• 93% of business decision makers use the Internet for business every day and most of them have taken action as result of seeing an ad on a B2B website.
• 84% of business people use the Internet to research products and 71% buy products.
• Forbes/Insight reports the Internet is the C-suite’s top information resource for locating business-related information
• Over half C-suite execs search for information themselves and continue “clicking around” to locate the right information
• The “researcher” needs information to “sell” others in the decision-making path – provide the information needed and they will become your champion.

How Do I Reach My “Target Decision-Maker?”

First, make sure your website is relevant and stays relevant.  Ensure it is fully (search engine) optimized and that you keep it up to date.  An active blog is a good way to achieve both goals and can establish your company or firm as a “thought leader” or “innovator” by sharing information on routine basis.  You can provide information of interest to the C-suite, engineering department, or purchasing and serve multiple target markets.

Combining relevant web content and search engine optimization is the very essence of a strong Internet presence today.

Reaching Out to the C-Suite

Beyond relevant content and search engine optimization, consider search engine marketing and ad words.  But before scurrying into search engine marketing, consider Antonio Altamirano’s insight.

“ . . . We need to understand one thing clearly. The C-Suite is probably one of the most passionate personalities that you will find online. They are not only passionate about their businesses but also about their hobbies, their families and their causes. They have an unwavering belief on what they do and a flawless commitment to their duties. Furthermore, personal improvement in many aspects of their personality is continuous. This constant evolution strengthens their character and deepens their core beliefs.”

So, you can reach him or her through SEM syndications focused on business and finance, sports interests, professional networks and associations, vertical niche market websites, local publications, and personal and CXO level blogs and wikis.

That’s how to reach the CEO and, as Antonio suggests, strengthen your marketing credibility by placing relevant ads that will compliment the content being consumed – if it’s a golf site, speak golf; if it’s a finance site, talk money.

Marketing Your Business and Products

To help B2B prospects find your company and its products, you need an effective website and must invest in search engine optimization – to assure an online presence.  Both the website and your search engine strategy will need to be maintained – they can’t just be developed, posted, submitted, and ignored.

Make your website a valuable tool or resource to your target markets or use it to get feedback or input from customers.  For instance, airlines make flight schedules available to plan travel, allowing you to print boarding passes, and sells tickets.  How often do you go to your favorite travel site because it offers 24-hour convenience and valuable information and/or services?

So, rethink the role and purpose of your website.  What do you need to do to tailor it to you multiple target markets?  How can you make your company and its website more relevant to the C-suite and your target markets?  What are some strategies you’ve used in the past?

Bibliography

The Rise of the Digital C-Suite, Forbes Insights in Association with Google, copyright Forbes 2009.
B2B Marketing and Understanding the C-Suite, Antonio Altamirano, Facebook
B2B Online Marketing Guide:  5 Critical Principles, B@B Marketing Online
Estimated Internet Usage Differences by Basic General Social Survey Demographics
Seismic Shift in Internet Age Mass, Jack Loechner, Feb. 11, 2009, Research Brief From the Center for Media Research.