Armstrong Named One of Top B-to-B Web Sites

Lancaster, PA, October 19--BtoB, the magazine for marketing strategists, has named www.armstrong.com one of "10 Great Web Sites" in its annual NetMarketing recognition. For the eighth year, BtoB has identified the best business-to-business Web sites across 14 industries. According to BtoB, the selected sites present high-quality product and company information in a compelling way, are easily navigated and effectively reflect the company’s brand. And, says Mary Morrison, senior editor, in her introduction to the BtoB report, "a great Web site displays power in seemingly small ways, for instance by showing a product from different angles, making contact information easy to find or giving visitors a chance to opt in to e-mail newsletters." "Our products are a high-consideration purchase, so everything we do online revolves around providing the resources our customers—architects, contractors, retailers and consumers—need to make a purchase they’ll be happy with," says Jesse Engle, general manager-eMarketing. BtoB recognized armstrong.com for being "as beautiful as the flooring, ceiling and cabinetry products it manufactures and markets ... filled with striking photographs and elegant navigation that make even a perfunctory browse a pleasure." BtoB says that "at the heart of the (Armstrong) site is an efficient product catalog." One of BtoB's criteria was that sites enable customers to make online purchases or takes them as close as possible to that point. "The site now also has a feature — "Design my Room" — where you can upload a photograph of your home or office and place our floorings in it," Engle said. "Paint companies have been doing this kind of thing for a while, but it’s more difficult when you’re dealing with 3-D products instead of just color. The advances in imaging technology have finally let us do this." The article also cites comments from two prominent Web site design experts: Shane Ginsberg, managing director of San Francisco-based AKQA, a global interactive marketing agency; and Jacob Nielsen, a principal of Nielsen Norman Group, a Web site consulting firm based in Fremont, California. They cite the organization of the site which gives users multiple and interesting ways to experience the product catalog. Nielsen specifically commented on all the alternate ways you can access the product catalog. "That’s a type of browsing by customer-oriented needs that’s often not found on b-to-b sites," he said. For corporate customers such as architects and retailers, Armstrong.com’s appeal goes beyond the visuals. "We’re doing everything to make their jobs easier, from making available product specifications to allowing specifiers to order literature, samples and specs online," said Randall Gablehouse, general manager, Commercial Sales, Armstrong Flooring. Other award-winning sites include Gateway, Nextel, Alcoa Building Products and Xerox, among others.