For web managers who are likely to start renewing their corporate websites in 2019

Happy New Year. I am Tatsuta, the Director of the Marketing & Sales Department.

The Marketing & Sales Department has a team called the "BtoB Team."
We are a team that creates and operates websites for listed and mid-sized companies in the BtoB industry.

As we welcome the new year, I would like to take this opportunity to look back on 2018 and think ahead to 2019.
In particular, I would like to talk with web managers at B2B companies in mind, as they are likely to begin renewing their corporate websites this year.

1. The renovation budget is three times what it was a few years ago

This trend has become more evident since 2017, but 2018 was a year in which renovation budgets increased even further.

In fact, if we look at the trend in average order amounts on our BtoB corporate website, we can see that they have been increasing year by year, as shown below.

・2016: 4.29 million yen ・2017: 7.56 million yen ・2018: 9.83 million yen

For example, let's consider the budget required for a typical B2B corporate website with its volume and specifications.

There are variables such as "What will we do about lighting?" and "Will we take photos and videos?", but the budget for this project will be around 12 to 18 million yen.

A few years ago, this volume would have cost around 5 million yen to renovate.
The current state of web production is that it costs about three times as much.

There is a reason for this.

First of all, it has become essential to be compatible with smartphones.
Until now, we have only produced PC sites, but now we are designing with smartphones in mind, and the production time will increase accordingly.

Furthermore, these days it is not enough to simply be compatible with smartphones; design, functions, and content are also needed that are "easier to use," "more effective in appealing to users," and "more beneficial and useful information available."

Users who obtain information and use services on a daily basis from websites have become discerning. No user would think, "It's okay if it's difficult to use because it's B2B." In order to meet the needs of users, unprecedented design and production efforts are now required.

For these reasons, renovation budgets are increasing.

When a renewal project begins, it often starts with the "budgeting" process. In order to carry out an effective renewal, I strongly recommend that you set aside about three times the budget of the previous renewal .

If you would like to know roughly how much it would cost to renew our website, please feel free to contact us and we will prepare and send you a rough estimate.

For inquiries, please click here

2. Secure 20% of the renovation budget as the operating budget

I feel that while the renewal budget is increasing, the operating budget is not. Regarding renewal, the relevant departments work together to allocate budget and operation, but I get the impression that many companies have a low awareness of operation after launch.

Whether or not a corporate website achieves the desired results depends on how it is managed after it is launched.

We are in charge of renovating and operating the website of a B2B manufacturer (launched in 2014). In addition to updating and organizing product information and posting news, we also regularly add new content.

This is not just routine maintenance, but also an effort to increase the site's appeal and keep the information fresh. As a result, four years have passed since the site was renewed, and the number of inquiries continues to grow year after year.

The renewal of your corporate website should not be seen as mere celebration, but also requires consideration of operations, such as "establishing an internal operations system" and "budgeting" if outsourcing.

As a guideline for the annual operating budget (excluding servers and maintenance) when outsourcing, we believe it is necessary to plan for " approximately 20% of the renewal budget ."

3. The renewal project is expected to take "approximately eight months"

During the renewal project, most staff members will be working on both their regular duties and the renewal work. This places a heavy burden on the staff members, both physically and mentally. Many tasks will arise, such as "reviewing proposals from production companies," "meetings with production companies," "preparing manuscripts," and "internal coordination."

Furthermore, as mentioned in the chapter on renovation budgets, there are more things to consider during the renovation period.

A few years ago, it was not uncommon to "launch a corporate website within a three-month project period," but now it is difficult and not recommended.

Last year, we received a request to release the project four months after it began. We proceeded with the project based on that schedule, but midway through, we had to postpone the release date by two months.

It is possible for a production company like ours to meet short deadlines by increasing the number of staff and dividing up roles. However, this is not the case for the person in charge of renewal. For the person in charge, a renewal project is already a difficult task, so we strongly recommend that you secure an appropriate project period.

For example, in the case of the typical case example mentioned above, " approximately eight months " would be a reasonable period.

4. For B2B websites, the "public eye" is especially important

Here are some of the most common purposes of the BtoB sites that we manage:

"We want to create a website that contributes to IR activities."
"We want to effectively publicize our CSR activities."
"We want to create a corporate website that will be useful for recruiting new graduates."
"I want to gain understanding and sympathy from the general public."
"I want to use it to provide information to business partners and as sales support."

The objectives listed here have not changed significantly in recent years and are always mentioned as the objectives of corporate websites.

There are few requests for marketing purposes such as "I want to increase inquiries from the website and create business opportunities." (It's a shame, because I'm good at this topic too...)

We can see that listed B2B companies use their corporate websites for public relations purposes. We can also see that many of their purposes are aimed at "general public" who are not part of that industry. In other words, information needs to be delivered to "industry novices" rather than "industry experts" who are well versed in industry information.

On the other hand, B2B industries often work in a behind-the-scenes role, and many of these industries are invisible or difficult to understand for the general public.

These two facts are the points we place great importance on when planning and designing BtoB corporate websites. Taking advantage of the fact that we ourselves are novices in the industry, we plan and design while repeatedly asking ourselves, "Can people who don't know about the industry look at and understand it?" and "Can they empathize with the business and philosophy?"

" The public eye " will be an important factor for BtoB websites of the future, so please keep this in mind when undertaking a renewal.

5. Signs are gradually emerging

In the previous chapter, we discussed the lack of marketing use of B2B sites.

However, gradually, the phrase "considering the introduction of marketing automation (MA) in the future" began to appear in RFPs (requests for proposals).

I don't think there will be a sudden increase in B2B companies introducing MA from this year, but the fact is that some marketing-advanced companies are already using MA to produce success stories.

We believe that MA is an effective way to make the most of your corporate website.
I'm sure many people are looking for new ways to make use of their corporate websites, so it might be a good idea to gather information throughout 2019.

Our company is also working to create successful cases of MA, so if you are interested, please contact us.

Monosus BtoB team's 2019 initiative theme

After the competition, we conducted interviews with representatives from companies that participated in the competition throughout last year.

The interview asked, "How did you decide on a production company?"

The most common comment was, " I had no idea where to start ."

Before deciding on a production company, there are many processes to go through, such as budgeting, investigating the site, creating renewal specifications, scheduling, building an internal structure, creating an RFP, deciding on a production company selection method, and comparing production companies.

"First of all, what kind of process is there? Is it necessary?"
"Are we doing the right thing in each process?"

Even after searching for information, there was little to find what they were looking for, so they started the renewal project and decided on a production company while groping around in the dark.

In fact, for many of the people who work with us, this is their first time renovating a website. Through interviews, we found that there is a big gap between the information they are looking for and their willingness to learn, and the information available in the world.

In response to these results, we decided to create a special website that compiles information for people in charge of renewing and operating B2B websites.

We are currently preparing for its release, aiming for spring 2019 or later, and will introduce it on this website once it is released.

We hope that 2019 will be a year of great development for your corporate website.