In August 2015 Logit researched 189 B2B company websites. All the companies on our test were export-oriented. We analyzed whether or not the content essential to making purchase decisions was present on those companies' websites. We published our results in a 44-page report.
Currently, the research is only available in Croatian. This blog post is a summary of the research for English-speaking visitors (we're working on translating the research in full).
Although all the companies on our test are from Croatia, they are all export-oriented and offering their products and services internationally. This makes the results of our research globally relevant. No matter where in the world your B2B company is headquartered, you'll benefit from our research because it applies to all English-speaking websites made to get B2B leads from the international market.
View the research' page (Croatian only)
Our Conclusion: Huge Potential for International Business Growth Through Website Improvement
For a typical B2B company a website should be the most effective sales and marketing tool. With this research we wanted to draw the attention to that fact.
The bad news is that the analyzed websites aren't as effective as they should be, given the global competition. They don't use modern tools, aren't informative enough, and don't publish the type of content known to influence purchase decisions the most.
The good news is that there's huge potential for optimizing and improving the effectiveness of a typical B2B website. This is why we conducted this research in the first place: we wanted to educate the executives in B2B companies about how lack of essential website content negatively impacts their sales results on the global market.
Research Summary: Results of Analyzing 15 Guidelines
A guideline is a clear and specific instruction about what needs to be changed on the website so that it becomes measurably more effective in terms of:
- increasing the number of visitors,
- increasing the number of received inquiries,
- increasing the number of sales.
Out of hundreds of website improvement guidelines we have in our internal database, we picked only 15 guidelines and tested the websites for their presence.
Those guidelines tested only the presence of essential content and certain features we believe are the foundation of modern digital marketing.
How exactly does missing content affect sales results? IDG conducted a research on a sample of 400 business customers in the IT industry. IDG found that the likelihood of a product sale decreases by 45% if the B2B buyer doesn't find relevant information on a vendor's website.
In other words: if the content is missing, the customer is leaving.
| Guidelines (G1 through G15) | Guideline is present | Guideline is not present | Percentage - guideline is present | Percentage - guideline is not present |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Is Google Analytics present? [G1] | 102 | 87 | 54,0% | 46,0% |
| Are products present? [G2] | 114 | 10 | 91,9% | 8,1% |
| Are services present? [G3] | 47 | 10 | 82,5% | 17,5% |
| Are solutions present? [G4] | 8 | 0 | 100,0% | 0,0% |
| Is contact information present? [G5] | 177 | 12 | 93,7% | 6,3% |
| Is contact form present? [G6] | 95 | 94 | 50,3% | 49,7% |
| Is newsletter present? [G7] | 23 | 166 | 12,2% | 87,8% |
| Is “About” page present? [G8] | 184 | 5 | 97,4% | 2,6% |
| Is client list present? [G9] | 101 | 88 | 53,4% | 46,6% |
| Are testimonials present? [G10] | 9 | 180 | 4,8% | 95,2% |
| Are case studies present? [G11] | 18 | 171 | 9,5% | 90,5% |
| Is industries section present? [G12] | 20 | 169 | 10,6% | 89,4% |
| Are articles, news, or blog posts present? [G13] | 103 | 86 | 54,5% | 45,5% |
| Is support section present? [G14] | 21 | 168 | 11,1% | 88,9% |
| Are frequently asked questions (FAQ) present? [G15] | 13 | 176 | 6,9% | 93,1% |
Check out our if you'd like our specialists to analyze your website and show you exactly what you need to change to get more customers.
Insight #1: 46-50% of B2B Company Websites Don't Have the Foundations of Digital Marketing.
Click to tweet: 46-50% of B2B company websites don't have the foundations of modern marketing.
We consider two features to be the marketing foundations of a modern B2B website:
- Google Analytics (or an equivalent analytics software)
- a contact / lead generation form
Here are our results.
Is Google Analytics Present on the Website? [G1]
Our research found that 46,0% of the companies didn't have Google Analytics installed. (Because other analytics tools are barely used in Croatia, we only tested for Google Analytics).
A company that isn't making decisions based on objective data received from Google Analytics makes unreliable decisions. Such unreliable decisions, based on emotion, speculation, and subjective opinions, have a negative impact on the company's bottom line because its marketing activities are generating losses.
Is the Contact / Lead Generation Form Present on the Website? [G5]
49,7% of B2B companies lacked any lead generation form! Given the fact that web forms are often the most reliable way of tracking where customers are coming from, we can conclude that 49,7% of companies can't measure the return on investment (ROI) from their marketing activities.
Insight #2: Up to 17% of B2B Companies Don't Have the Most Basic Website Content.
Click to tweet: Up to 17% of B2B company websites don't have basic content.
We considered the following types of content to be the absolute must-have basics:
- products / services / solutions
- contact information
- the 'About' page
Here are the most alarming findings.
Are Services Present on the Website? [G3]
It was surprising to learn that 17,5% of B2B service companies didn't list their services on the website.
(Product B2B companies scored much better: only 8.1% of product companies forgot to present their products.)
If services aren't listed, B2B buyers are leaving the website because they can't complete their research and get relevant information about the services the company offers.
Insight #3: 45-95% of Websites Lack Advanced, the Most Influential Content.
Click to tweet: 45-95% of B2B company websites are missing the most influential content.
We have defined the following content as advanced:
- client list (references)
- newsletter subscription
- blog / articles / news
- customer testimonials
- case studies
- 'industries' section
- 'support' section
- FAQ section
We found the following two results interesting.
Are Customer Testimonials Present on the Website? [G10]
A large percentage of companies, 95,2% of them, didn't publish any 'proof' that their customers are happy with what the company sells. That's a huge opportunity loss: those companies could have used their existing customers to influence the future ones, but they did not.
Without influential content such as customer testimonials, companies must try harder online to gain trust. Customer testimonials have a proven effect on the purchase decision. Customers perceive testimonials as information more credible than the information about the products / services given by the company itself. If testimonials are missing, the website has a reduced sales potential.
MarketingExperiments research from 2008 concluded that adding testimonials to the website increased conversions by 25%.
Are Case Studies Present on the Website? [G11]
90,5% of B2B companies don't use one of the most powerful content types: case studies. 2015 research by KoMarketing Associates cites that 34% of B2B buyers said that case studies are the type of content most lacking on vendor websites. This means that customers are actively looking for case studies on B2B websites but aren't finding them.
How is Your Company Doing? Do You Need More Customers?
Now you've seen how other companies are doing. Has anyone ever analyzed your website and shown you where your company could be losing customers? Do you know where your best leads are coming from? Does your website have content holes?
Check out our service.
It's an affordable service which analyzes your website and your particular business. Our analysts will spend quality time with your online business and tell you exactly what you need to change on your website to get more (international) customers.