CONVERSION IS KEY: HOW TO TURN A WEB SITE VISITOR INTO A CUSTOMER

It's no secret that industrial buyers are looking to the Internet as a key purchasing tool opposed co traditional offline information they have relied on in the past. According to a joint study recently conducted by ThomasNei and Google, specific company Web sites are one of the first places industrial buyers go when looking for products and services online. As a result, suppliers are increasingly seeing the critical role an effective Web site can play in driving sales. According to the joint study, 97 percent of buyers who researched or compared products online rook one or more actions either online or offline. However there still is a glaring disconnect between what buyers hope to find when they visit a potential supplier's Web site and what suppliers actually provide. If you're among the roughly eight in 10 industrial suppliers who plan to revamp their Web site this year, what steps can you take to convert visitors into customers?

ONLINE BUYER EXPECTATIONS

If an industrial supplier Web site is going to be effective, it's important to provide visitors with the information they're looking for. This means providing detailed information including product descriptions and specs, product pricing, product applications, details on tech support and CAD drawings. Secondly, buyers want to be able to search and compare products and services quickly and easily. In short, online buyers want to be able to take action, whether that means making a recommendation, sending a purchase order, or an RFQ.

THE VSET TEST

To gauge the effectiveness of a Website, take a step back and approach the
 way a potential customer would. Using a process called VSET (Veriiyi Search, Evaluate, Take Action), it's possible to conduct an objective review, asking the following questions:

•   VERIFY - Can a potential buyer immediately verify that the site has the right information?

•   SEARCH - Can the buyer quickly search the site for the exact products, services and specifications they need?

•   EVALUATE - Can the buyer easily evaluate the information on the Web site to help them make an informed decision?

•   TAKE ACTION - Can the buyer take action during their visit (i.e. make a call, send an e-mail or an RFQ, order, etc.)?

Conversion is key. By providing the right information and using the VSET test, suppliers can gain a potential customer's point of view and increase the overall effectiveness of a company Web site to turn visitors into customers.