"B2B readers love web content," writes Cris L. Rominger in a post on the Red On Marketing blog. "Anyone who has created or consumed content in the B2B marketplace knows this—B2B buyers are information hounds." Add to that the analytical nature of most IT professionals, as well as the pace of change they're perpetually trying to manage, and you've got a great opportunity to engage your prospects online. But before you write your Web content, it helps to know how prospects read online.

Relevant content is scanned, not read. "Having grown accustomed to the web's ability to sort and serve up relevant content, we've developed higher expectations and lower tolerance levels," says Rominger. "As information seekers, we're goal oriented and on a mission. We're impatient and critical."

In retrieval mode, readers rapidly gauge the relevance of content. They ask:

• Am I in the right place?
• Is there something here for me?
• Can I get to it easily?

"And we're quick to decide," Rominger says. "We take in pictures and graphics, scan headings and bullets, and focus mostly on the first few words."

Readers seek useful information. Rominger cites Enquiro research that suggests a "full 92% of respondents turn to online resources in the early stages of the buying cycle." So if your prospects are researching a sizeable IT investment, then they're on your website carefully evaluating information that will be shared with multiple decision makers. So keep your content real: "Like all online readers," Rominger says, "B2B folks share distaste for promotional fluff, mission statements, and other marketing blah blah."

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