Business to business survey 2007

Business to Business Survey 2007 Marketing to a B2B Technical Buyer Sponsored by: In Association with: Principal Author Rick Tobin Director of Research Enquiro Contributing Authors Gord Hotchkiss President/CEO Enquiro Dr. Biggi Weischedel Research Analyst Enquiro Jess Gao Research Analyst Enquiro Tracy Sherman Enquiro Special Consideration Krista Brown (Analysis) Research Analyst Enquiro Cory Bates (Design) Senior Consultant Enquiro Enquiro Research Search marketing is an incredibly effective channel for connecting with potential customers. And the more you know about how your customers interact with search, the more successful that channel will be. At Enquiro, we never stop exploring how to make search more successful. www.enquiroresearch.com 1.800.277.9997 2 Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. 1628 Dickson Ave., Suite 300, Kelowna, BC, Canada V1Y 9X1 © Copyright 2007 Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. It is forbidden to copy this report in any manner. For permissions contact sales@enquiro.com. For more copies visit enquiroresearch.com Table of Contents Introduction Who is a Technical Buyer? What is a Technical Buyer Looking for at First? Leveraging the SERP 4 8 12 16 What Influences a Technical Buyer? How to Build Online Buzz Leveraging the Distributor’s Website Driving Offline Traffic Online Using Microsites for Tradeshows 22 26 29 32 36 What are Technical Buyers Looking for on Your Website? Rich Media in B2B The Power of Testimonials Building a Great Homepage 38 40 44 50 How do Technical Buyers get to You? The Role of Vertical Search in B2B 53 54 Where do Technical Buyers Buy? 60 Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. 1628 Dickson Ave., Suite 300, Kelowna, BC, Canada V1Y 9X1 © Copyright 2007 Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. It is forbidden to copy this report in any manner. For permissions contact sales@enquiro.com. For more copies visit enquiroresearch.com 3 Introduction The first adage that you learn when studying marketing is that “it pays it customer.” to know your customer Whether you are reading about Sam Walton and how he turned the retail industry into a big box supply shop, or further back to the Rockefellers and vertical integration - every half decent marketing professional Most marketers don’t take the time to get to know their customers. Simple as that. We fail to take the right path, not because we don’t know it is there, but because we are in a hurry; because we want to take a path nobody else has tread (maybe it’s a shortcut?); or because it is just too hard for some. Probably not. Jay Conrad Levison2 says it all centers Seth Godin1 says all marketers are liars and that in our failure to see fundamental truths we all fail to be remarkaround promotion and relationships that empower - does that really explain it all? Probably not. knows that if you start with the end customer in mind, more often than not you will have success. able - does that really explain it all? We’re not saying that both these authors aren’t forward thinking, innovative, and driving real marketing truths and understandings; we’re just saying that their philosophies don’t explain why most marketers fail. So why do most marketers fail? So why are success stories not a dime a dozen? If it isn’t rocket science, then why do most marketers fail? And it is hard!! It’s hard because there are ten thousand “best practices” out there. 4 Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. 1628 Dickson Ave., Suite 300, Kelowna, BC, Canada V1Y 9X1 © Copyright 2007 Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. It is forbidden to copy this report in any manner. For permissions contact sales@enquiro.com. For more copies visit enquiroresearch.com we first thought…. It’s hard because there are so many voices telling you what your customer wants and needs. It’s hard because every person is an individual, but a market is a collection of individuals. And it’s hard because it is a lot of work sifting through the mountains of information, asking your customers what they want, listening to their answers, and finding those universal truths. And maybe it is the fact that most marketers get all caught up in the smoke and mirrors of the business, (which are like When we did our first B2B survey we never intended it to become a foundation for online marketing. We thought it was interesting and necessary, but we were surprised that it was so innovative; after all, all we did was ask a whole bunch of B2B buyers what they were looking for and responding to. Then we collected the answers and told people what we learned. But nobody had done that up until then, at least nobody shared the knowledge. Many companies had done their own internal market research, but nobody had gone out and looked at the entire market instead of just vertical silos. It was important because as M&As become commonplace, most companies now sell a variety of B2B products and services If you want to know what people want, ask them - then give it to them… just make sure you ask them the right question and that they tell you the truth… oh, and make sure they know what they want and why they want it, surprisingly, most people don’t. Maybe the tenet is more complicated then However, in our original study, we failed to deliver any type of universal truths about unique buyers - we only delivered for the entire market. - targeting different people within the organization who have a variety of purchasing power authority. But the fact of the matter is that there are certain types of buyers in the B2B marketplace; buyers that can be part of committees (which according to Marketing Sher- pa3 can number 21 individuals on average) or departments. Ultimately, it is these smaller segments of buyers that make the purchasing decision, and it is these buyers that marketers will have the greatest success by targeting. We may be running on, but here is the point that we are trying to get across. This paper takes a look at B2B technical buyers and attempts to be a verifiable “how to” guide for marketers trying to effectively target this segment and walk them through the purchasing funnel. It is a collection of information from our latest B2B Market Survey4 and various other sources. We have tried to distill the mountains of information that exists out there to give marketers some universal truths about this particular segment. In essence, we have tried to get back to the marketing basics… we asked and listened, and this is some of what you need sirens courting a ship in the darkness) too blind to follow a simple tenant: Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. 1628 Dickson Ave., Suite 300, Kelowna, BC, Canada V1Y 9X1 © Copyright 2007 Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. It is forbidden to copy this report in any manner. For permissions contact sales@enquiro.com. For more copies visit enquiroresearch.com 5 Technical buyers are a unique audience, as a result, we have taken the data collected through our B2B survey and sectioned off the direct responses from this target segment. The following charts and tables provide insight to the unique B2B purchasing behavior and motivators for technical buyers. Supplies Software Hardware Industry Product Categories All Buyers n Technical Buyers (%) n (%) 406 (37.4) 169 (15.6) 157 (14.5) 144 (13.3) 118 (10.9) 92 ( 8.5) 78 (31.8) 45 (18.4) 35 (14.3) 32 (13.1) 30 (12.2) 25 ( 10.2) General Survey Results General Purchasing Characteristics The sample provided by SSI was a generally diverse B2B sample, the only common factor was that they had to be involved in purchases in excess of $1000. Interestingly, the distribution of technical buyers compared to the overall sample was not strikingly different, even though the segment was only 22.6% of the total sample. However, when we looked at the average budget for considered purchases, technical buyers tended to have a higher capital threshold than the overall sample. In fact, just over 50% of technical buyers consider purchases in excess of $10,000, but Business Services Equipment Parts and Components Budget for considered purchases 1,000 to 9,999 10,000 to 49,999 50,000 to 100,000 100,000 or more All Buyers n (%) 686 (63.2) 260 (23.9) 78 ( 7.2) 62 ( 5.7) Technical Buyers n (%) 122 (49.8) 76 (31.0) 30 (12.2) 17 (6.9) 6 Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. 1628 Dickson Ave., Suite 300, Kelowna, BC, Canada V1Y 9X1 © Copyright 2007 Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. It is forbidden to copy this report in any manner. For permissions contact sales@enquiro.com. For more copies visit enquiroresearch.com what’s more, it would seem that technical buyers are 5% more likely to consider purchases in excess of $50,000 than the overall B2B sample. female technical buyers when compared to the overall sample. In the overall sample the gender split was nearly 2/3 women and 1/3 men; however, in technical buyers, the distribution was 56.7% women and 43.3 % men. There may be some respondent bias creeping into the results; however, according to the US Census, technical buyers are predominantly male. In addition, it would seem as if technical buyers have more education than the overall B2B sample, with over 90% possessing some college or higher level degree. In summary, the survey results seem to point at technical buyers being educated, in a median age range of 41±11.7, and Gender, Age and Education The trend appears to be a growing proportion of male and a shrinking population of Gender Female Male All Buyers n (%) 682 (63) 404 (37) Technical Buyers n (%) 139 (56.7) 106 (43.3) All Buyers Mean Age (± SD) 41.7 (11.3) 46.2 (13.1) Technical Buyers Mean Age (± SD) 40.1 (11.7) 42.2 (11.8) tending to be involved in higher budget purchases—often in excess of $50k. Highest Level of Education High School Diploma Some College University Degree Masters Degree Doctoral Degree All Buyers n (%) 120 (11.1) 344 (31.7) 392 (36.1) 186 (17.1) 39 ( 3.6) Technical Buyers n (%) 24 (9.8) 65 (26.5) 96 (39.2) 50 (20.4) 10 (4.1) Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. 1628 Dickson Ave., Suite 300, Kelowna, BC, Canada V1Y 9X1 © Copyright 2007 Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. It is forbidden to copy this report in any manner. For permissions contact sales@enquiro.com. For more copies visit enquiroresearch.com 7 Who is a Technical Buyer? B2B organizations have different players in different roles. (What a shocker!) Sometimes in smaller firms the CEO can also operate as the President and the entire Marketing Department. While in larger firms there can be stakeholders from all over the globe that need to be engaged before a decision can be made. One thing that all B2B firms seem to have in common regardless of size, revenue potential, or product offering is 4 buyer roles: Economic buyers are the "money" people in an organization. They control the budget and have veto power over any decision requiring spending. They will take a hard look at the return on their investment and they want to make sure they get the best deal for the organization. Simply put, the economic buyer is the one who has authority to make the purchase and they are almost always in an upper echelon management position-agency direc- 8 Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. 1628 Dickson Ave., Suite 300, Kelowna, BC, Canada V1Y 9X1 © Copyright 2007 Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. It is forbidden to copy this report in any manner. For permissions contact sales@enquiro.com. For more copies visit enquiroresearch.com tor, (e.g., Director of Public Works), division director (e.g., VP for Operations in a privately held company), or perhaps a group of people (e.g., a school board)… Whatever the title, people serving in this role have at least two things in common: 1) they are more interested in the big picture than they are in the details, and 2) they are too busy to read the details anyway. The technical buyer is a person within an organization who is tasked with ensuring that whatever solution is purchased meets the technical requirements of the company. For technology purchases this would often be an IT professional. For accounting software you would typically be a controller or financial officer. And for sales relationship management software it would be sales manager. While these people usually don't have final financial approval they are integral to the purchase process as they are the ones that ensure the potential solution is the right match with the organization’s needs and requirements. The user buyer is the person on the front lines who will actually use the solution or product purchased. He is often the person that first identifies the need and makes the organization aware that they have to explore potential solutions. And after the purchase, it is this person who has to ensure that the implemented solution is the right fit for their need. The coach is the internal champion who helps move the sales process along and usually has a vested interest in the purchase of the solution (not included in even for us. Marketers often confuse roles with actual people and sometimes put an individual in a silo as a technical buyer, and don’t realize that often there is more than one individual that comprises that role. They do this because it is hard to align behavioral targeting of messaging and touch points with multiple stakeholders. Because when the sales guy walks into the office, the first thing he notices is how different Bill and Eric are, not all the things they have in common, and not the fact that both of them make up the technical buyer role. This is what he communicates to his marketing department, and this is when they choose to market to either Bill or Eric and miss out on half of the truth. the chart to the left because the coach can influence any or all buyer types). But buyers do not necessarily only fit into one role; in other words, a person can sometimes be all or any combination of the 4 roles. However, they are never more than one role at one point in time. It is almost like De Bono’s4 hat exercise in that they just change roles with the decision making need. However, in larger organizations, technical buyers can be groups of people, committees, or even entire departments. We all do it, and we do it because it is very uncommon to find one individual that comprises everything that is a technical buyer. It is very difficult to readily resonate a behavior with an individual. We all do it, and that is why we do not This is starting to get confusing… Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. 1628 Dickson Ave., Suite 300, Kelowna, BC, Canada V1Y 9X1 © Copyright 2007 Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. It is forbidden to copy this report in any manner. For permissions contact sales@enquiro.com. For more copies visit enquiroresearch.com 9 find success as often as we would like. Age: Age 42 Income: Annual Income $87,000 Status: Marital Status Married Children: Number of Children 3 (Girls 12 & 5, Boy basis as a route to promotion. He has definite career goals and plans on making it to the executive suite. While the Csuite values him highly, they are waiting to see if he has the depth and high-level management skills required. Steven is also actively being recruited by other companies. He is constantly being asked to think like a businessman and not just a technical manager; so he is becoming more risk averse and focused on benefits. A devoted family man, Steven prides himself on his family involvement; however, In order to leapfrog this natural hurdle, we decided to dodge it completely. Why waste our time trying to find that person when we could just invent a persona? A persona allows us to look at all the behaviors and information from various studies, including our B2B Survey, and translate them to a personal level. It allows us to define what you need to market to a technical buyers, without getting confused over roles, committees, and other ad naseum. Plus, it makes the information easier to digest and understand, what’s more, it makes it easier to remember. So with no further ado, let’s introduce Steven Fitzpatrick. 9) Education: Education BSc, MBA and numerous IT Certificates he often schedules his time away from work with his family, but easily makes the break when he is at work, and gives priority to his work tasks. Steven has formed close working friendships with a number of his IT co-workers – but with only a few outside of his department. His social life is interchangeable with his work life, comprised of office events or recreational meetings (golf). Work/Life Experience Steven began working in an IT department before he graduated as part of his U of W co-op program. Since graduating, he has worked his way up to IT Manager and has worked for 3 3 major Com, companies Siemens), Demographics Geographic: Geographic Works in San Jose - Lives in Campbell, CA Gender: Gender Male (Safeco Insurance, starting in the Outside Sales department. Steven earned his MBA on a remote-study Current Work Environment As IT Manager, Steven reports to the CIO directly on a weekly basis through status 10 Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. 1628 Dickson Ave., Suite 300, Kelowna, BC, Canada V1Y 9X1 © Copyright 2007 Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. It is forbidden to copy this report in any manner. For permissions contact sales@enquiro.com. For more copies visit enquiroresearch.com reports and scheduled meetings. He has been with his current company for 7 years. Because of his MBA, Steven’s CIO relies on him for business-case analysis as well as technical evaluations and summary reports. His recommendation is of major influence and he is a capable deligator. During the last few years, the company has had to downsize its IT Department and as a result, Steven has had to let go of co-workers he considered friends – and to halt IT developments before they were complete, including those that he continually pushes up as high priority. This has made him very cautious about hiring and starting new developments. Steven is obsessed with network security, backups, proper encryption, and communication solutions. He attends conferences and major seminars, and is even a junior member of the board of a few organizations and committees, helping the CIO with speaking engagements. Working with the CIO and others, he also identifies the long range IT and communication needs of the company. Steven’s main functions within the company are to plan, organize, and manage the immediate IT needs of the company. adverse to going digging for information himself, but usually he works off the suggestions from more front-line managers. Presence in the Buying Funnel As part of Steven’s job he weighs the merit of service providers, constantly evaluating current contracts and trying to recommend the best purchase for upstairs. He is not 11 Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. 1628 Dickson Ave., Suite 300, Kelowna, BC, Canada V1Y 9X1 © Copyright 2007 Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. It is forbidden to copy this report in any manner. For permissions contact sales@enquiro.com. For more copies visit enquiroresearch.com What is a Technical Buyer Looking for at First? One of the primary objectives of the study was to gain further understanding of organizational B2B purchase behavior goals by phase of the purchase cycle and by role of the individual involved. We asked each participant to indicate in the study where they were in a current purchase cycle based on the following definitions of phase: Awareness: This is where you first learn about needs or opportunities. You learn you have a pain that needs to be solved. Research / Consideration: Information and/or data gathering, defining of requirements, vetting, screening of options, creation of a short list of candidate solutions. Negotiation / Vendor Finalization: Reviewing vendors’ offerings before making recommendations, negotiating the best price, finalizing specifics of final purchase. Purchase: Approval of purchase, recommendations and authorizing purIt is not unusual that the data would point to the majority (56.3%) of technical buyers being actively involved in the research/ consideration phase of the purchasing cycle—given the role assumptions made in the persona and other collected marketing data. However, it is interesting to note that 34.7% of technical buyers are More often than not, attracting new technical buyers is done through an intermediary; namely, someone a little lower in the pecking order whose main job is to qualify pochases. Completing required paperwork for procurement. also involved in negotiation of pricing and actual purchasing approval, while a very small amount (8.2%) are involved in the awareness phase or first diagnosing symptoms of real B2B problems…. Purchase 225 ( 20.7) 45 (18.4) Negotiation / Vendor Finalization 143 ( 13.2) 40 (16.3) Research / Consideration 535 ( 49.3) 138 (56.3) Purchase Cycle Phase Awareness All Buyers n (%) 163 (15.0) Technical Buyers n (%) 20 (8.2) Role • • first learn about needs or opportunities learn about pain that needs to be solved information and/or data gathering, defining of requirements, vetting, screening of options, creation of a short list of candidate solutions reviewing vendors’ offerings before making recommendations, negotiating the best price, finalizing specifics of final purchase approval of purchase, recommendations and authorizing purchases completing required paperwork for procurement • • • 12 Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. 1628 Dickson Ave., Suite 300, Kelowna, BC, Canada V1Y 9X1 © Copyright 2007 Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. It is forbidden to copy this report in any manner. For permissions contact sales@enquiro.com. For more copies visit enquiroresearch.com What Percentage of your Knowledge comes from Vendor-Generated or Sponsored Content? Blue - Technical Buyers Red - Marketers What Types of Content do you most Frequently Pass Along? tential vendors for an initial short-list that is then escalated to the Technical Buyer. In fact, the latest MarketingSherpa Benchmark Guide (Business Technology Market- difficulty in marketing and building awareness in Technical Buyers. However, the very same guide also notes that Technical Buyers’ preferred search engine is Google, and that all but 2% of the market will eventually come in contact with shortGoogle prior to short-listing vendors (this mediaries on staff). Without a doubt, search is the best crossroad for building visibility. What is also important to note is the frequency with which Tech Buyers are looking for information online. According to KnowledgeStorm (Connecting ing 2007-08) cites the growing value of new media touch points and the overall fragmentation of attention as the major Through data includes responses from those inter- Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. 1628 Dickson Ave., Suite 300, Kelowna, BC, Canada V1Y 9X1 © Copyright 2007 Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. It is forbidden to copy this report in any manner. For permissions contact sales@enquiro.com. For more copies visit enquiroresearch.com 13 Content), 79% are on the web at least once a week. But what is important to note is that these statistics are examples of a growing trend in B2B marketing, and a change in the way of thinking for people the likes of Steven Fitzpatrick; namely, we are moving from a push marketing system to a user generated marketing system. right information visible for the needs and wants of your prospects. For example, if Steven Fitzpatrick needs a new Response Management Solution your Solution, website has to not only be visible in the SERP, but the messaging has to resonate with Steven’s primary needs. Another important consideration is that although you can control your landing page for sponsored listings, you cannot always guarantee that Steven will be going to your Homepage or Product pages via your organic listings (entirely dependent on page rankings and queries used). In fact, if searchers are using specific productuct-related terms to arrive deep within your In other words, it is the buyer that is initiating the contact with vendor, which means that you don’t necessarily control the messaging and perception of your brand, and that you had better have the 14 Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. 1628 Dickson Ave., Suite 300, Kelowna, BC, Canada V1Y 9X1 © Copyright 2007 Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. It is forbidden to copy this report in any manner. For permissions contact sales@enquiro.com. For more copies visit enquiroresearch.com website - it makes sense to have those all calls-toimportant calls-to-action and conversion triggers from your Homepage throughout You can’t always guarantee the right page ranking for the right query... your site. Knowing these facts is important; however, knowing how to implement these facts is what makes you successful. From a purely online marketing perspective, positioning is still at the forethought of search advertising: • • • Where do my listings have to be to be noticed by the right people? What engines should I be visible in? What should my messaging look like? As it turns out, technical buyers are less But I need to convert all possible traffic! Actual Linked Page responsive to sponsored advertising than the overall B2B population. In fact, they are 10% less likely to click on a sponsored listing; however, this may be because most sponsored messaging is sales oriented. Very few companies use sponsored listings to drive clicks to whitepaper downloads or product specifications. In addition, very few landing pages ever “mug the competition” or have comparative matrices of benefits Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. 1628 Dickson Ave., Suite 300, Kelowna, BC, Canada V1Y 9X1 © Copyright 2007 Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. It is forbidden to copy this report in any manner. For permissions contact sales@enquiro.com. For more copies visit enquiroresearch.com 15 Leveraging the SERP We are all familiar with Google and the Golden Triangle engagement with the SERP. This typical user engagement has become the foundation for many SEM strategies since we first developed it more than 3 years ago. There is no doubt that positioning of the listings is the largest factor in the We then took a look at MSN and Yahoo! and began to see a slightly different engagement pattern; namely, the F-scan pattern. “clickability” of your listings, but the emergence of Universal results in Google, as well as the drive by all Search Engines to make the SERP more relevant, is having a fairly dramatic effect on not only what listings are clicked, but why they are clicked as well. was at its peak. Recent Changes: Universal results are changing the standard interaction with the SERP. When we first wrote about the Golden Triangle, we were recognizing a very condensed fixation pattern on the top left of the Google SERP. As a result, we concluded that the best places to be were in the first 3 organic listings or the top sponsored - this is where your visibility F-Scan Pattern Google’s Golden Triangle 16 Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. 1628 Dickson Ave., Suite 300, Kelowna, BC, Canada V1Y 9X1 © Copyright 2007 Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. It is forbidden to copy this report in any manner. For permissions contact sales@enquiro.com. For more copies visit enquiroresearch.com The Golden Triangle of Google, as it turns out, is essentially an F-scan, but the added relevance and user perception of the listings condenses the F-shape so much that it actually looks more like an inverse triangle. In other words, there is far less vertical scanning in Google - which means you may be able to get away with a lower ranked listing in Yahoo! and MSN, but definitely not in Google. Essentially, the user engagement on the SERP is a slower vertical scan to about the fold and then a horizontal scan of those key areas of interest - top organic or top sponsored. However, the addition of Universal results in Google is changing this engagement and user orientation. In fact, the inclusion of these listings (news, videos, etc.) is creating a fence or barrier in the SERP scanning patterns. In other words, instead of the fold being the natural barrier, these multimedia listings are dividing up the SERP such that a user intensely scans above the Universal listing and only looks below if the top listings are not relevant. This is something we are calling “Fencing Scanning” and it is changing the accepted norms of SERP engagements, because now, instead of the fold Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. 1628 Dickson Ave., Suite 300, Kelowna, BC, Canada V1Y 9X1 © Copyright 2007 Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. It is forbidden to copy this report in any manner. For permissions contact sales@enquiro.com. For more copies visit enquiroresearch.com 17 being the blockade (a fixed page element) the Universal listing is performing the same function. You can also use language to mirror a users behavior intent. is a fair Share of Voice for certain keywords in certain engines, take a look at those SERPs and make some notes. 1. What page is the listing going to? Does the listing leverage the keyword in the title or messaging? What is the rank on the page? What are competitors doing different? 2. If there are quick wins like changing a title tag to make use of hitbolding, make the change. The key to establishing information scent is to make use of both contrast from other listings and the page as well as relevance. 3. If your rank is low and there is a fence (be it the fold or a universal listing) blocking the visibility of your listing you might want to mitigate this loss by buying some sponsored positioning above the fold. A lot of recent research suggests that cannibalization of clicks is not a major concern, and that having a presence in both sponsored and organic does more to drive up total clicks than total cost. What you want to do is leverage those key However, there is a problem! As an advertiser or marketer, you do not know where or when a universal listing is going to appear. As well, Yahoo! and MSN are following suit - and a lot of the vertical search engines also have these fencing elements already in place. elements like hitbolding to draw fixations and create interest in your listings - be they sponsored or organic, to drive up clicks. Because even if your listing is further down the SERP, like in position 6 or 7, using So what do you do? bolding to draw 80% of the total fixations is a much lower hanging fruit than the indepth on site improvements needed to Information scent is what drives clicks. drive up your natural rankings - which for highly competitive queries can take a very Information scent is that cognitive association of relevance that user acknowledges on the SERP in 500 milliseconds - it is the deciding factor from which all users assign a “clickability” rank to a listing. Start by conducting a SERP SWOT. Consult your analytics and compare your current You can build information scent by using keywords in your messaging and titles. traffic drivers with search volume numbers. If you aren’t getting what you think So what is the best action plan? long time. 18 Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. 1628 Dickson Ave., Suite 300, Kelowna, BC, Canada V1Y 9X1 © Copyright 2007 Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. It is forbidden to copy this report in any manner. For permissions contact sales@enquiro.com. For more copies visit enquiroresearch.com 4. How are your sponsored listings doing? Do they match the behavioral intent that is latent in the query? In other words, if somebody is using a research type keyword and you are using research type messaging (driving them to product specs and whitepapers) or is your messaging trying to motivate a quick sale with “Buy Now”? Traditionally, B2B markets do not do as well in sponsored because of the longer consideration phases and marketers’ inability to target search reand more than 2 touch points with a vendor to make a decision, building a relationship should be the focus of all your search listings.) 5. If you notice that universal listings like news articles are coming up for certain queries - ensure that future press releases are optimized for those specific keywords. sure you have it turned on at all times. As well, look at this action plan as a living entity - you cannot do a SERP SWOT once, you need to be constantly looking at improving your SERP visibility - because if you aren’t, we can guarantee that your competitor is. Looking at your analytics, find those keywords that are leading to a high abandonment rate and find out why? Does something need to be different on the landing page to coach conversions, leads, or downloads? Is it the wrong word to be optimized for and you are actually very visible for the wrong type of traffic? awareness stages specifically with a sales sage. stead, softer mesInthey Making sure that your analytics package can track click streams at a keyword referral level is paramount to making sure you have the right data to make informed decisions. All paid analytics packages have this functioning, you just need to make focus on closing the deal or getting a lead instead of building a relationship. (Given that 85%, according to Knowl- edgeStorm, of Technical Buyers need Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. 1628 Dickson Ave., Suite 300, Kelowna, BC, Canada V1Y 9X1 © Copyright 2007 Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. It is forbidden to copy this report in any manner. For permissions contact sales@enquiro.com. For more copies visit enquiroresearch.com 19 and specifications - the very information that influences technical buyers. Given that the intent when using search Intent For Search To learn more about a product/service (pricing, availability, requirements, features, specifications) To compare products/services against each other To read reviews about the product/service To navigate to a particular site To purchase a product/service Don't know Other n (%) 51 (48.0) 32 (30.5) 9 (8.6) 6 (5.7) 5 (4.8) 0 (0.0) 2 (1.9) Total Fixations on SERP 6% 13% 8% Successful Search Experience? Yes, I found all the information I needed to make the purchase decision Yes, I found some of the information I needed but had to use other sources before I could make a purchase decision No, I never found what I was looking for online and had to use other sources before I could make a purchase decision Don't Recall n (%) 99 (63.5) 54 (34.6) 0 (0.0) 3 (1.9) 73% their search experience successful anyways. Organic PPC Top PPC Right PPC Bottom Missing vendor websites are designed to create soft leads instead of inform prospects? However, considering the importance of the different components of the SERP ad in netting an eventual click, it does not make sense why the B2B market isn’t using messaging to meet technical buyers. Ranking is the least important factor, messaging and brand carry so much more significant weight. However, 34.6% still felt the need to look for more information after a sucfor most technical buyers is to learn more about and compare products and services and because sponsored listings have traditionally not maximized this need, it is no wonder that most technical buyers remain blind to these listings - especially when 98.1% of respondents considered Obviously some of this can be contributed to the longer consideration phase involved in B2B purchases, but couldn’t it also be partially due to the fact that most cessful search experience. 20 Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. 1628 Dickson Ave., Suite 300, Kelowna, BC, Canada V1Y 9X1 © Copyright 2007 Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. It is forbidden to copy this report in any manner. For permissions contact sales@enquiro.com. For more copies visit enquiroresearch.com Organic vs. Sponsored Click Through Organic:1 Organic:2 Organic:3 Organic:4 Organic:5 Organic:6 Organic:7 Organic:8 Organic:9 Organic:10 PPCTop:1 PPCTop:2 PPCTop:3 PPCTop:4 PPCRight:1 PPCRight:2 PPCRight:3 PPCRight:4 PPCRight:5 PPCRight:6 PPCRight:7 PPCRight:8 PPCBottom:1 Missing n (%) 61 (24.9) 28 (11.4) 19 (7.8) Importance of Factors in Click Through Title Brand Description Ranking Mean (±SD) 3.8 (±1.14) 4.4 (±0.77) 3.9 (±1.08) 3.5 (±1.25) 16 (6.5) 10 (4.1) 11 (4.5) 6 (2.4) 6 (2.4) 8 (3.3) 13 (5.3) 22 (9.0) 8 (3.3) 1 (0.4) 1 (0.4) 5 (2.0) 3 (1.2) 3 (1.2) 1 (0.4) 0 (0.0) 1 (0.4) 0 (0.0) 2 (0.8) 1 (0.4) 19 (7.8) Ranked 1 out of 7, 7 being most important When it comes right down to it, leveraging hitbolding in the title and description of your listings to establish information scent, in addition to using your already established brand recognition, can make your listings far more powerful than ranking alone. It seems that B2B still looks at online as only a lead generation tool, something that generates a contact for an offline sales agent to follow up on, but obviously technical buyers want more information from online. If a technical buyer isn’t getting all the necessary information from your website, then you are seriously running a risk of some other brand sneaking in via a SERP or industry website and stealing your prospect. Technical buyers are using online and search to select and screen out vendors; to create short lists; and to get competitive pricing for closing negotiations. Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. 1628 Dickson Ave., Suite 300, Kelowna, BC, Canada V1Y 9X1 © Copyright 2007 Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. It is forbidden to copy this report in any manner. For permissions contact sales@enquiro.com. For more copies visit enquiroresearch.com 21 What are a Technical Buyer’s Influencers? Clearly, it is important to target segments with the right kind of messaging, but in addition to making sure your arrow is on target, you also have to make sure you are picking the right arrow from your quiver. In other words, some types of influencers work better in certain channels for technical buyers. But influencers are different than onsite content. Onsite content may influence a conversion - it should - but when we refer to influencers here, we are talking about those factors that initiate a first visit to your website, or the start of an online relationship. (We discuss onsite Blue - Technical Buyers Red - Marketers What Types of Content do you Frequently Consume/Read? factors later in this report.) When we asked technical buyers to rank influencers on a scale of 1-7, online influencers like vendor websites and search engines outperformed offline influencers like trade shows and even paid consultant’s word of mouth. In fact, online influencers outranked 22 Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. 1628 Dickson Ave., Suite 300, Kelowna, BC, Canada V1Y 9X1 © Copyright 2007 Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. It is forbidden to copy this report in any manner. For permissions contact sales@enquiro.com. For more copies visit enquiroresearch.com Top Influences - Technical Buyers (All Phases) 6. 0 5. 5 5. 0 4. 5 4. 0 3. 5 3. 0 2. 5 2. 0 1. 5 1. 0 0. 5 0. 0 5.8 5.6 5.4 5.2 5.0 4.9 4.9 4.8 4.6 4.6 Vendo r Websites WOM - Colleague Search Engines Distributors Websites WOM - Friend WOM - P aid Co ns. Trade Pub Trade Shows Online Trade Pub Online Gen. Bus Pub Top Online Influences - Technical Buyers (All Phases) 6 5.5 5 4.5 4 3.5 3 2.5 2 1.5 1 0.5 0 5.8 5.4 5.2 4.4 4.6 4.6 4.2 3.9 4.0 4.0 4.2 3.7 3.6 M an. Websites Search Engines Dis. Websites Online WOM Online Trade P ub Online Gen. Bus. P ub Online Video Opt in email RSS Feeds Webinars P odcasts So cial Net Sites Online News Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. 1628 Dickson Ave., Suite 300, Kelowna, BC, Canada V1Y 9X1 © Copyright 2007 Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. It is forbidden to copy this report in any manner. For permissions contact sales@enquiro.com. For more copies visit enquiroresearch.com 23 edged out offline influencers with a mean rating of 5.12, compared to 5.04. This may not be compelling evidence for the overpowering influence of online influencers in technical buyers, but it definitely shows a level playing field between online and offline - which is a major contrast to the ratio of five or ten years ago. Clearly, online influencers are gaining ground as the Internet is becoming a daily tool in the technical buyer’s arsenal. What was most interesting, was that technical buyers actually placed a higher value on a vendor’s website than a colleague’s suggestion - clearly, there is a need for technical buyers to get the information directly from the “horse’s mouth.” When we looked specifically at online influencers, websites and search engines carried the most weight for technical buyers - which is very much aligned with the direct messaging perspective we have already noted. What is also interesting to note is the relatively low penetration rate of social Top Online Influences - Awareness 6. 0 5. 5 5. 0 4. 5 4. 0 3. 5 3. 0 2. 5 2. 0 1. 5 1. 0 0. 5 0. 0 Search Engines M an. Websites Dis. Online Gen. Websites Bus. Pub Online News Social Net Sites Online WOM Opt in email Online Trade Pub Podcasts Online Video RSS Feeds Webinars 5.4 5.4 4.7 4.7 4.3 4.1 4.1 4.1 3.7 3.6 3.5 3.4 3.4 Top Online Influences - Research 6. 0 5. 5 5. 0 4. 5 4. 0 3. 5 3. 0 2. 5 2. 0 1. 5 1. 0 0. 5 0. 0 5.8 5.3 5.2 4.5 4.7 4.6 4.2 3.8 3.9 3.9 4.2 3.7 3.4 Search Engines M an. Websites Dis. Websites Online WOM Online Online Gen. Trade Pub Bus. Pub Online Video Opt in email RSS Feeds Webinars Podcasts Social Net Sites Online News 24 Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. 1628 Dickson Ave., Suite 300, Kelowna, BC, Canada V1Y 9X1 © Copyright 2007 Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. It is forbidden to copy this report in any manner. For permissions contact sales@enquiro.com. For more copies visit enquiroresearch.com Top Online Influences - Negotiation 6. 0 5. 5 5. 0 4. 5 4. 0 3. 5 3. 0 2. 5 2. 0 1. 5 1. 0 0. 5 0. 0 Search Engines M an. Websit es Dis. Websit es Online WOM Online Online Gen. Trade Pub Bus. Pub Online Video Opt in email RSS Feeds Webinars Podcast s Social Net Sites Online News media influencers or web 2.0, like social net sites and podcasts, on the technical buyer. 5.8 5.3 5.5 4.9 4.3 4.6 4.4 But 4.2 4.2 4.2 3.8 4.0 4.2 what about the different phases in the purchasing cycle? What is particularly interesting is the fact that technical buyers, as per the survey, place less stock in distributors websites, online trade publications, and online video in the awareness phase of the purchasing cycle. Technical buyers in the awareness phase are more readily influenced by search engines and manufacturers websites. Clearly search is a big proponent at creat- Top Online Influences - Purchase 6. 0 5. 5 5. 0 4. 5 4. 0 3. 5 3. 0 2. 5 2. 0 1. 5 1. 0 0. 5 0. 0 5.5 5.8 5.2 4.6 4.4 4.4 4.1 3.7 4.1 4.1 4.0 3.6 4.1 ing initial awareness - based on pain and product queries - for a brand, which must be resonated on the actual manufacturers website. This is very aligned with the fact that in the awareness phase it is often an intermediary for the technical buyer that is Search Engines M an. Websit es Dis. Websit es Online WOM Online Online Gen. Trade Pub Bus. Pub Online Video Opt in email RSS Feeds Webinars Podcast s Social Net Sites Online News taking a first cut at short-listing potential vendors. This means you have to be visible in the SERPs of the right engines, in- Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. 1628 Dickson Ave., Suite 300, Kelowna, BC, Canada V1Y 9X1 © Copyright 2007 Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. It is forbidden to copy this report in any manner. For permissions contact sales@enquiro.com. For more copies visit enquiroresearch.com 25 How to Build Online Buzz Using the online environment to spread word of mouth has evolved as one of the most powerful channels for B2B marketing (similar to offline word-of-mouth). WOM is already the oldest marketing medium; the advantage of online WOM (or Digital Word of Mouth DWOM) as opposed to the traditional face-to-face WOM lies in its measurability and accountability. What’s more, WOM works in the B2B environment because users tend to ask colleagues about their experiences and are risk averse, especially for large purchases. The Phelon Group recently conducted a client survey measuring primary sources of information. The survey found that 33% of respondents turned to colleagues and peers for input. Next was the Internet at 21%. In addition, the confirmed likelihood A 2007 study by B2B Online found that WOM online typically uses interactive PR, websites (own, social networking sites etc.), IM, and blogs. (B2B sales are more Educating B2B users about products and services. Identifying businesses most likely to share their opinions. Providing tools that make it easier for other businesses to share information. of businesses to recommend a product or service they purchased can influence the growth of that product. 26% of respondents indicated that they have used a social networking site as a marketing channel, while another 22% indicated that they plan to do so this year. The proactive management of positive buzz means cultivating customer advocates. Many are already located within the boundaries of a good customer reference program. Nurturing these advocates equals shaping the references—the buzz— that will result. Steven Nicks Another study conducted by iProspect found that the top reasons for placing content on social networking sites include driving traffic (51%); creating brand awareness (32%); direct selling (25%); and influencing a purchase decision (15%). Through WOM, businesses can share their experiences (see definition by WOMMA); WOM includes elements such as: and more affected by social networking, being the largest growing channel with a huge potential for B2B.) 26 Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. 1628 Dickson Ave., Suite 300, Kelowna, BC, Canada V1Y 9X1 © Copyright 2007 Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. It is forbidden to copy this report in any manner. For permissions contact sales@enquiro.com. For more copies visit enquiroresearch.com Analyzing how, where, and when opinions are being shared. Listening and responding to all types of feedback. Businesses using WOM and the “online buzz” understand that the Internet gives them the opportunity to create meaningful and relevant messages that can be targeted to their most influential prospects. WOM campaigns do not require an established brand, are not cost-prohibitive and can be measured. As opposed to other media, WOM campaigns typically do not have a defined start and end date and are best compared to ongoing PR or reputation management efforts. When thoroughly planned, WOM is a critical part of a larger marketing strategy. If you want to conduct a WOM campaign properly, try to: Communicate successes and positive testimonials. Make sure the content is worthwhile for users to engage with and the chosen channels (e.g. websites) are relevant. Target value propositions to the needs of the customers (such as Webinar) Create a WOM and blog strategy and establish relationships with bloggers. Add video and games, use podcasts and Webinar. Create an interactive space on the website to encourage sharing and discussions. Interactive PR as a key tool for online WOM includes tactics such as keywordoptimizing online news releases and distributing them on PR websites or blogs, promoting social bookmarking links (newsvine, del.ico.uis), establishing relationships with influencers in your industry, setting up an online news room, and monitoring press coverage and measure exposure (e.g. with Google alerts for key- one-way communication. Create an open and engaging dialogue with your target audience and be honest about who you are. Recently referrals systems have been included in online WOM to reward people that spread the (good) word about a company or request information based on WOM media. However, avoid compensation or unnaturally happy stories as they are not well received. B2B marketers need to remember that WOM involves cultural issues that can affect the way other users communicate or receive messages. Therefore cultural aspects need to be addressed when starting a “buzz” online. • Don’t overdo it! But when it comes down to it, you have to be able to track it as well, launching a campaign can only be proven successful if it actually feeds real online leads which means you better be able to quantify it. words) Remember that this online exposure is two-way as opposed to the traditional Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. 1628 Dickson Ave., Suite 300, Kelowna, BC, Canada V1Y 9X1 © Copyright 2007 Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. It is forbidden to copy this report in any manner. For permissions contact sales@enquiro.com. For more copies visit enquiroresearch.com 27 that? But how do you do that Start by tracking everything, it may seem like overkill, but having a strong reputation management process is vital to building effective online WOM. Monitor: • • • • Variations of your company name Names of key employees Names of your competitors Names of your products/services With what? Try using the following tools: • • • • • • • http://w.moreover.com/categories/ category_list.html http://news.yahoo.com/rss www.technorati.com/blogs http://alerts.yahoo.com/ www.google.com/alerts http://blogpulse.com/trend http://blogpulse.com/conversation Using these tools you can find opportunities to leverage, locate those key online influencers that spread WOM like wildfire, and begin to build strategic relationships to better brand your company and webThese tools aggregate what is being said out in the blogosphere or anywhere else online about your brand or any keywords. site. 28 Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. 1628 Dickson Ave., Suite 300, Kelowna, BC, Canada V1Y 9X1 © Copyright 2007 Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. It is forbidden to copy this report in any manner. For permissions contact sales@enquiro.com. For more copies visit enquiroresearch.com Leveraging a Distributor’s Website A distributor’s website presents an excellent opportunity for various marketing tactics in B2B. The advantages of working with a distributor are the already existing relationship, the visibility of the products on the distributor’s website and the access to a relevant target market for marketing efforts. To best utilize the potential, a sensible and honest approach appears most suitable. You should initiate discussions with the distributor to communicate your goals and objectives. Together, you should generate a plan that provides mutual benefits for any initiatives implemented on the website (branding and sales for the business, sales • • • • Focus the marketing efforts on the distributor’s website on your brands and branding initiatives, tying it into existing branding campaigns and ensuring a consistent message. Make extensive use of your logo and other branding details. Provide the distributor with press releases, news releases, or testimonials about the product. This information can be linked to the products on the distributor’s site and improve the customer’s information compilation during the decision-making process. Supply links to company and product information published on other websites (such as articles, reviews, etc.). • If available, offer the distributor Webinar content or offer to co-host a Webinar (hosted through the business’s, the In particular, the following items should be acknowledged: • • • logue with the customers: use blogs to post relevant messages or respond to questions, concerns and comments from the end users. Encourage direct communication, if possible, through email and links in the blog postings. Establish links that users of the distributor’s website can use to look up more information on the company’s own website (e.g. sizing, manufac- turing, mission/vision statements or environmental standards). and customer satisfaction for the distributor). distributor’s or a third party website). Use the website to engage in a dia- Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. 1628 Dickson Ave., Suite 300, Kelowna, BC, Canada V1Y 9X1 © Copyright 2007 Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. It is forbidden to copy this report in any manner. For permissions contact sales@enquiro.com. For more copies visit enquiroresearch.com 29 cluding vertical niche engines. When it comes to building awareness, your primary focus better be on search, your website, the distributor’s website, and targeted online periodicals. However, when in the research phase, those secondary influencers (distributor To p Offline Influences - Technical Buyers (All Phases) 6. 0 5. 5 5. 0 4. 5 4. 0 3. 5 3. 0 2. 5 2. 0 1. 5 1. 0 0. 5 0. 0 5.6 4.8 4.6 4.9 4.3 4.4 3.9 4.2 4.3 3.6 3.8 5.0 4.9 websites, online trade publications, general business publications, and online video) play a bigger role in influencing the eventual purchase decision. Because at this stage in the buying funnel, technical buyers are confirming vendors for short-lists, and looking for 3rd party content to confirm your marketing message - content like reviews and testimonials, not packaged case studies. What is interesting however is the increased role of online video, especially as the Internet becomes alive with this new medium - something that B2B has been slow to adopt, and yet those that have, have found a great deal of success in the medium. Consider LiveVault who used John Cleese Trade Shows Pr ess Releases Opt - in Dir ect Mail Tr ade Pub. Seminar s Br oadcast TV Newspapers Pr int Dir ect or ies Radio Fr iend or Relat ive (WOM) Colleague or Paid (WOM) Niche TV Peer ( WOM) Consult ant To p Offline Influences - Awareness 6. 0 5. 5 5. 0 4. 5 4. 0 3. 5 3. 0 2. 5 2. 0 1. 5 1. 0 0. 5 0. 0 5.7 5.1 4.6 4.1 4.5 4.3 4.5 4.1 3.8 4.1 3.9 3.5 3.4 Trade Shows Pr ess Releases Opt - in Dir ect Mail Tr ade Pub. Seminar s Br oadcast TV Newspapers Pr int Dir ect or ies Radio Fr iend or Relat ive (WOM) Colleague or Paid ( WOM) Niche TV Peer ( WOM) Consult ant 30 Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. 1628 Dickson Ave., Suite 300, Kelowna, BC, Canada V1Y 9X1 © Copyright 2007 Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. It is forbidden to copy this report in any manner. For permissions contact sales@enquiro.com. For more copies visit enquiroresearch.com Top Offline Influences - Research 6. 0 5. 5 5. 0 4. 5 4. 0 3. 5 3. 0 2. 5 2. 0 1. 5 1. 0 0. 5 0. 0 5.6 4.7 4.9 4.4 4.2 4.4 4.0 4.2 4.2 3.7 3.8 5.1 4.9 to sell their offsite storage solution in the B2B market - their viral video increased sales by over 1000%. In addition, websites like CNet can produce video segments at a minor fraction of the cost of TV and hit a highly targeted audience, as a result, a lot of 3rd party review sites have started experimenting with video and it is obviously resonating with the B2B technical buyer. Trade Shows Pr ess Releases Opt - in Dir ect Mail Tr ade Pub. Seminar s Br oadcast TV Newspapers Pr int Dir ect or ies Radio Fr iend or Relat ive (WOM) Colleague or Paid ( WOM) Niche TV Peer ( WOM) Consult ant As they enter the negotiation stage though, social channels build in influence as Webinar and social net sites seem to Top Offline Influences - Negot iat ion 6. 0 5. 5 5. 0 4. 5 4. 0 3. 5 3. 0 2. 5 2. 0 1. 5 1. 0 0. 5 0. 0 T r ade Shows P r es s Rel eas es Opt -i n Di r ect M ai l T r ade P ub. Semi nar s B r oadc ast T V News paper s P r i nt Di r ec t or i es Radi o Fr i end/ Rel at i v e Col l eague/ P eer P ai d Consul t ant (WOM ) (WOM ) (WOM ) Ni c he T V serve as the fodder for making price point decisions - but then these channels revert in influence once the buyer enters the 5.0 4.0 3.6 5.2 4.9 4.1 5.1 4.5 4.1 3.9 4.3 5.4 4.8 purchase phase. In the purchase phase, not surprisingly, you are the primary influencer. You have made your way through the series of short-lists to become the confirmed vendor, but you aren’t done yet. At the purchase phase you have to reaffirm your selling proposition and benefits. Online WOM is most important at this stage because buyers want to be abso- Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. 1628 Dickson Ave., Suite 300, Kelowna, BC, Canada V1Y 9X1 © Copyright 2007 Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. It is forbidden to copy this report in any manner. For permissions contact sales@enquiro.com. For more copies visit enquiroresearch.com 31 Driving Offline Traffic Online users (over 6.5 billion users are estiAs the two worlds of offline and online traffic experience more integration and coordination, more and more opportunities evolve to influence one world with efforts in the other world. Offline B2B target markets have traditionally been approached with calls to action that remained in the offline world, for example direct mail recipients were asked to mail in a card or make a phone call. However, increasingly offline traffic is invited to go online and use the website for the next action. • To create online traffic from offline initiatives and traffic, the following practices should be considered: • A basic strategy is to ensure that your URL is prominent on all offline materials. With the growing rate of online Remember that online conversions and online communications tend to be considerably less expensive than offline communication. • Offline store, traffic from many sources • mated for 2007; Internet World Stats; http://www.internetworldstats.com/ stats.htm), the number of B2B customers that will initiate or follow up a first contact with a business online is growing. The URL should be featured on brochures that are handed out at trade shows; it should be on business cards for all sales team members; it should be printed in magazine articles and magazine ads; and the URL should be visible on invoices, proposals and invitations. • In addition, all offline traffic should be shown an incentive to go online and use the online medium to get information or get in touch with the company (lower costs for the company). This incentive could include special information that is included on the website such as white papers and articles, games or sweepstakes that are available on the website or other reasons to encourage people to visit the company’s online presence. Word of mouth is also a very effective should be considered and targeted: subscribers (newspapers, • All PR should include the company’s URL. This includes press releases, articles, printed materials, trade show and event exposure as well as community events. To drive this traffic to the website, ensure that your URL is prominent. magazines), personal communication, radio, TV, etc. 32 Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. 1628 Dickson Ave., Suite 300, Kelowna, BC, Canada V1Y 9X1 © Copyright 2007 Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. It is forbidden to copy this report in any manner. For permissions contact sales@enquiro.com. For more copies visit enquiroresearch.com way to drive offline traffic online. The word-of-mouth strategy should include referrals to the website and encourage search for information online. According to Steven Moray of Media Post, “over the past few years we’ve seen a paradigm shift in the way consumers are reacting to advertising presented through traditional offline media. Today, consumers’ behavior is being driven by their abilDriving local business to your website is a way to keep costs down and relationships growing. In fact, AT&T started using unique URLs in In fact, in a Neilson/Netratings and its offline campaigns to drive traffic to their website, what they saw was a 62% response rate, of which, 90% returned using that unique URL. They didn’t get there via search, because the only visibility of the URL was through their offline print campaign. That’s great, obviously people are looking online, but are they just looking for phone numbers? According to the survey, 68% were, but 32% preferred to make that initial contact online, and 54% bookmarked or revisited the website to get further information. AT&T had used unique 1-800 numbers in previous print campaigns to track and attribute sales, with the unique URL they say a 55% increase in direct sales. WebVisible survey in 2006, of 2,866 survey respondents overall, 70% had used the Internet to search for a local service business; while 46% (1,319 respondents) had done so in the past 90 days. ity to choose from multiple response options.” There are no heavy costs associated with creating unique URLs and redirecting (other than registering the domain), but if consumers, including B2B, are looking for multiple touch points and the ability to look at you online; doesn’t it make sense to evolve your marketing strategy such that offline marketing is driving traffic online? What does it mean? Where is some untapped potential? What about dollars and cents? Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. 1628 Dickson Ave., Suite 300, Kelowna, BC, Canada V1Y 9X1 © Copyright 2007 Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. It is forbidden to copy this report in any manner. For permissions contact sales@enquiro.com. For more copies visit enquiroresearch.com 33 lutely sure they are making the right decision before they sign that check or SOW. We need only look at events like Dell Hell to know the impact bad buzz can play at later stages in the buying funnel - it can absolutely kill a relationship and turn a client into a detractor in the blink of an eye. Would they go online? Yes No Don’t Recall n (%) 214 (88.2) 29 (11.8) 0 (0.0) Would They Use Online - by Phase 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% 95.0 5.0 8.0 30.0 11.1 92.0 70.0 88.9 Awareness Research Yes No Negotiation Purchase Top Offline Influences - Purchase What about offline factors? When we look at offline influencers for technical buyers, peer/colleague opinions and trade shows/publications (including press releases) carry the largest influence, but the majority is actual word of mouth (WOM) - be it from friends, colleagues, or paid consultants. Throughout the entire purchase cycle this trending of online influencers remains relatively stable - in other words, at no particular stage does any one influence 6. 0 5. 5 5. 0 4. 5 4. 0 3. 5 3. 0 2. 5 2. 0 1. 5 1. 0 0. 5 0. 0 5.2 4.7 4.4 5.5 5.0 4.5 3.5 4.3 4.0 4.7 3.7 4.8 3.7 Tr ade Shows Pr ess Releases Opt -in Direct Mail Tr ade Pub. Seminars Broadcast TV Newspaper s Pr int Dir ect ories Radio Fr iend or Relat ive (WOM) Colleague or Paid ( WOM) Niche TV Peer ( WOM) Consult ant 34 Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. 1628 Dickson Ave., Suite 300, Kelowna, BC, Canada V1Y 9X1 © Copyright 2007 Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. It is forbidden to copy this report in any manner. For permissions contact sales@enquiro.com. For more copies visit enquiroresearch.com type gain importance to a technical buyer. For a publisher, online delivers much betFrom a marketing perspective this raises an interesting dilemma, we know that the impact of online influencers fluctuates, but if offline is stagnant - is there a need to focus more on online engagement; especially as most trade publications exist in both channels? Simply put, offline influencers seem to be This question is more interesting when we acknowledge that over 88% of technical buyers surveyed would go online when involved in a purchase decision. Even in the negotiation phase, 70% of technical buyers consult various online influencers. But the biggest offline factors are WOM and Trade Shows & journals, all of which have direct online components. Compared to offline WOM, online WOM is more influential because of its speed, conOffline influencers haven’t changed very much in the past 20 years in the B2B market. Besides the creation of some very niche satellite channels, it is not as if any new medium has been tapped as an offline influencer. No new periodicals have emerged - in fact, most of those smaller highly targeted B2B periodicals have moved online due to lower costs and fledgling subscription rates. However, online media may be a more quantifiable and cost-effective method for generating WOM traction than offline, but venience, one-to-many reach, and its absence of face-to-face human pressure (Phelps et al., 2004). What’s more, via the Internet, people can solicit the opinions of virtual strangers; whereas offline, people usually only solicit the opinions of close friends or trusted colleagues. more a function of market reach than content or relevance. ter returns. Even large catalogue companies like Grainger have transitioned their strategies towards online publishing - so it is little wonder why the role of offline influencer doesn’t seem to change regardless of the phase a technical buyer is in. eMarketer research shows that traditional advertising holds more sway over those online influencers that are blogging and creating WOM. For example, 64% of influencers do online research after seeing or hearing an ad on TV or the radio--but only 30% notice an online ad and later visit the Web site. eMarketer's research may have been a broad based sample that included both B2B and B2C, but this doesn’t necessarily negate the role that both online and offline WOM play in the technical buyers purchasing decision. Why is this the case? What’s more, where do trade show patrons go when they get back to their hotel rooms? Online. In fact, according to MarketingSherpa’s Benchmarking Guide, most patrons look online to qualify sales messaging and offers, as well as get more information on products and services introduced in the tradeshow. Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. 1628 Dickson Ave., Suite 300, Kelowna, BC, Canada V1Y 9X1 © Copyright 2007 Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. It is forbidden to copy this report in any manner. For permissions contact sales@enquiro.com. For more copies visit enquiroresearch.com 35 Using Microsites for Tradeshows - What are the benefits? A microsite (minisite, weblet) is a subpage of a company’s website that is different from the homepage, has a separate URL and is used to provide content for a specific audience or objective. The strategic purpose, focus and benefits of a microsite should be well defined before it is put in place. Typically a microsite supports a specific marketing campaign, and therefore can be used to assist a trade show by directing traffic related to the event to this subpage. Trade shows are popular industry events; revenues from trade shows have surpassed print advertising revenue in the B2B sector, trade show revenue is up more than 5% over 2006 and attendance is up 3% over 2006 (http:// • The microsite can include specific content that is related specifically to the trade show topic. It can provide content related to the event as well as The traffic to the microsite can originate provide access to further information • The microsite’s purpose should be specific to converting the contacts from the trade show or the trade show materials. When people visit the microsite they are w w w . a i c p a l e a r n i n g . o r g / profdev_news.asp?id=10364). • The microsite can target a specific audience that will attend the trade show. This could be slightly or significantly different from the regular target audience and the homepage traffic. from face-to-face conversations during the trade show, print materials that were handed out during or before the trade show as well as event-supporting print, TV/radio or direct mail initiatives. A microsite targeted towards a trade show audience can generate extraordinary interest from the press and customers. The benefits of using a microsite for a trade show are: • When the microsite is announced prior to the event, the content can include registrations for demos or presentations during the trade show, enabling the visitors to secure spots for these events and plan their trade show calendars. • The microsite can include a separate call to action relating to the trade show, such as downloading a white paper that was discussed during the event or requesting a call about a specific product or service. The call to action needs to be obvious. and links to products or services that relate to the topic. 36 Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. 1628 Dickson Ave., Suite 300, Kelowna, BC, Canada V1Y 9X1 © Copyright 2007 Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. It is forbidden to copy this report in any manner. For permissions contact sales@enquiro.com. For more copies visit enquiroresearch.com already interested in the product so the site needs to focus on good quality information to further the dialogue and relationship. • Using the contacts from the trade show, a company can also email a link to the microsite to potential customers after the event. • A microsite provides the advantage of measurability of the success of the trade show. If all traffic relating to the trade show gets directed to this page it becomes easy to measure the conversion rate relating to this event. • The microsite should take into consideration various methods of access, such as accommodating remote access through BlackBerry technology (when • and give visitors choices for display. Links to the microsite would typically be inactivated after the event. The pages, however, should remain on the server so that people can still access them directly. crosite visitor viewed more than 25 pages on the microsite during the month of the event and 10 pages in the following month. Rolls-Royce’s homepage averaged about 1.5 pages per visitor during the same time. For case studies on microsites for trade Analysis for a microsite that Rolls-Royce created for an event in Paris (containing shows see: • • http://www.tribeagency.com/news/ detail.asp?newsID=278 https://www.marketingsherpa.com/ article.html?ident=23352 condensed information, updates throughout the event, and details about the event location) showed that the average mi- potential clients are accessing the website during the trade show), various levels of bandwidth and different sizes of screens. Loading time should be fast Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. 1628 Dickson Ave., Suite 300, Kelowna, BC, Canada V1Y 9X1 © Copyright 2007 Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. It is forbidden to copy this report in any manner. For permissions contact sales@enquiro.com. For more copies visit enquiroresearch.com 37 What are Technical Buyers Looking for on Your Website? With the vendor’s website being one of the top influencers in the technical You can’t be everything to everyone, but given the influence of technical buyers and the role they play in making you a preferred vendor, ensuring that your messagWe asked participants to rate a number of factors on a scale of one to seven based on buyer’s purchase decision, shouldn’t you know what you need to have on your website to coach a purchase or shrink the consideration gap between awareness and a lead? ing is tailored to their language and presented in the ways they respond to is always a smart business practice. Top Site Factors - Total (All Phases) 6 5.5 5 4.5 4 3.5 3 2.5 2 1.5 1 0.5 0 s o o s rs ers Inf on Inf di e pe ap ri s le ct Pa Stu eP ab du pa it ch m se ad Pro Wh Te Co Ca nl o bl e ow a D ad nl o ow D s ts ca od P g t t. s ns ny ch ci n ou en ar s se pa c tio r oa Ab P ri res bin Ba om un P e pp fo e nd F W tC dg l In ou dia sA at ou ny' yF wle era Ch ime Ab s il pa no en ul t ne o K m li G M Ea Inf Co On r& le a C 5.6 5.3 4.7 5.6 5.7 5.1 4.5 4.0 3.7 4.9 5.6 5.3 4.7 4.1 4.1 38 Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. 1628 Dickson Ave., Suite 300, Kelowna, BC, Canada V1Y 9X1 © Copyright 2007 Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. It is forbidden to copy this report in any manner. For permissions contact sales@enquiro.com. For more copies visit enquiroresearch.com Top Site Factors - Awareness 6 5. 5 5 4. 5 4 3. 5 3 2. 5 2 1. 5 1 0. 5 0 o rs s s o ers Inf on pe Inf di e ap ct ri s le Pa Stu du hP pa ab te c o i se m ad Pr Te Wh Ca Co nl o le iv e le ab ow ns ab D ad te ad Ex nl o nl o ow ow D D ts cas od P g t ns s ny ns ch ci n ou ar s ti o se pa c tio r oa Ab P ri bin Ba nta om un e e pp fo e nd C s F W u dg sA l In ut at Fo P re ny' bo wle Ch era ia il y pa no en oA ed ne as m K li G E Inf l tim Co On r& Mu le a C 5.5 5.0 4.5 4.3 4.5 4.5 4.3 4.3 4.5 4.8 4.5 4.0 4.5 3.8 4.3 their importance in influencing the purchase decision. The most significant finding was the importance of relatively straightforward presentations of product information. Across all phases, price and product information, in a straightforward text based format, were considered the most important pieces of information to be passed along. After product information, company profile, and information about the company’s approach to customer service was the next most important factor. There was a cluster of factors that could be considered “support information” that ranked second in terms of importance. These included general information, case studies, downloadable white papers and knowledge bases. Finally, the lowest rank factors were generally more multimedia “bells and whistles”, including podcasts, Webinar, online chat functions and multimedia presentations. What is especially interesting however, is the increased importance of tech papers and downloadable collateral to technical buyers - not necessarily in the awareness phase, but throughout the research/ Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. 1628 Dickson Ave., Suite 300, Kelowna, BC, Canada V1Y 9X1 © Copyright 2007 Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. It is forbidden to copy this report in any manner. For permissions contact sales@enquiro.com. For more copies visit enquiroresearch.com 39 Rich Media in B2B Nowadays, the average user is becoming very familiar and engaged with video and other rich media files online. In fact, the top visited websites in the world, YouTube, Facebook, and MySpace, are all built around not only this concept of social networking, but communicating via rich media files - be it video, images, or audio. More than likely an effect of the rapid adoption of broadband in North America and the increased processing power of today’s desktops; rich media is a daily engagement for most people. And as a result, the lines between traditional media and online are beginning to blur. Why else would big players like NBC/ Universal be developing their own online broadcasts and communities? B2C is rife with video and audio files, For B2B websites, adding rich media allows your website to bridge that communication gap that exists online. Rather building more complex websites to impart specific messaging to their market. After all, a description of a sweater isn’t quite as relevant or resonant as an image, or better yet, a video or FLASH file with 3-D perspective, a pretty model, and a soundtrack. Think about a prospect that is in the process of short listing potential vendors. If your website can answer more questions than a competitors, you have an advantage. But what about if your website could offer a Let me ask you a question… how relevant and resonant is a description of rock crusher and sorting belts, as opposed to a video file of one in action, showing input and output, as well as how easy it is to use? But in this case a guy in a hard hat might work better than a pretty model, but 3-D capabilities would be cool. Many companies have found success with rich media targeted at the awareness stage, take LiveVault as an example. But very few B2B websites leverage rich media specifically for the research stage, where there is the most potential to connect with a prospect. virtual tour of the manufacturing plant, video testimonials, and clips of your machinery actually in action - wouldn’t that give you a further advantage? than wait for sales to make contact and go through brochures and maybe an onsite tour, you can direct prospects to videos and images on your website. It’s cheaper. B2B! But this is B2B 40 Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. 1628 Dickson Ave., Suite 300, Kelowna, BC, Canada V1Y 9X1 © Copyright 2007 Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. It is forbidden to copy this report in any manner. For permissions contact sales@enquiro.com. For more copies visit enquiroresearch.com Some webmasters are scared off because of the difficulty in optimizing rich media for search (use keywords rich alt tags and you should be fine). Some are scared off because they think prospects just want clear and direct information. This is true, but rich media can be clear and direct as well. You don’t need to hire Spielberg, just think about what your prospect would like to know. Sometimes a text description might be the best way to impart the information, but other times, rich media might be the better option. It is important, however, to make sure that if you choose to use video or FLASH, you should make sure that content exists in text format as well. Not only for those whose computers and connections are slower, but for those who prefer text and especially for search engine spiders. Redundancy may seem like an inefficiency, but sometimes it is about giving your pros- pect options that gives you a competitive advantage. Just don’t overdo it! Like all things, rich media is only effective in moderation. For example, it is well known that moving objects capture people’s attention compared to static objects. However, on a webpage, if you have more than two flashes showing at the same time, they may not work as you expect. Sensory overload can sometimes cause blindness to the messaging as multiple images and files compete for a prospect’s attention. Basically, it provides too much information for users to carry and process, and thus, users may suspend/abandon the webpage. Therefore, the information, you assume should be picked up quickly, may not even get through. Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. 1628 Dickson Ave., Suite 300, Kelowna, BC, Canada V1Y 9X1 © Copyright 2007 Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. It is forbidden to copy this report in any manner. For permissions contact sales@enquiro.com. For more copies visit enquiroresearch.com 41 consideration and especially in the negotiation phase. What technical buyer’s expect to see on your website is very much aligned with what a technical buyers role in the purchasing decision is: he is there to short list and compare the benefits of vendors. Ultimately, he is responsible for presenting the preferred vendor based on a standard business matrix comparison (weighing out the cost/benefit of each service/product). What about certain stages? Awareness Stage Interestingly, when a technical buyer is in the awareness phase of the buying funnel, he is far more interested in first stage product information that can be taken with him; namely, downloadable tech papers and clear pricing information. In addition, it is in this phase that a technical buyer is more likely to interact with your “bells & whistles” - Webinar, case studies, podcasts, and videos. This insight lends itself to a creative SEM and SEO strategy. Why not funnel those very broad keyword queries typical of an awareness stage visit to multimedia content and takeaways? In extension, use your branding campaigns and display ads to direct to this same type of content. According to Nick Nyhan of Dynamic Logic [Millard Brown] (see chart above), display Just make sure that those landing pages are and video are powerful advertising mediums at building brand recognition in the awareness stage, more so than search, your website, or email. Rich Media creates interest and plays a critical role in driving traffic to your website. 42 Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. 1628 Dickson Ave., Suite 300, Kelowna, BC, Canada V1Y 9X1 © Copyright 2007 Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. It is forbidden to copy this report in any manner. For permissions contact sales@enquiro.com. For more copies visit enquiroresearch.com primed with clear product and pricing information that can be quickly downloaded and used as criteria for short listing your company. A potential win for you could be to use this content to mug the competition. In other words, present a matrix that shows what your competitors offer and why your product/service is better. In effect, you will control more of the decision making collateral for the technical buyer. Interestingly, once that buyer confirms your matrix with your competitors it only works to reinforce your brand dominance. Research Stage As the technical buyer transitions into the research stage, the desired content revolves around extensive product information. Let’s not forget that it is in this stage that technical buyers are culling vendors and creating a list of 3 or 4 prospects, so obviously they are looking for content that directly matches their decision criteria. So what is the learning for you to apply? Optimize your landing pages for research queries, like “server product specifications,” with conversion triggers for Top Site Factors - Research 6 5.5 5 4.5 4 3.5 3 2.5 2 1.5 1 0.5 0 5.3 4.6 4.1 3.7 5.6 5.6 5.7 5.1 4.5 4.8 4.3 5.6 4.6 4.2 5.4 o s o ers ers ns Inf Inf di e ap ap ct ri so le Stu du eP hP ab pa c it m se ad Pr o Te Wh Co Ca nl o le iv e bl e ab ow ns a D ad te ad Ex nl o nl o ow ow D D as dc Po ts g s t s ny ns ch ci n i on ou ar s se pa c tio r oa tat P ri Ab bin Ba om un e pp en fo e nd C s F W dg sA ou l In ut at P re ny' bo yF wle er a Ch ia pa s il no en oA ed ne m K li G Ea Inf l tim Co On r& Mu le a C Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. 1628 Dickson Ave., Suite 300, Kelowna, BC, Canada V1Y 9X1 © Copyright 2007 Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. It is forbidden to copy this report in any manner. For permissions contact sales@enquiro.com. For more copies visit enquiroresearch.com 43 The Power of Testimonials by individuals that some product or ser- like before I joined Jenny Craig. Look at me now!” That’s a testimonial. What is a testimonial? A testimonial is a persuasive claim made vice benefited them in some way. It is a statement of endorsement. For example, when you’re watching TV and someone comes on and says, “this is what I looked Why do testimonials work? 44 Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. 1628 Dickson Ave., Suite 300, Kelowna, BC, Canada V1Y 9X1 © Copyright 2007 Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. It is forbidden to copy this report in any manner. For permissions contact sales@enquiro.com. For more copies visit enquiroresearch.com How many people are a bit afraid of flying? The answer has to do with the availability heuristic; particularly with one form of this heuristic called the vividness effect. When we are faced with a decision about the frequency or likelihood of events we usually try to recall relevant information or examples from our memory. We make our decisions about the frequency or probability of some event occurring on the basis of how easily examples come to mind. This is called the availability heuristic. The vividness effect is one instance of the availability heuristic at work. Information that is presented in a way that is attention grabbing, emotionally interesting and image provoking is generally remembered better. Since it is remembered better and it is easily brought to mind, we will weigh that information more than information that is less vivid. In many cases people don’t have the real statistics. The only information that they have to go on is the testimonial. Most people have no idea that they are over 74% After 9/11 particularly, many people stopped flying and chose to drive instead. However, driving is statistically much more dangerous than flying. A jumbo jets worth of people dies every week in car crashes but the media does not present stories about car crashes in the same vivid manner. The fact is they just happen too much makes them not very interesting for the news to discuss. The vividness effect has led to people being more afraid of flying than of driving. News of a plane crash tends to be big news. Images of a burning plane may be depicted, lengthy discussions of the reason for the crash and of the number of fatalities will be presented. more likely to be saved by than to die from an airbag. But even if people have this information, even if they have these statistics they are still more likely to be influenced by testimonials. This is because numbers and statistics are not very vivid. They don’t grab our attention in the same way as the expression on a person’s face or seeing the devastation from a plane crash. And that’s why testimonials work. Honestly, it is easier to identify with an individual, company, or job title than a statistic. Numbers don’t have that real world resonance. There was actually a study conducted to address this very issue. The study investigated how people would be influenced by two sources of information about two different brands of condoms. The first source of information was from the Consumers Reports magazine and the other was from the opinions of two uni- Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. 1628 Dickson Ave., Suite 300, Kelowna, BC, Canada V1Y 9X1 © Copyright 2007 Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. It is forbidden to copy this report in any manner. For permissions contact sales@enquiro.com. For more copies visit enquiroresearch.com 45 versity students. First the experimenters went out and asked people which source of information they would rather be influenced by. Over 85% said they would rather be influenced by the Consumers Reports article. A different group of participants was then recruited. They were told that they would be given some condoms of their own choosing. The participants were told that they could consult either one or two types of information, the Consumer Reports article, and/or the student opinions. Even though in the first study the researchers found that less than 15% of the first group of subjects reported that they would want to be influenced by the students’ opinions, in this second study they found that 77% of the participants requested both sources of information and then 31% of these subjects proceeded to choose the brand endorsed by the students’ opinions over the brand endorsed by the article. This example shows that even if we have access to both sources of information, and one source of information is known to be more reliable than the other, many of us cannot resist the powerful influence of testimonials. cessfully solved on your website. In order to find suitable testimonials, you may want to use a survey to identify new B2B buyers/sellers needs. You may also want to run focus groups. But what you absolutely want to do is make sure there is a consistent dialogue at all times with prospects and existent customers. If they are communicating directly with your sales staff, make sure that your sales staff is feeding that information back to your marketing department. Most businesses have a stable of great clients, what they often have difficulty with is showing off their ponies and leveraging that business to show how important their customers are. Second, there are different types of testimonials. Some work better than others. Some should be visible at different places in your website. So how should you use testimonials? First, you need to identify the most common issues your prospects have before you put up any testimonials. If a new buyer’s concern is about the security of your online transactions, then your prominent testimonials should address that issue. What’s more, the testimonial should be on the page of your website where this question enters their head. And even more so, the solution better be chunked there as well. By doing this, you make the prospect understands that their problem can be suc- 46 Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. 1628 Dickson Ave., Suite 300, Kelowna, BC, Canada V1Y 9X1 © Copyright 2007 Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. It is forbidden to copy this report in any manner. For permissions contact sales@enquiro.com. For more copies visit enquiroresearch.com research and the buying/selling experiFor instance, product testimonials about the benefits of your products over competitors be tion, service on should product Third, no one is perfect, neither are you. It is hard to admit there problems th at are or customer testimoence, but a B2B expert should be able to provide trustable advice and confirm perceived value. about your warranty reputation, you definitely should not use a testimonial about how you resolved warranty issues. This instance would be a good time to use a positive testimonial from a 3rd party expert. pages. In addi- Other important facts? • • Keep testimonials short and direct. Use readily identifiable companies and people to your specific target market. • Try and get testimonials as far up the food chain as possible - testimonials from administrative assistants for $500k products do not resonate. • Have a testimonials page, but litter testimonials throughout your site as well, reinforcers shouldn’t have to be searched for. nials should be on pages associated with a deeper stage of the buying funnel. Most importantly, benefit and solution-based testimonials that resonate with your core target market should be on your most visited pages. As well, you should have testimonials from clients and 3rd party experts. People want at least the perceived lack of bias that comes from an external review. Previous clients may be good examples for However, negative comments should be fixable and they should not be about the biggest concern for new comers. In other words, if 80% of prospects are worried unsatisfied clients who had bad experience, but testimonials that show how you made things better, how you solved issues, and how you provided a deeper cost benefit make your testimonials more real world. Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. 1628 Dickson Ave., Suite 300, Kelowna, BC, Canada V1Y 9X1 © Copyright 2007 Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. It is forbidden to copy this report in any manner. For permissions contact sales@enquiro.com. For more copies visit enquiroresearch.com 47 Top Site Factors - Negotiation 6 5.5 5 4.5 4 3.5 3 2.5 2 1.5 1 0.5 0 5.7 5.0 5.2 5.9 5.5 5.1 4.6 3.7 3.8 3.9 5.3 5.4 5.0 4.4 4.2 o s o ers ers ns Inf Inf di e ap so ap ct bl e a ri Stu du eP hP a c it ro mp se ad Te Wh eP Co Ca nl o le s iv bl e ab ow D da ten ad l oa Ex nl o wn ow D Do ts cas od P s t ng s ns ny ch rs ou i on se ri ci pa ina c tio tat r oa Ab Ba dP om un eb en pp fo e s W un tF tC dg l In sA Fo P re ha ou ny' wle era Ab dia eC s il y pa no en e o K m li n G Ea Inf l tim Co On r& Mu le a C downloadable whitepapers, techpapers, making the cut and ending up on the cutting room floor... Your sales team needs leads, but what are the bare fields they need to close a lead if all they need is a name and email address, why is your form 7 pages long? What’s more, there are 3rd party applications that can qualify soft leads from online forms - considering that most pur- chasing actually takes place offline - giving your sales staff the most qualified contact is always a safe business practice. Negotiation Stage There is no real significant change in the content that technical buyers are more receptive to from the research to the negotiation stage of the buying funnel. This is probably due to the fact that the and case studies. Try focusing on clearly presenting all product information in easy to read charts and tables, and focus on your competitive benefits as well. In addition, ensure that you have easily accessible contact triggers, technical buyers may have questions, and making sure you have the right person only a few clicks away can be the difference between 48 Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. 1628 Dickson Ave., Suite 300, Kelowna, BC, Canada V1Y 9X1 © Copyright 2007 Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. It is forbidden to copy this report in any manner. For permissions contact sales@enquiro.com. For more copies visit enquiroresearch.com majority of B2B negotiations are done offline and deal with price points, SOWs, RFPs, RFIs, etc. The process doesn’t necessarily lend itself to the online environment with ease. However, some companies have found some successes by condensing the negotiation stage with FAQ pages that are indexed and searchable. By and large, RFPs follow a fairly standard format - 80% of the questions are the same regardless of need. Why not have these 80% clearly answered on your website in fantastic detail - with all the charts, tables, and flash that there never seems to be enough time to actually accomplish when you are trying to piece together an RFP. It’s a win-win, technical buyers get answers before they even ask the question, and you have a library to pull from making all future RFPs so much faster to complete. In addition, it also gives you the chance to make changes and updates as needed, as well as tailor your content to illustrate your competitive advantages at every stage. Purchase Stage It is not as if the trend of top onsite factors changes dramatically in the purchase stage, but the gap between those 1st tier Top Site Factors - Purchase 6.5 6 5.5 5 4.5 4 3.5 3 2.5 2 1.5 1 0.5 0 5.8 5.8 6.1 5.0 4.6 4.0 3.9 4.1 3.9 4.0 5.0 5.8 5.2 5.5 5.5 D rs rs fo o s i es pe Inf on pe t In tud ri s le Pa Pa uc ab pa od ch eS i te s m ad Pr Te Wh Ca Co nl o iv e le bl e ow ns ab da D te ad l oa Ex nl o wn ow Do ts as dc Po s h ns ng s ny ut ac ar s ti o se ri ci tion pa bo bin Ba nc pr o nta om oA dP u se Ap ge We un Inf tC tF y's Fo P re led ou ha ral an il y Ab ow ne dia eC s o e mp Kn li n Ge Ea Inf l tim Co & On ar Mu Cle Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. 1628 Dickson Ave., Suite 300, Kelowna, BC, Canada V1Y 9X1 © Copyright 2007 Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. It is forbidden to copy this report in any manner. For permissions contact sales@enquiro.com. For more copies visit enquiroresearch.com 49 Building a Great Homepage Layout Based on survey data, 80% of large B2B companies and 53% of smaller firms use nearly identical homepage layout, as shown in the graph to the right. Accepting this standard and assuming it works to attract qualified business leads (the main goal for B2B websites) made it easy for web design departments and companies to create B2B homepages. However, when this layout was investigated further (in a study by MarketingSherpa) it became obvious that the common layout might not be the best option for B2B companies. Alternate homepage designs were presented to study participants, and these alternatives received better results than In particular, the study shows that executives prefer fewer columns than are typically found on B2B websites. Four or more the standard layout as shown above in all instances. The alternatives included simple design changes that any web design department can implement. Space on a company’s homepage is prime real estate. Extensive use of graphics tends to consume this asset without a clear benefit to the website user looking for information or contact points. Only graphics that relate directly to the company and the user’s navigation should be included. Use of graphics besides bullet points, logos and search buttons should be minimized to reserve the prime location for content that speaks to the audience and guides them to the inforcolumns tend to overload the user’s experience. Navigational aids such as bullet points and lists are typically positioned in concealed or less prominent spots but should be presented in obvious places to attract the users’ attention. The website design needs to make it convenient for the user to find information and navigate the page. 50 Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. 1628 Dickson Ave., Suite 300, Kelowna, BC, Canada V1Y 9X1 © Copyright 2007 Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. It is forbidden to copy this report in any manner. For permissions contact sales@enquiro.com. For more copies visit enquiroresearch.com mation they are looking for. and leads the users to content they are searching for. In addition, the use of testimonials is encouraged to further engage visitors and validate what the webpage content suggests. B2B businesses should always remember the purpose of their website. Typically they do not maintain website to win a design award but to generate business leads and convert those leads into customers. Therefore it is critical to concentrate on engaging users and receiving a response from them. A B2B homepage has the opportunity to convert actively searching and investigating prospects into customers, and the homepage is typically the famous “first impression” that is essential. Content If users know a company’s brand from other channels, the website layout must reflect this brand and create a consistent corporate identity. For example, fonts, colors, logos as well as the language used in other materials need to be continued. When users are not familiar with a brand before visiting a B2B business’s website, it is critical to present the brand, make the benefits of the brand and company obvious and differentiate it from competitors. For example, if a company communicates high quality products and innovative solutions, the website should reflect this by showing superior design and layout that includes clean and modern looking color schemes. A clear call to action should be included both in the search engine result description and the homepage. A company’s call to action differentiates the site from competitors Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. 1628 Dickson Ave., Suite 300, Kelowna, BC, Canada V1Y 9X1 © Copyright 2007 Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. It is forbidden to copy this report in any manner. For permissions contact sales@enquiro.com. For more copies visit enquiroresearch.com 51 factors and those flashy rich media factors widens. But why are those factors even important if the technical buyer has already identified the need, short-listed vendors, selected a preferred vendor, negotiated a fair price and specifications, and made the decision? The B2B sales process is often long and complex; it is not just a purchase, but a relationship. This means that even at the moment of purchase, or after the purchase, technical buyers need to be confirmed in their decision. In other words, you have to close the sale even after you’ve closed the sale. The automotive industry is especially good at this. After you buy a car, most dealers call and make sure you are happy with your purchase. As well, their entire marketing strategy of having messaging that compares brands just reinforces that you made the right decision. Think about it - if you buy a Honda instead of a Toyota or Dodge based on price and gas mileage; you’ve done all your homework, got a great price and financing (checked online for dealer options, colors, specs, etc… maybe even found a local car to test drive), and bought the car. Every time you see an ad on TV, the paper, or online, saying how Honda gets better gas mileage than the Dodge or Toyota it confirms your purchase. This is the same thing that technical buyers Did I make the right decision? are looking for about your product - and they are obviously looking with an increased zeal and intensity over other Why did I choose them? stages in the buying funnel. The good thing is, however, that your competitive benefits messaging in all the other stages is still appropriate; so it is not as if you have to create new messaging and pages for this stage. We researched these guys 3 months ago are they still the best? If anything, this just how reinforces valuable competitive messaging is to a technical buyer. 52 Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. 1628 Dickson Ave., Suite 300, Kelowna, BC, Canada V1Y 9X1 © Copyright 2007 Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. It is forbidden to copy this report in any manner. For permissions contact sales@enquiro.com. For more copies visit enquiroresearch.com How do Technical Buyers get to You? Having your search listings primed and your onsite content ready is only half the battle, you need to know all the navigational touch points a technical buyer is following to get to your homepage or product page. The majority of technical buyers start their online research in either a search engine or on a vendor website - in fact, technical buyers are 6% more likely to start their research on a vendor website; 2% more likely to use a B2B search engine; and 8% less likely to use search than the general B2B population. Not surprisingly, highly targeted B2B vertical search engines, like Kellysearch.com are used by 14% of Technical Buyers as the first entry point in navigation to your website. Why is this important? Because there is less competition leveraging vertical search engines; what’s more, a sponsored click often costs less on vertical engines and is usually When we look at where technical buyers do their online research, search engines seem to become less prevalent as you work through the purchasing cycle; however, Search Engine Vendor Site B2B Search Engine Industry Information Site 11% 14% 43% 32% more qualified. vendor websites seem to become more prevalent - (with the exception of the ne- Any changes for different stages of the buying funnel? gotiation phase, most likely due to competitive pricing research). In addition, B2B verticals are nearly 3x more influential to technical buyers that are actively engaged in the negotiation phase (same level as search engines) than Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. 1628 Dickson Ave., Suite 300, Kelowna, BC, Canada V1Y 9X1 © Copyright 2007 Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. It is forbidden to copy this report in any manner. For permissions contact sales@enquiro.com. For more copies visit enquiroresearch.com 53 The Role of Vertical Search in B2B Vertical search engines have evolved as a new search tool in the search engine landscape. They focus on context and busin ess-specific eliminating market search results. For example, a dentist looking for “ceramics” is not interested in pottery, and an engineer looking for “gyros” will ignore results related to Greek food. A 2006 study by Outsell reported that 31.9% of business users fail when researching topics on major search engines (http://www.outsellinc.com/ store/products/289). • Only 11% of users always find what they Another study confirmed that: are looking for on the first attempt. • Only 43% of users always find what they are looking for after several attempts. KnowledgeStorm Kellysearch • • • • • Efficient, good returns, past success with it. Good central location to find a variety of vendors/contacts for the resources I'm looking for. Breadth of knowledge Narrows down the results for more business related websites and purchasing websites for software It’s better results, mass • • • irrelevant Reason for choosing B2B Search Engine (Taken from Enquiro Survey Results) Business.com • They are more reliable and dependable, and I am more familiar with them. Direct communication and elimination of third channel. Easier and more specific. It’s a business site It is important that I get the right information when purchasing for my business and this is a knowledgeable place to start. 54 Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. 1628 Dickson Ave., Suite 300, Kelowna, BC, Canada V1Y 9X1 © Copyright 2007 Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. It is forbidden to copy this report in any manner. For permissions contact sales@enquiro.com. For more copies visit enquiroresearch.com • Only 21% feel their query is always understood. Professionals tend to go through significant efforts to find what they need and do not give up quickly: • 17 % quit before 5 minutes • 42 % continue up to 15 minutes • 24 % continue up to 30 minutes • 17 % continue more than 30 minutes. Because of the specific content, vertical search engines are highly beneficial to all B2B users. For example, Business.com is a business-focused search engine and directory, listing 850,000 companies within 73,000 directory About 14 38 topics. million monthly Network, Online, and (h ttp:/ / unique users conduct million searches on the Business.com nessWeek Forbes.com, In c .c om which includes Busi- searchenginew a t c h . c o m / showPage.html? page=3552296). Kellysearch is an example of a B2B vertical search engine - it provides information for about 2 million companies worldwide, and categorizes via products or services. Increasingly, technical buyers are using vertical search engines while in the negotiation and research stage to short list potential vendors. Vertical gines tent, search tend ento also like include blended conreference Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. 1628 Dickson Ave., Suite 300, Kelowna, BC, Canada V1Y 9X1 © Copyright 2007 Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. It is forbidden to copy this report in any manner. For permissions contact sales@enquiro.com. For more copies visit enquiroresearch.com 55 articles (as in Kellysearch.com), and the indexing tends to surpass mass market spiders. Outsell projects that B2B vertical search revenue will reach $1.0 billion by 2009 (http://www.outsellinc.com/store/ products/289). looking for industry news and information, or are actively involved in a buying decision or process. Vertical search engines tend to resonate with a high concentration of decision-makers. The GlobalSpec Survey (June 2006) searching for products and components. Using specialized vertical search engines is an important strategic consideration for you, especially as technical buyers are discovering the benefit of search engines that focus on the domains that are specifically relevant to their tasks and business. showed that 94% of their B2B base population (engineers, technical buyers, scien- “The ability of specialized online marketplaces to generate intelligence-rich, contactable, and highly measurable sales leads is nothing short of profound; those marketers who are already on this bandwagon have been reaping the benefits.” Jeffrey M. Killeen tific professionals and others within the technical community) are involved in purchasing processes. Other results include: • • 91% have used the Internet to find components and suppliers 82% have used the Internet for research in 2006, an increase of 14 percentage points over 2005 • 45% spend 6 or more hours per week on the Internet for work purposes • • 90% have used the Internet to obtain product specifications 56% state that specifications are the most valuable information when “New research on vertical search from SearchChannel and Slack Barshinger, both business-tobusiness specialists, calls these engines the wave of the future in providing industry-aggregated and relevant information as well as additional targeted businessadvertising opportunities.” Bill Furlong Given the targeted audience, lead generation and conversions are of considerable importance and should be supported by relevant landing pages and content (even A vertical search should be aligned with the workflow and tasks technical buyers encounter, creating an “information cockpit” for the specialized users. Typically, technical buyers are either 56 Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. 1628 Dickson Ave., Suite 300, Kelowna, BC, Canada V1Y 9X1 © Copyright 2007 Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. It is forbidden to copy this report in any manner. For permissions contact sales@enquiro.com. For more copies visit enquiroresearch.com using specific URLs). Vertical search can be set up as a portal, as a complementary website application or a parametric search. They can include editorials, blogs or banners to provide comprehensive information to the users. Increasingly, trade publications are developing their own vertical search engines for their respective industries. But in order to get the best results from vertical search, you need to consider the different target markets and adjust your content, keywords and structure accordingly. When asked about their expectations for these new vertical search resources, nearly 90 percent of professionals (Outsell) indicated they believed such search engines would offer more relevant contact: • 86% said that vertical search engines could locate content more quickly. • 85% believe that vertical search engines offer access to content not indexed by popular search engines. Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. 1628 Dickson Ave., Suite 300, Kelowna, BC, Canada V1Y 9X1 © Copyright 2007 Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. It is forbidden to copy this report in any manner. For permissions contact sales@enquiro.com. For more copies visit enquiroresearch.com 57 60 52 50 40 30 20 10 0 Awareness Search Engine Research B to B Vertical Negotiation Vendor Site Industry Information Site Purchase 17 17 21 14 12 11 14 10 9 44 33 35 35 31 46 any other purchasing stage - most likely due to the need for testimonials and referential material while screening out potential vendors and determining a price for services. These vertical search engines tend to have a built in community and an algorithm that is tailored to that community. So it is not surprising that in the negotiation stage, while a technical buyer is weighing your benefits against his decision making criteria, that he would be tapping into this vertical network for specific feedback and advise. As a confirmation though, your website plays an integral role in both the research and purchase stages. In fact, in the purchase stage, most technical buyers are navigating directly to your website. Why? To confirm that they have made the right decisions. In fact, marketers have a 76% chance of enEven when technical buyers said that they wouldn’t use search as a starting point for their online research, 33% still used search to navigate to either a vendor’s or industry information site. This shows just how prominent and functional browser search features and search boxes are amongst technical buyers. And the role of Search in general? gaging these buyers via search advertising, even if 33% are only using search as an in- 58 Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. 1628 Dickson Ave., Suite 300, Kelowna, BC, Canada V1Y 9X1 © Copyright 2007 Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. It is forbidden to copy this report in any manner. For permissions contact sales@enquiro.com. For more copies visit enquiroresearch.com 10% 4% 2% 18% 33% 57% 76% Type URL into Browser Nav thru Search Bookmark Google Yahoo Microsoft Other termediary gateway to a vendor website. However, what is also very interesting is the fact that 57% actually type in the URL, with 10% using bookmarks; suggesting that some brand engagement (probably offline) occurs before vendors are researched. B2B sample and Microsoft’s loss of the same percentage. In other words, for technical buyers, Microsoft has a minimal share and Yahoo! has still got a long way to go to try and capture that valuable B2B market share. Interestingly, to further show the domi- Google toolbar at some point to navigate to those intermediaries like and BusiKelness.com, lysearch. KnowledgeStorm, It would also seem that Google is the dominant search engine for technical buyers (no nance of Google in the market segment, 80% of technical buyers that considered B2B search engines or vendor sites anywhere in the purchase cycle, also used the surprise), but what is particularly interesting is Yahoo! gain of 4% over the general Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. 1628 Dickson Ave., Suite 300, Kelowna, BC, Canada V1Y 9X1 © Copyright 2007 Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. It is forbidden to copy this report in any manner. For permissions contact sales@enquiro.com. For more copies visit enquiroresearch.com 59 Where do Technical Buyers Buy? 86.5% of technical buyers first interaction with a vendor is online - this is where vendors are found; however, only 39.7% actually complete the purchase online just over 7% less than the average for the total B2B sample. Found vendor online, purchased offline Found vendor offline, purchased online Found vendor offline, purchased offline Don’t Recall 243 (36.4) 26 (3.9) 66 (9.9) 19 (2.9) 73 (46.8) 4 (2.6) 13 (8.3) 4 (2.6) Found vendor online, purchased online 313 (46.92) Where did you end up making your purchase n (%) Technical Buyers n (%) 62 (39.7) Why? This is most likely due to the level of complexity in most B2B purchases that a technical buyer is involved in over say a user buyer, because of higher budgets and more corporate/strategic involvement. In fact, based on the survey results, budget played an insignificant role as to whether or not purchases were made online. It is only in those budgets over $100k that offline was heavily favored (though not so much by technical buyers through some type of formal or bureaucratic process prior to purchasing that meant building a strong offline relationship. frequency with which different product categories are purchased than any type of inclination to purchase one or the other online. Like it or not, the truth of the matter is that for 89.1% of technical buyers, working online is a definitive part of the purchase decision - whether they are actually paying online or offline. In fact, it is far too important for you not to be evolving your complete business strategy to focus more attention to your online investment. What about types of purchases? Interestingly, for technical buyers, it would seem like parts are overwhelmingly purchased online - aligned with the general B2B population. But supplies, equipment, and software are purchases made offline. as the whole population). This isn’t surprising - it would be unheard of for any $100k expenditure to not go But this is probably more a function of the 60 Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. 1628 Dickson Ave., Suite 300, Kelowna, BC, Canada V1Y 9X1 © Copyright 2007 Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. It is forbidden to copy this report in any manner. For permissions contact sales@enquiro.com. For more copies visit enquiroresearch.com Online vs Offline Conversions - by Budget Range 80. 0 70. 0 60. 0 50. 0 40. 0 30. 0 20. 0 10. 0 0. 0 55 42 45 58 51 45 49 41 55 44 31 59 56 44 69 56 1 - 10 K Online Entire Populaton 10 - 50 K Online Technical Buyers 50 to 100 K Offline Entire Population Offline Technical Buyers 100 K + Online vs Offline Conversions - by category 90. 0 80. 0 70. 0 60. 0 50. 0 39 40. 0 30. 0 20. 0 10. 0 0. 0 30 70 61 52 40 48 60 49 56 51 44 33 51 49 47 37 67 53 63 55 55 45 46 Parts Equipment Bus. Services Supplies Software Hardware Online Entire Population Online Technical Buyers Offline Entire Population Offline Technical Buyers Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. 1628 Dickson Ave., Suite 300, Kelowna, BC, Canada V1Y 9X1 © Copyright 2007 Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. It is forbidden to copy this report in any manner. For permissions contact sales@enquiro.com. For more copies visit enquiroresearch.com 61 Referenced Sources “The Real Buzz: B2B Word-of-mouth Marketing for IT” (May 2, 2006); Steven Nicks; http://www.marketingprofs.com/6/nicks1.asp “The Buzz About WOM” (June 25, 2007); Seana Mulcahy; http://blogs.mediapost.com/spin/?p=1068 “A New Place to Face-to-Face: B2B Social Networking” (May 30, 2007); Robert J. Murray; http://searchengineland.com/070530-111338.php “Generating Word of Mouth Buzz through Interactive PR” (July 9, 2007); Tom Pick; http://webmarketcentral.blogspot.com/2007/07/ generating-word-of-mouth-buzz-through.html “Interactive PR”; WebMarketCentral; http://www.webmarketcentral.com/interactive_pr.htm “Primary Offline Advertising Drives Secondary Online Leads” (August 23, 2007); Steven Morvay; http://blogs.mediapost.com/ performance_insider/?p=35 “B-to-B Web Site Homepage Design: Research Study” (2007); Marketing Sherpa “Business Technology Marketing: Benchmark Guide 2007-08” (2007); Marketing Sherpa “B2B Firms Get Niche Targeting With Vertical Search Engines” (January 24, 2007); Jason Prescott; http://www.pandia.com/sew/361-vse.html “The Value of Vertical Search for B2B Marketers” (May 7, 2007); Jeffrey M. Killeen; http://www.brandchannel.com/brand_speak.asp?bs_id=163 “GlobalSpec Survey Results” (June 2006); GlobalSpec; http://www.globalspec.com/GSSurveyResults0706 “Vertical Search Spreads Wings in BTB” (July 14, 2006); Bill Furlong; http://www.dmnews.com/cms/dm-news/search-marketing/37444.html “Online POV” (2006); Nick Nyhan; http://www.dynamiclogic.com/na/research/whitepapers/docs/OnlinePOVbyNickNyhanNov2006.pdf “B-to-B Web Site Homepage Design” (June 2007); MarketingSherpa; http://www.sherpastore.com/B2BHomepageStudy.html?8913 “Creating an Effective Home Page” (February 23, 2007); The ClickZ Network; http://www.clickz.com/3625065 “Better B2B Landing Pages” (July 22, 2007); Jon Miller; http://www.selfseo.com/story-19499.php 62 Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. 1628 Dickson Ave., Suite 300, Kelowna, BC, Canada V1Y 9X1 © Copyright 2007 Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. It is forbidden to copy this report in any manner. For permissions contact sales@enquiro.com. For more copies visit enquiroresearch.com Our Partners MarketingSherpa MarketingSherpa is a research firm specializing in tracking what works in all aspects of marketing (and what does not.) SSI Survey Sampling International Survey Sampling International (SSI), founded in 1977, is the premier global supplier of survey solutions to the survey research industry in the U.S., Canada, Europe, Latin America, Australia, and Asia. We offer sampling products for reaching various populations by Internet, telephone, postal mail, and personal interview. Our Sponsors Kellysearch For many millions of businesses the world over, Kellysearch is the only search engine for finding exactly what’s needed exactly when it’s needed. Whether our users are searching for products, or services, or searching for a market for their products and services, Kellysearch delivers the results that help improve business. Kellysearch is backed by the Reed Elsevier Business Publishing Group – making Kellysearch one of the largest business search engine resources in the world. We have access to and partnerships with every corner of the Reed Business Information empire and we maximize those opportunities daily as we attract millions of users to Kellysearch and make millions of data entries available to those visitors. Also Available From Enquiro • • • • Search Engine Results: 2010 **NEW** B2B Survey 2007 Enquiro Eye Tracking Report II: Google, MSN and Yahoo! Compared Enquiro Eye Tracking Report I: Google Free Free $149 $149 • • • B2B Survey Summary Search Engine Usage In North America Inside the Mind of the Searcher Free Free Free Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. 1628 Dickson Ave., Suite 300, Kelowna, BC, Canada V1Y 9X1 © Copyright 2007 Enquiro Search Solutions, Inc. It is forbidden to copy this report in any manner. For permissions contact sales@enquiro.com. For more copies visit enquiroresearch.com 63