Give your B2B Home Page the Core Score

There’s a lot of attention given these days to the SEO and navigation aspects of B2B websites…and most marketers are aware that sites should have gobs of helpful content, news and links.  But what about the initial messaging and information presented on the home page?  It either quickly makes a connection with people who don’t know your company or what you do, or it doesn’t.

So here it is… my rating system for B2B marketing-oriented website home pages. Completely subjective and yet somehow slightly scientific.   I call it Core Score.  It’s not about the look or the navigation…it’s about value propositions and specifics.  There are 12 potential points in the basic tally.  I’m also, however, going to add bonus points and some subtractions (more on this later).

Links to home pages that demonstrate each of the six home page attributes are included below.

Three points each for:

==Home page succinctly states what the company actually does (3 points)

Examples: see Truecar,  First Solar

==Quantifies benefits in terms of cost reduction, time, ease, efficiency, and/or productivity   (3 points)

See Freight Center,  Riverbed, or  Johnson Controls

==States two or more customer challenges that can be solved by product/service  (3 points)

See Telogis, Cybersource,  Sourcefire

One point each for:

==Text links to specific problem-solving ideas  (1 point)

See Ixda,  ABB

==Links to testimonials/examples  (in addition to access from main nav bar)  (1 point)

Many examples: one is Johnson Controls

==News headline and link (1 point)

Many examples; see Autodesk

In upcoming posts, I’ll calculate total Core Scores for individual home pages for companies in the tech sector and other industries.  Your input on selections and scoring-weight are welcome.

“Will It Blend” is the Ultimate Demo

More ideas to borrow for BtoB marketing:

No one can deny the success of Blendtec’s “Will it Blend?” viral-video marketing strategy.  It’s both a BtoC (home blenders) and BtoB (commercial blenders) equation. It’s proof of the power of the demo, especially when you take it to an extreme…and have some fun with it.  The no-to-low cost nature of this campaign is the biggest news.

CEO Tom Dickson hosts the hugely viral video series

There’s dozens of these goofy demonstrations on YouTube; their smiley CEO Tom Dickson blends iPhones, Transformer toys, even Bic lighters (their “don’t try this at home” disclaimer is serious).  I don’t play golf, so this one (below) certainly doesn’t disturb me one bit.

How do you apply the demo video to less-visually-dramatic BtoB products and services?   Take a close look at what time-lapse could do for you – whether it be actual video footage or graphics.

Was the Saturn Car Company Authentic Enough?

Some additional thoughts related to David Meerman Scott’s book The New Rules of PR and Marketing. (Also see my last post).

David opens the book by describing his frustration when going to the internet, in casual shopping mode wanting to learn about and compare car models, and finding only 0% financing come-ons and old-school advertising.  This has changed to some extent in recent years.  His anecdote was used to illustrate that Detroit’s “Big 3″ (they aren’t the biggest three anymore) are clueless when it comes to offering useful content and building a relationship with the prospective buyer.

The irony is that Saturn, the one company that did indeed introduce you to the people who built the cars (in their ads), offered straight-forward no-haggle pricing, and pioneered other trust and reputation-building efforts, is now going out of business. They never really made any money.  Great cars though – I drive and enjoy a Saturn Aura XR now, and my family members have owned many.   Customer loyalty seemed to be high – the ION won the Polk Automotive Loyalty Award four years in a row (2004-2007 model years).

Loved my Saturn Aura XR, with tap shift, on a recent solo day-long drive down the Pacific Coast Highway, from the Bay area to L.A.

Lessons learned?  The auto industry is a very crowded marketplace, and it’s not hard to find a high-quality car, no matter what your price range.  Saturn also lost some of its unique positioning when it started glomming onto GM’s platform-oriented models. Perhaps the question is:  was Saturn’s “voice” perceived to be sincere, or it did it seem more like a calculated advertising scheme?

New Survey Shows that Use of Home-Grown Content Continues to Grow

A new survey confirms that B-to-B marketers are increasingly using home-grown content to build relationships with customers and prospects, while use of traditional media declines. Companies are writing their own stories (and their customer’s stories), and most importantly, the survey shows that the marketplace highly values the content and uses it as much as information from industry publications. 88% of the respondents to the Kiing Fish Media survey are involved with B-to-B marketing, 56% of them do B-to-B solely.

Colleague Sally Falkow summarized key findings of the survey nicely on her blog:

* 86% of respondents’ companies are currently creating or plan to create original content for their customers and prospects in the coming year.
* 81% believe that brands and companies can create content that is as engaging and informative as content created by media companies.
* 74% feel that original content and media are most effective for generating marketing ROI.
* 70% are spending more today to reach customers and prospects directly with branded content than they did three years ago.

Download the complete survey at King Fish Media.

Tech Sector Thought Leadership Enhanced by a 12-Year-Old Student

You know that you have succeeded in articulating a business opportunity or trend when a 12-year-old student “gets it,” participates in the Q&A, and offers ideas about an application. Especially if it’s highly technical.

The venue? Jim Whitehurst, the plain-talking visionary CEO of enterprise Linux application leader Red Hat (Raleigh, NC), did a session on Tuesday for Fidelity Investment’s lecture series “Leadership in Technology” at a North Carolina university.

The program was geared toward graduate students, but 12-year-old Chandler Willoughby was there and suggested that both iTunes and Microsoft would become easier to use if Open Source gave users the opportunity to provide input on design and how the interface operates.

Jim Whitehurst knows that business thought leadership doesn’t mean pontificating with “high-minded language” and “lots of detail.”  In the case of Red Hat, it means articulating a value proposition. He likened the Open Source model to Wikipedia, and even American Idol. He uses terms like “power participation.”

A comment that Whitehurst directed to the investment community: “Here’s the problem. In the twenty-first century, where much, much more of the capital is information, locking up that information suboptimizes the value of that capital.”

And directed to the grad students: “Many companies are still in the physical world, with physical products. Go in and recognize these companies weren’t structured to enable and inspire the workforce. Do your best to work in the system. They’re not trying to stifle their workforce; they just haven’t thought of it.”

In terms of forward thinking and Thought Leadership, Mr. Whitehurst continues to be one to watch, and emulate.

Lumen Legal: Content That Rocks the Issues, Year After Year

I have had the pleasure since 2005 of working with a successful entrepreneur, and leader of entrepreneurs, David Galbenski, CEO and founder of Lumen Legal.  Lumen’s on-going programs are all about content that gets to the heart of the dramatically-changing legal services industry, with no hesitation about stirring up debate.  When law firms charge corporations $250/hour and up, even for thousands of hours of mundane document review work related to litigation, it’s a ripe environment for cost-cutting creativity. The result: Lumen has evolved from a regional player into a national one, with growth averaging 10 to 15%.

Dave complements this thought leadership by committing significant time to support fellow entrepreneurs; he served as the Chairman of EO, the international Entrepreneurs’ Organization this past year. It’s a role that involves speaking engagements, blogging and media relations.

Rather than blather on and on, here’s a quick chronological blow-by-blow summary of the initiatives that we accomplished.

2005

== Position Paper: Offshore Legal Services – The Drive to Productivity

Sent to industry opinion leaders, the media, and others.  Explores the high cost structure of U.S. law firms, and offers an answer.

== Launch an Industry-Issues Micro-site: www.offshore-legal-services.com

The site explored the benefits (and challenges) of using lawyers in India to perform labor-intensive document review, with greater speed (they work while we sleep) and at much lower cost. Lots of facts, resources, ideas.  No direct promotion of Galbenski’s company.

This “first-in” web initiative trumped the competition, with a one-year lifespan relevancy.

David Galbenski's Mission featured in Inc. Magazine

2006

== Big Interviews and Exposure

From law industry trade publications to national business media, including a three-page company profile in Inc. magazine (January 2006), just prior to the…

== Launch of the New Company Name, Brand Identity, Expanded Services

Included launch event with industry opinion leaders and media in attendance.

2007-08

== Thought Leadership via Editorials as the Discussion Evolves

Included penned-and-placed by-lined articles such as Document Review Cost Containment: Outsourcing Options Evolve to “Best Shore” and The Road to Better Retention of Associates. On-line and print. Blog monitoring and response steps up.

== Dave Galbenski begins year-long term as Chairman of the Entrepreneurs’ Organization (with membership in 35 countries). More blogging, speaking engagements, media relations. Horizons are expanded, internationally.

2009

A new book written by David Galbenski, Unbound: How Entrepreneurship is Dramatically Changing Legal Services Today (see the promotional site www.unboundlegal.com) is completed, providing a broader perspective on the changing landscape of corporate legal services.  The hardcover version has now been sent to key editors and influencers, with personal follow-up from Dave.

Along the way, Dave and Lumen Legal garnered numerous awards, providing additional media exposure. I’ll provide further updates on Lumen Legal’s activity on this blog.

The point is this: it’s a big time commitment, but embracing the Thought Leadership role works.