How to Use Your Website as Your Best Marketing Tool

Your website plays a crucial role in your marketing strategy. Not only is it where people go to learn more about your brand, but it’s also the best place to increase sales and foster potential partnerships.

Although your website is imperative to a successful marketing strategy, you might not be getting the most out of it. Fortunately, you can learn how to use your website as a marketing tool by remembering these 10 truths:

1. Your website works 24/7.

Your website works 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It also has a global reach, and it’s responsive. It can tell whether prospective customers are viewing on a mobile device or computer (half of all global browsing today is done through a phone). Your website should be able to provide any information, images, and content your customers need to answer their questions, make comparisons, and ultimately make a decision.

The chief question among sales teams is how to make sales on your website, which is the cornerstone of any business. Because your sales team is composed of humans with limitations, having a website can boost your marketing. Your sales teams can’t be working all day, but your website can.

2. First impressions are everything.

When your website is geared for success, it will be visually on-brand. This is why a website is important for business. The content will be in the brand’s voice, and like any good salesperson, it should focus your brand’s message, content, and resources on the visitor. After all, no one likes a salesperson who only talks about themselves.

With a new and professional website design, the first impression can maintain visitors’ engagement and excite them to find possibilities and answers. But you only have around 10 seconds or less to give prospects what they’re looking for before they leave. Don’t waste your precious time! You must make the content on your main pages count.

3. Building and maintaining trust are essential.

When you make a great first impression, respond to prospective customers’ needs, and make it easier for them to learn about your services, you’re well on your way to earning trust.

Your website can build and maintain trust throughout the whole buying cycle. 80% of B2B buyers recognize the importance of truthful product and service information. You can convey these details by providing case studies, examples of recent projects, a logo wall of your clients, and testimonials from current or past clients.

By the way, not only is your website great at fostering trust with visitors, but if it’s built, designed, and optimized well, you will also earn the search engine’s trust. Trust is what makes your website rank better. When did your website last have a top ranking on Google?

4. Buyer behavior is evolving.

B2B buyers are embracing consumer behavior when searching for B2B goods. They search the web when they need a product or have a challenge to solve. When they are on the market for something, they don’t specifically search for your salesperson’s or even your company’s contact information. They search for more general keywords in search of options that they can consider. If they do find your website or an article that was written about your business, most will take the time to learn about your product with the information that’s readily available.

In fact, 80% of B2B decision makers prefer to find product or service information through online articles rather than advertisements. Meanwhile, 62% of B2B buyers report that searching the web for relevant product information was one of the first resources they used to find a solution before contacting a salesperson.

Why?

You know the answer. They want to do thorough research and compare options. They don’t want to be swamped with emails, phone calls, requests, or direct mail. If you use the internet as a marketing tool, you’ll have a better chance of engaging them. So make sure to equip your sales team with the information they need to help your prospective customers learn about you and foster a trusted relationship: catalogs, videos, presentations, business briefs, testimonials, whitepapers, product information, case studies, FAQs, pricing, and demos.

Your website must build trust, establish brand awareness, and introduce and educate your buyers. That’s a lot of things you need to do, but it’s what prospects want. They will connect to a sales rep when they feel fully equipped and prepared to engage confidently in the purchasing process.

5. Your website doesn’t need training.

Companies invest effort and money in training their sales team. In the U.S. alone, companies spend an estimated $70 billion on sales training each year. With that investment, you expect a constant message, vital product or service positioning, and a decent return on your investment.

A website doesn’t require training or retraining. Also, your website will retain 100% of the information you provide. You can align your content and website to the buyer’s journey and deliver precisely the message and resources potential buyers need at every stage. A website can establish awareness, build trust, present products and services effectively, and equip visitors with anything else they might need — including contacting a sales rep when they are ready to buy.

6. Multilingual capabilities are indispensable.

Most people, especially sales reps, only speak one language — maybe two if you’re lucky. There are more than 1.1 billion English-speaking internet users worldwide, followed closely by Chinese-speaking users at 888 million and Spanish-speaking users at 363 million.

Consider this: Your website can introduce your company, brand, products, and services in any language you’d like. It’s as simple as translating and localizing your website’s content, resources, and images to the markets you want to sell to.

7. Your website allows around-the-clock social media sharing.

Your salespeople should be socializing with prospective customers, clients and your team. Are they sharing links to your website? What about links to press releases, articles, news, and events?

You can ask your salespeople to share, but your website can include a button for every social media page your company uses. In a snap, you can share your content instantly through different platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, LinkedIn, etc. Your website also gives your prospects access to your social feeds from your site, making it easier for them to view the content without leaving. How convenient!

8. Relevance is key.

When buyers contact a sales representative, they expect to be informed about all the necessary information. Your website is a tool to help your sales team become better prepared.

Prospects and customers are more open to new ideas when a salesperson has relevant and valuable insights that can benefit them. With a content management system to use on your website, your website marketing team can update, add, or create timely and relevant details. By including regular changes on what clients demand, your website will stay fresh and give applicable content to prospects.

9. You can provide everything a customer needs or wants.

The best salespeople have precisely what you want or need when you ask. They respond swiftly and provide what you ask for on time. They answer your questions or look for someone who can. Your website is capable of doing the same thing.

When website visitors need information on a particular product or service, they can search and apply filters depending on what they’re looking for and, voila, the results show up. People also have questions while they search. Your website is endowed with FAQs or, better yet, a chatbox or form for customers to submit questions.

During their shopping, buyers might click on your website looking for information on your product or service, technical requirements, support, pricing, or details about implementing programs. Your website can guarantee they find it easily.

Salespeople often complement one another when it comes to sharing content. Your website can be a helpful and resourceful member of your sales team if you design and create it with this in mind.

10. Closing is fundamental to success.

Great salespeople are always looking to close a sale, and they will ask tough questions to understand what will get them there. Who are they working with, what does the prospect need, and what challenges are causing them headaches?

Your website can do the same. Like your sales team, your website can give out offers, grant incentives, and invite visitors to view demos or trials. B2B websites that are effective are filled with interactive features like chat, forms, surveys, collateral, videos, downloads, training, and more. It would help if you also had strong calls to action on your website.

So the next time you’re hiring a new sales rep, make sure your No. 1 rep — your website — is working to its maximum potential first. It can’t ask you for a raise. It most certainly won’t protest about the last bonus or commission. Also, it doesn’t need an expense account for wine-and-dine clients. It’s the kind of sales team member all companies need.

Find out if your top sales rep is functioning flawlessly and learn more about how to use your website as a marketing tool. Let’s talk over a cup of coffee.