B2B Websites: When a Picture Isn’t Worth a Thousand Words
While doing a Website audit for both a B2B Website design firm and a B2B marketing services company last week, I noted that the firms’ owners simply showed screen shots of some of the projects their companies had completed in the last couple of years.
The screen shots, while pretty, lacked any supporting copy.
Here’s the problem with showing just pictures: they don’t tell the story behind the picture. You think they tell a story because you know what the picture is about. Your prospects don’t know the story, however, making the photos pretty much useless as sales tools.
How to get around this? Tell the story!
Telling stories is what made the J.Peterman Co. so successful in its heydey. It wasn’t the products themselves that were so wonderful, it was the story behind them — like this one about the “Secret Thoughts Cape.”
For both the Web design firm and the marketing services company, I recommended that the owners pull out three to five of their best projects and create case study pages for each one. Each case study should include:
1. The business challenge and the solution
2. The implementation
3. The results
Even better, these stories should include quotes from the clients and their names / business titles plus some interesting “bits” to lend color and depth.
Two things happen when you present case studies (or success stories) on your site: You show your company’s expertise, and prospects see themselves in these stories and say, “Hey! This company solved this particular problem, which we’re experiencing, too. I bet they can help us.”
I’m such a believer in telling success stories with words AND pictures that I now include developing a couple of case studies as part of my proposal when quoting New Websites and Website Overhauls.
Story Contest!
B2B marketers — here’s a chance to have some fun. In 100 words or less, tell me the story behind these sneakers and why a collector would want to add them to a “canvas sneaker collection.” Post your story in the comments section. Contest ends Friday, January 21, 2011.
The writers of the top five winning stories will receive Godiva Chocolates plus recognition on this blog. Have fun!
About the author: Dianna Huff
A B2B web marketing expert, Dianna helps B2B companies grow through SEO, marketing writing, and social media. A frequent speaker, Dianna has been quoted in numerous blogs, books, and articles; her client list includes large and small B2B companies across the U.S. Follow her on Twitter @diannahuff. To receive her e-course on creating great B2B marketing content, subscribe to her newsletter, The MarCom Strategist.
January 19th, 2011 at 4:12 pm
Hi Dianna. Great post and very important point here about image samples simply not being enough. I came to the same conclusion for the portfolio I have been building out for FirstTracks marketing in Peterborough over the last year. All of the new websites I design and build these days feature exciting back end integration tools and systems that the casual browser or prospect to our website never gets to see, plus who wants to read a long winded technical explanation of what we did, how, why, BORING. So I have started creating short video highlights of all of our new projects to SHOW people how our stuff works, if a picture is worth a thousand words a video is worth a trillion in my book! Here’s an example: http://www.firsttracksmarketing.com/category/portfolio/nharch/
January 19th, 2011 at 7:19 pm
[...] a story with words, too. Dianna Huff from B2B Marcom Writer Blog features a recent post entitled B2B Websites: When A Picture Isn’t Worth a Thousand Words that reminds us not to become overly reliant on images and to include descriptive text. [...]
January 19th, 2011 at 11:53 pm
Matt — That is an excellent idea! I love it!
January 19th, 2011 at 11:57 pm
Chuck Taylor All-Stars have been around since 1917. They’re still popular today. Many celebrities have been spotted sporting these classic sneakers.
But these All-Stars are especially interesting because they belonged to the late, iconic Seattle grunge band singer Kurt Cobain.
Recently released for auction by the Kurt Cobain trust, proceeds from the auction of these shoes will be donated to the Hero’s Against Heroin inner city drug rehab center in Seattle, WA. Cobain struggled with a heroin addiction.
Kurt Cobain may be gone, but his sneakers are a reminder of the everlasting impact he made on the rock-n-roll scene.