Feature Article: Capturing Value
This article is the first of an on going series that will focus on how small to medium size manufacturing companies can generate business value from their corporate websites.
Today almost all companies now have some sort of web presence. Unfortunately many of these companies have still not fully comprehended the importance of a professional design and the impacts it can have on their company’s brand. Even fewer companies have been able to tap-into the true business value a website can deliver. As for those companies willing to commit to their web strategy, there are still ample opportunities to create significant competitive advantages.
For most small to medium size manufacturing companies, the stakes are generally too high and the risk too numerous to justify investing in complex B2B systems. For these companies the focus has to be on providing exceptional customer value, providing a web experience that meets or exceeds the expectations of their customers and potential customers.
So how does providing exceptional customer value positively impact on your company’s bottom line?
- Higher perceived customer value correlates directly to more loyal customers, who will buy more, make referrals (saving you acquisition and sales costs), are easier, and quicker to deal with.
- A five-percent increase in customer retention typically yields a 25- to 80-percent increase in profits.
- It costs five to ten times more to get a new customer than to keep the one you have.
- Hiking customer retention rates by two percent has the same result as cutting costs by 10 percent.
- Companies delivering high customer value can earn substantially higher margins, increase profitability, and make significant gains in market share.
What is value?
When it comes to their website, this unfortunately is where most companies miss the boat. Creating value is more than just including the standard four or five basic sections (About us, products or services, contact information, news and events) found on most corporate websites. Today’s web savvy customers tend to be more sophisticated and possess more confidence in their own ability to make a choice about suppliers. So unless you want to compete on price you need to identify other cost-effective opportunities for providing value on your website. Below I have listed some of the best starting points for identifying value opportunities for your website.
Analyze Your Web stats
Access your web stats to see what areas of your site garner the most attention from your site visitors as well as those areas that remain relatively ignored. Then consider enhancing or making the popular areas of your site more accessible.
Ask Your Customers
Ask your customers if they have been to your website and get their honest feedback. Do your customers know it’s there? Is your website getting you closer to your customers, or is it merely an irrelevant address that appears in the company brochure? Better yet conduct an online survey of your website visitors. Don’t just ask them what they like or dislike about your site. Ask them what they were looking for? Ask them what they like about other sites they visit.
Review other B2B websites
Review the sites of your competitors what are they providing their site visitors. Also take a look at what the B2B websites provide. A good starting point is BtoB Magazine’s - 2003 NetMarketing 100: Best B-To-B Web Sites . But be aware that much of the value of a website may be hidden behind secure customer areas.
Get Expert Advice
While nobody knows your customers or your business better, Falcon has been developing B2B websites for over a decade now. Over that time we have learned a lot and hence have a lot of knowledge that can help guide your company in the right direction when it comes to creating value from its website.
So in summary listen to your customers and staff, review the websites of your competitors and those in related industry. These are all great starting points for identifying opportunities to provide value for your customers and ultimately promote a better ROI for your company’s website.
In future articles I will get into more specific strategies for generating business value from your website. But if I can leave you with one piece of advice, go to your website and go through it as if you are customer. And then ask yourself how well does your website do at providing value for your customers?
 |
