Tech specs, customer testimonials, giant buttons demanding “Schedule a demo today!” — these have become the hallmarks of B2B website creation. It makes sense. You want to spotlight your brand and close deals, so why not put it all out on the table?
But focusing on your brand doesn’t always lead to a good experience for visitors. At the end of the day, B2B buyers have a lot in common with B2C ones. They expect clarity, speed, and, above all, relevance. Overwhelm them with complex product details or labyrinth-like menus, and they might just leave.
Customer experience (CX) strategy is key to striking the right balance between your company’s goals and your visitors’ needs. By creating a customer-first experience, you’ll win over buyers and build trust without coming across as too sales-y.
Start With Your Business Goals (But Don’t Stop There)
Before you start imagining your homepage or picking out color schemes, pause to define your goals. Sure, your website should tell people about your brand. But it also needs a bigger purpose — one that supports your marketing or sales efforts.
Ask yourself:
- What do I want my website to accomplish?
- What audience am I trying to reach?
- What should visitors do after landing on the site?
- How will I know if I’ve succeeded?
A website for generating leads, for instance, would look very different from one that’s all about recruiting talent. The first would likely include product demos and “get in touch” CTAs. But the second might talk about company culture and share photos of happy employees.
By spelling out these goals early, you can address the right audience with the right content. Otherwise, you’re just blindly creating webpages without an end goal.
Understand What Your Audience Wants With Buyer Personas
You can’t design a truly customer-first experience unless you can get inside their minds. Start by gathering data through surveys, web analytics, and other channels. For example, you could ask your current customers, “What’s your biggest roadblock?” and “What’s stopping you from reaching your goals?”
This feedback will help you identify common pain points. If you sell automation software, for instance, your customers may struggle with:
- Low productivity, leading to missed sales and lost revenue
- Tight budgets
- Not enough support from management
- Staff shortages
These pain points should guide your content strategy. Once you’ve uncovered your audience’s frustrations, you can create two or three buyer personas. Each persona should address a pain point, and these should shape your entire content strategy. Every part of your website should show that you understand their problems and give them truly meaningful solutions.
If your users are struggling with inefficiency, for instance, use case studies and infographics to demonstrate how your software improves productivity. And make sure it’s easy to find this information, so your visitors quickly recognize that your product solves the problem they’re facing.
Align Goals To Develop a Customer-First Strategy
CX strategy unites your business’s goals with the customers’ needs in one effective website. Be sure to consult other teams during this process. For example, sales might want a speedy checkout process, while your service team knows exactly what resources buyers need.
Getting everyone on the same page makes it easier to make strategic decisions. If onboarding customers is a priority, link your knowledge base in your top menu. Focused on sales? Put your “book our services” call-to-action (CTA) buttons front and center.
Focus on Tasks That Support Your Big-Picture Website Goals
Throughout the web design process, consider how each part helps achieve your goals.
CTAs are an obvious starting point. Don’t automatically add generic phrases like “Buy now.” Each button should fit a specific goal. “Schedule a call” is helpful for lead generation, while “Register for our tech trends webinar” builds authority.
You should also decide how much to focus on search engine optimization (SEO). If it’s a top priority, you might create content with certain keywords or use lists to increase your chances of appearing in AI results. Otherwise, focus on writing useful content that your visitors want to read.
Bring Together SEO and CX (Yes, It’s Possible)
If you’ve heard that SEO-friendly websites can’t also cater to humans, I’m here to bust that myth.
“But isn’t it all about wooing the mysterious algorithm?” It’s not! You can create sites that appeal to both search engines and users. Here are a few tips:
- Consider your audience’s needs, and write content that meets that intent.
- Use semantic keywords — variations like “electric vehicles” and “EV cars” — to help visitors (and Google) understand your message.
- Structure pages with headings and bullet points for easy skimming.
- Include clear definitions and in-depth answers, which may appear in AI-generated summaries.
- Write in a tone that’s accessible and one that your audience can relate to. Write like you talk.
- Go after long-tail keywords by expressing the subject fully. Avoid keyword stuffing.
Prepare Before You Design
You wouldn’t start building a product without a prototype. The same principle applies to website design. You need a content strategy before you think about your site’s appearance.
Create a Sitemap
A sitemap is a diagram of your website’s structure. It helps you picture connections between content and how real customers will actually navigate.
For example, a digital marketing agency’s sitemap might include:
- Homepage
- Services
- Copywriting
- Portfolio
- Social media management
- Copywriting
- TikTok
- Marketing consulting
- Resources
- Blog
- Case studies
- Contact us
It is a best practice to limit your top menu to a maximum of five or six main sections (depending on the site). Don’t make the mistake of trying to squeeze every page into the top menu. Instead, put sub-pages into a “secondary” menu. A sitemap helps you prioritize your menu into easily understood sections.
Shape Your Core Messages
Every B2B website should have an overarching message for visitors to take away, and the entire CX should relate to it. For example, Patagonia Provisions emphasizes its commitment to sustainability with nature-themed visuals and articles that spotlight its core values.
Design Lo-Fi Wireframes
Once you’ve got a broad content strategy, it’s time to create an outline of your site’s layout. This wireframe should include:
- Menus
- Search tools
- General layout of images, text, videos, and other content blocks
- CTA buttons
Don’t focus on nitty-gritty details like font color and typography yet. A wireframe is about imagining how users will interact with your site, not creating a beautiful design. It’s also about the flow and readability of the content. Again, structure and hierarchy should determine which content goes first. It’s also a good practice to use a draft or final content version to properly define the layout.
Write Content Templates
The last thing you want is for your content across all pages to feel like it was written by different people. Content templates help your pages sound consistent and polished with a singular, trustworthy voice.
Here are a few template must-haves:
- Brand voice
- Description of your target audience
- Metadata and extracts
- Guidelines for alt-text, captions, and other CX-related content
- Style guide and formatting rules
- SEO focus keywords
- Header and sub-header requirements
By writing every page off the same template, you save time and can focus on the quality of your arguments instead of fretting over the semantics. Whether you’re DIYing it or outsourcing to a web design agency, documenting your sitemap, wireframes, and content templates keeps everyone on the same page.
Set the Stage for a High-Impact Website
A B2B website isn’t just about flaunting your brand or driving sales. It should be smart, accessible, and designed with your business and customers in mind.
Need a hand with your CX strategy? Odyyc’s web developers specialize in website creation, helping you understand your customers and design a site that caters to them. We can also assist with content writing, SEO, and digital marketing strategy.
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