best organize the current content on the site, so updates can be made smoothly and without frustration for staff. B2B websites will have abundant technical-related industry or product content, so the vendor must have an understanding of the best way to organize the site and highlight certain content for their target audience. They also should want to keep your staff involved throughout the process with regular meetings to make sure that the new site fits the needs of your internal stakeholders. You also want to look at whether they include onsite training with staff members to ensure they have a full understanding of how to manage the content on the site after the project is completed.
Ability to offer a content marketing strategy:
A digital agency that offers solutions beyond site design will also be beneficial for developing a long-term strategy for business growth. Ask if they can offer ideas for a digital marketing plan to develop new business leads and enhance communication. This plan could comprise of various elements such as SEO, landing page design, event promotion, or email marketing. This promotional campaign will be beneficial for a B2B industry to keep in touch with their website audience on a regular basis, which could lead to more contracts or clients in the future.
Availability of support and assistance after project completion:
Finally, you want the website vendor you select for your project to give you piece of mind that the product they deliver will continue to function properly. You may want to consider long-term website support so they can keep the site up to date and performing well. You also want to check that they stand behind their product and ensure customer satisfaction. Check to see if they guarantee their work for a period of time after the project, to make sure everything is functioning properly and address any short term concerns that may come up.
List of questions to ask digital agencies when considering a B2B website redesign:
- What B2B clients and industries have you worked on previous website design projects? What onsite elements do you feel are important in engaging these types of clients?
- How will the new site function as a tool for business development? What elements do you see adding that could better drive and engage leads on the site?
- What security measures will be taken to ensure protection of all website content and prevention of any loss of data?
- Does your agency provide employee training after completion of the project?
- Does your agency provide long-term website support?
- Do you offer a guarantee on your design work?
- How will your agency evaluate the success of the project? What data will you measure to evaluate this success?
- Can your agency offers a marketing strategy to promote our organization and drive new traffic to the site?
- Will I have full ownership of my website?
- Have you done similar work in my industry?
- Are your designs custom or based on templates?
- Will my website be mobile friendly?
- How will you make sure my website is secure?
- Will my website be optimized for use across search engines?
Need Assistance Upgrading Your B2B Website Design?
Having a custom website design for your B2B organization will allow for better content administration and content flexibility as your business needs change and grow. Template designs can be limiting, and lacks originality when making your brand stand out among competitors.
Looking for a partner that can provide strategy to increase online growth through your next website redesign? Alliance is an online digital agency assisting B2B clients in building new partnerships by creating visually engaging websites that help drive new traffic, as well as optimized for mobile and search engine use. To learn more about our marketing and web design services for B2B organizations, click here.