Monosus offers web development services specializing in B2B companies. We are in charge of creating and operating corporate websites for B2B companies in various industries, focusing on listed companies and mid-sized companies.
In addition to our daily production and operational work, we also interview web managers at BtoB companies and compile the results into a report called "Report on the Actual State of Corporate Website Operations as Interviewed with Web Managers at BtoB Companies."
1. To answer the needs of web managers who want to know how other companies are using their websites. 2. To use the information we gather as knowledge when renewing websites. We conduct our interviews and reporting activities with these two objectives in mind.
We have been conducting these activities once or twice a year since 2012. We interview 50 to 100 companies each time, and as of last year, the total number of companies interviewed had exceeded 800.
In this article, we will introduce the survey overview and summary of the latest report, which summarizes interviews conducted in 2023.
Survey Overview
Interview period
September 2023 - December 2023
Interview method
Individual online interviews for each company
Interviewee
109 companies (listed and unlisted companies nationwide, mainly in the BtoB industry)
Industry Segment
Annual sales/number of employees
Listed/Unlisted
Table of Contents of the "Corporate Website Operation Status Report 2024"
Chapter 1 Corporate website overview 1-1 Scale of corporate website operations 1-2 Status of overseas website operations 1-3 Use of search tools on corporate websites, etc. 1-4 Smartphone compatibility of corporate websites
Chapter 2: Purpose and Goals of Corporate Websites 2-1 Purpose and Goals of Corporate Websites 2-2 Actual state of access analysis on corporate websites 2-3 Actual state of access analysis - GA4 usage status 2-4 Usage status of access analysis data on corporate websites 2-5 SEO measures 2-6 Implementation status of MA tools
Chapter 3 Trends in CMS Use on Corporate Websites 3-1 Status of CMS Introduction on Corporate Websites 3-2 Reasons for Selecting a CMS 3-3 Status of CMS Use
Chapter 4: Social media usage status 4-1: Social media usage status of companies 4-2: Usage status of video content
Chapter 5: Corporate website operation status 5-1 Corporate website operation system 5-2 Corporate website operation costs and update frequency 5-3 Corporate website server operation status 5-4 Problems with corporate website operation
Chapter 6: The reality of corporate website renewal projects 6-1 Frequency and motivation for corporate website renewal 6-2 Budget for renewal projects 6-3 Structure and duration of renewal projects 6-4 Selection of production companies for renewal projects 6-5 Barriers to renewal projects and future challenges
Report Summary
Here are some notable points from the interviews.
1) From branding use to marketing use
The corporate websites of BtoB companies are sites with a variety of purposes and targets. When asked about the most important purpose and target of the website, the most common answer was "inquiries from new customers" at 34%.
In terms of targets, "business partners" were the most common, with 60% including new and existing business partners. It appears that they are aiming to acquire inquiries from business partners that will lead to sales opportunities.
In addition, while until now many B2B companies have set the purpose of their corporate websites to increase awareness and brand power, there has been an emerging trend of shifting from "branding use," which seeks to link that brand power to "recruitment" and "IR," to "marketing use."
2) Social media use is on the rise, but we are still finding our way around itUntil a few years ago, it was mainly BtoC companies that used social media, and not many BtoB companies. In this survey, 54% of companies answered that they were using social media. In the previous survey, it was 47%, so it has been increasing year by year, and it is the first time that it has exceeded half.
The most popular medium was YouTube, accounting for 75% of companies using social media, followed by X (formerly Twitter) (52%) and Facebook (39%).
When asked about concerns about using social media, the most common answer was "I don't know what kind of information I should post," at 53%, followed by "It's difficult to measure effectiveness" at 47%. With concerns about what to post and how to measure effectiveness, it appears that methods for using social media have not yet been established and people are still feeling their way around.
3) The most common renewal budget is between 5 million and 20 million yen. The most common budget for corporate website renewal was "5 million to 10 million yen" at 31%, followed by "10 million to 20 million yen" at 19%, and "1 million to 3 million yen" at 17%.
The renewal budget is proportional to the size of the company, with 48% of companies with sales of 100 billion yen or more reporting a budget of 10 million yen or more. As the role of and expectations for corporate websites increase, it appears that companies are setting aside a budget for renewal.
4) Renewal projects viewed over timeLooking at the number of years since the last renewal, about 40% of companies said it had been more than five years.The majority (83%) of companies answered that the reason for renewal was that "the site design and structure is outdated."Other reasons given included internal requests, streamlining the information posted on the site, and to coincide with anniversary milestones.
After a renewal project begins, many companies require about three months from the time the proposal is made to the time a production company is selected.
After that, over half of the companies said it took "six months to a year" from the first meeting after deciding on a production company to the delivery of the website. This is the first time since the survey began that more than half of the companies have answered "six months to a year," suggesting that project periods are getting longer.
lastly
We are planning to cover this year's events as well. We plan to review the topics covered, keeping in mind the changes in the circumstances surrounding production sites and corporate websites.
This report will be sent to the people who cooperated with the interviews. If you are interested in an interview or report, please feel free to contact us here .
FURIHATA Yukari