𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘄𝗲𝗯𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗲. 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘀𝗲𝗲 𝗶𝘁 𝘆𝗲𝘁.

We scored 24 B2B websites against a simple test: can a buyer recognise their situation in the first 30 seconds?

The average score was 13.6/30.

The design is fine.

The site fails at the moment that matters most: helping a buyer recognise their own situation.

Many could not.

• One $6bn enterprise scored 11/30

• Homepage: contact form plus "global leader" language

• Zero connection to the buyer's actual starting point

No buyer reads that and thinks: This is for me.

 C𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙙𝙞𝙗𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮. 𝗕𝘂𝘆𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝙧𝙚𝙡𝙚𝙫𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚

As April Dunford explains in her revised and updated book, 𝗢𝗯𝘃𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗹𝘆 𝗔𝘄𝗲𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲, https://amzn.eu/d/0784Bzt1, as markets get more crowded and products easier to build, the real constraint shifts to positioning and distribution.

The buyer is not asking: "What does this company do?"

They are asking: "Is this relevant to my situation, right now?"

Typically, websites answer the first. Very few answer the second.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝗽𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆.

Every company we assessed already had the right insight:

• Why customers chose them

• What problems they solved

• Where they created value

It was just buried. Case studies. Services pages. Internal language.

They describe what they do. But not why it matters at the moment a buyer decides to act.

T𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗲.

If your homepage does not translate the buyer's situation:

• Traffic does not convert

• Sales compensates with narrative and discounting

• Customers buy for the wrong reasons and churn risk increases

This is a positioning problem. It sits upstream of everything else.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝗻 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘁𝗵:

• The situation the buyer was in before they searched

• The trigger that forced action

• The language they used to describe it

Then they translate that customer truth into decision-ready communication.

The gap between 13.6/30 and a high-performing site is rarely budget or design.

It is whether the company has aligned its message with how buyers actually decide.

We run demand-side website assessments for B2B software and services companies.

If you want to know where your site sits, the framework is at shift90.partners.