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What is UX?

User Experience (UX) is a catch all phrase used in web applications to describe the interaction a user has with your website and products. This includes their perception of the quality of design, products, information architecture and ease of use.

What is B2B?

This is a term is used in marketing, and refers to business to business sales. How do I design with B2B sales in mind? Focus on long-term relationships. How do you do that? By adding detailed content pages or a blog if you feel you can stick to a plan of consistently updating your posts. Here’s why that strategy makes sense for B2B design:

• Business purchases typically have a longer sales cycle than a Business to consumer to purchases. Business contracts on average last 7 months and the purchase amounts are typically significantly higher than a consumer purchase.
• Provide plenty of content that potential customers can use to determine if you are a good fit for them. Provide detailed product descriptions as well as all relevant technical information to the products or services your business offers. If you sell a product, detail your return or exchange policy thoroughly. If you sell a service, be sure to advertise your workflow process, and how that sets you apart from your competitors.
• Businesses who will be purchasing your products or services will want to see that you are an expert in your field and that you are trustworthy. A potential customer will be doing their research on your company as well as your competitors. Position your company as experts and offer your knowledge to potential customers via your blog or whitepapers.

B2B Site Design and Features

• Navigation should be simple and easy to use - B2B is not the time for new design gimmicks.

• Fixed navigation is becoming increasingly popular, users don’t have to scroll back up to the top of the page to use your pages navigation links. Buena Digital used this technique on our eReferralPro site, and we have had several requests to include it on our client sites as well.

• Your site should be mobile friendly. 28% of internet usage comes from smart phones. If a third of your visitors have a negative experience on your site, sales will suffer.

• Use high quality images - Poor quality images hurt your brands reputation. If your company can't (or won't) spend the time or money to get a quality image up for the user, what does that say about your product and customer service?

• Use multiple calls to action that are readily visible - Use contrasting colors to make your calls to action stand out. Offer something to the customer for contacting you, free consultation, coupons for products or services etc.

Depending on your business model, B2B may be the only type of marketing you do. Be sure to tailor your site to appeal to the type of clientele you want to attract. Traffic to your site is always great, but if you’re site isn't converting site traffic into sales, maybe it’s time for a UX redesign with B2B marketing principles in mind.