We’re always trying to get in front of the decision maker, many of whom are C-level executives. I don’t know about you, but I’ve been told that C-level executives don’t search online, don’t spend time in social media, and don’t do their own product, service, or company research on the web. Perhaps they’ll make a cursory glance at your website to see if you exist, but beyond that, some underling is doing the research for them. If they’re doing research at all. Right?
According to a Forbes survey of 354 high-level executives, 79% are involved in gathering research for decision making. Of those, 51% prefer to do it themselves and 27% start the process and then hand it over to others to finish off.
The report, The Rise of the Digital C-Suite, further found that executives under age 50 prefer to do their own research, compared to their (ahem) older counterparts who are not as directly involved. Those surveyed said they prefer to do their own research because “immediate access to information means [they] can make faster–and more informed–decisions.”
Yes, Virginia, they search on the Internet, and they start with search engines. Sixty-three percent said search engines were very valuable for their research. You think they’re finding you, or did you focus on building your website but not so much on the search engine optimization?
And when I say focus on the search engine optimization, I don’t mean having someone “do the keywords” as it’s often put, or spend a little time making sure the site has the right tags. Search engine optimization is an ongoing battle. If you think it’s less than that, well, I hope you’re my competitor.
It can take months for even the best optimized website to start showing up in search results—let alone high up where firms get the greatest visibility and the greatest chance to woo decision makers. What you need is a search engine marketing plan that includes a pay per click program with search engine optimization friendly content, accompanied by an online marketing strategy that encourages other websites to link to you.
In his recent webinar Search Engine Marketing 101 for Professional Services, Everon Technology Services CEO Mike Cooch dug deep into what firms must do to increase their ranking in search engines.
“The reality today is if you’re not marketing online, you’re not marketing,” he said. “Professional services firms can, and should, use search engines to their advantage.”
Let’s assume for a minute that they do find your website. There’s a huge menu of choices for what you can have there. Let your research, your imagination, and your creativity drive you to make your website everything it can be! But take care as well to cover the basics that drive client purchase behavior.
Now comes the part so many firms miss: the goal is to convert those visitors into leads—don’t let them click away and forget you exist.
Here’s a challenge for you: go to your website and pretend you know nothing about your own firm. Pretend you are the CEO of a firm that has a need for your services. Based on what you see, are you going to take action?
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