If you knew what your ideal target customer was thinking when they landed on your website, would you structure your design and content accordingly to meet their needs?  How about if that target customer was prone to react differently and interact differently with your website if they were in a different stage of the buying cycle?  What would you do differently for that person?  The concept is not new, and every company that sets out to develop a website wants to connect with that person.  When it comes to purchasing a complex B2B solution, the interaction with a website can vary greatly and understanding the intent of the user and mapping that intention with the solutions offered on your website is of paramount importance.  This article will look at one aspect of how the B2B searcher, at the early stage of researching a product, will interact with your website.

For a Technology firm, the B2B solutions they require could range from a content management system to enterprise level solutions.  These types of purchases could require months of awareness and research before a buyer begins to think about negotiating a purchase.  In our recent B2B study we surveyed 1000 participants and learned that 51.8% of them used a search engine while they were in the research phase.  We learned that as the user moves down the sales cycle they tend to favor B2B vertical websites and the vendors' website plays a larger role (28.4% at the purchase phase).  However, let's get back to the researcher.  The VP of Marketing for a large organization that has been tasked with shopping for a complex product (i.e. content management system) and we know they are starting their research at a search engine.

Influencing Factors
If we first think of the offline influences that may shape your frame of mind when starting your search, word of mouth from a colleague ranks the highest, followed by advice from a friend, then advice from a paid consultant.  So you've been swayed a little bit and you have a few ideas in mind as you set out to do your research.  While this whole process starts at a search engine, the most important factor influencing your buying decision is the vendors' website.  The search engine has helped you find the vendor you want to consider.  Now what aspects of that company and their website will convince you to shell out the big bucks for your high-cost content management system?