“Volume” and “Clarity” Drive Online Success in Business-to-Business Marketing
Why Total Online Presence (TOP) Influences Opinion
by Scott Mills, APR
Sophisticated prospective buyers, the kind of customers you want, research and gather information before making major decisions. In a business-to-business environment, prospects are likely to get information from trade magazines and newspapers; industry conferences, meetings and teleconferences; associations; business associates; sales presentations and the Web. A poll released in December by Harris Interactive shows that 38 percent of adults use the Web to get information about products and services and 23 percent search for the name of a business associate or colleague prior to meeting them.
Logically, companies strive to create a great website that is easy to find. Ideally, prospects can find you easily by using Google, get what they need to assist their decision process, and leave with the impression that your firm can deliver on the need they are seeking to fill. Unless you work for IBM or the major TV networks, companies that use acronyms, such as ABC Inc., are at a disadvantage on the Internet as just finding you takes a little effort from the prospect.
But what if people learned about your company, not from your website, but rather the sum total of all available information on the Internet? What exactly do they see when they research or Google your company online?
Having worked with a large number of companies on business communications programs, I can assure you that the new Web-savvy public is using the Internet to learn more about you than what appears on your Website.
Here are a few examples:
* Prospects are looking for companies to consider,
* Reporters visit websites to get background material and prepare for interviews,
* Existing customers are continually searching for new solutions or helpful information,
* Prospective business partners are looking for a fit (or a reason not to do business),
* Prospective employees are deciding whether, or not, to contact a company,
* Competitors are tracking your new products and services, and
* There may even be persons or organizations that believe they should invest in or acquire your firm.
Recently, the president of a fast growing, enterprising company told me that he did an Internet search on his company before he started his public relations program. He found five results, mostly links to his own website. After six months, he searched again and found more than 20 pages of search results. He spent 2 ½ hours exploring the links because he wanted to know who was writing about him and his company. He read online news stories that were generated from issuing press releases on Business Wire; he read articles from trade magazine Web sites; he read stories from local Toronto media outlets; he read about his company exhibiting at conferences and more. Without expecting it, he significantly raised the “volume” on his company brand on the Internet.
Andrew Dietz, president of the Creative Growth Group, said, “Social proof is the concept of influence by association. People think differently about you once they know with whom you associate.” Social proof for your company is made up of both what you say and what others say on relative or influential websites. We call this Total Online Presence (TOP) – influencing opinion through the online company you keep.
For those of us involved with marketing complex technology or information, we know that sales are not likely to be closed from Web traffic or by the sheer number of results in a Web search. This volume is, however, a great boost to company credibility. If your company experiences similar results as my Toronto-based friend, you may be well on your way to convincing the market that you ARE the 800-pound gorilla, even if you are a distant second (or third in your market). Knowing that there is a great deal of interest about your company can be reassuring to those whose career may rest on their recommendation to use your services.
Total Online Presence is a blend of advertising and public relations programs. You can buy a better position in search engines and sponsor influential media websites. In these efforts, you control 100 percent of the message within your site and the online ads you place. Public relations can greatly feed the Internet with information about your company. So the end result is highly influenced by the things you do.
The story that someone gets from the Internet should ideally be expressed with clarity -- consistent messages about the company and demonstrable proof you can be trusted. This can be done with company news, client successes, new service offerings, and thought leadership.
There is a huge impression made when people search your company name on the Internet. Even if they do not find much, or worse yet, have trouble finding your company website, that unfortunately makes an impression too. Make sure the volume is turned up. Your brand is defined by what others say about you. The value and momentum of your company’s Total Online Presence (TOP) is built largely through the ongoing positive communications that you control.
Copyright 2005 Scott Mills (scott@williammills.com)