Over the last 18 months Base One Interactive have carried out over 50 Evaluator assessments of B2B websites for B2B Marketing Magazine. The sample has covered most of the key sectors within B2B equipment and services and includes both SME and Corporate businesses and it provides a useful snapshot of the state of B2B websites in the UK.

Evaluator results in a score out of 100 having considered what we believe to be the critical success factors. By succesful I mean - how effective is it in driving visitors down the purchase funnel. Looking at the results across all evaluations is revealing.

The highest score so far was awarded to the Xerox site and I recommend you take a look. With a total score of 78% it is the only site not to dip below 50% in any one area. Other very good scores have gone to Royal Mail, Mercedez, Lex, HP, Canon and a little know brand Cooper Lighting. All scoring above 60%. By the way, most sites (27 out of 50) scored less than 50%.

In the main there are four areas where B2B sites are under performing: Evaluator labels them as Intelligence, Interaction, Identification and Integration. The average across all these areas is between 30 and 37%. I'll explain what they mean:

By Intelligent we mean does the site deliver content appropriate to the needs of the visitor. Does it accomodate the differences between customer segments or decision makers within each segment. Interaction is simply how well the site uses "rich content" to engage the user and to encourage interaction. Identifcation covers the important process of somehow capturing visitor details so that you can have an ongoing dialogue and Integration is how well the site is integrated with other online and offline promotional activity.

To me (quoting a comedian I heard recently) it's not Rocket Surgery. So why is it that so many sites fail in these areas?

We can only blame the people developing the sites. Do they really understand how Buyers use the internet and how good is their basic marketing knowledge - do they understand what the client needs to achieve with the site to deliver on their marketing objectives? I suspect they dont, but I'd like to know more which is why we're sponsoring an upcoming survey with B2B Marketing looking at how clients feel about their sites and what their plans are to make them more effective. If you have a view please comment below or contact me directly

I have no doubt that this element of the marketing mix has the greatest potential to improve customer acquisition and retention if used properly. I'll comment on the results once we have them.

We're currently working on two new B2B brands. One is a well backed start up and the other the result of an MBO of the division of a bank. Part of the process is to define the brand values and this can sometimes be an arduous process. In these cases however it has been a (relatively) straight forward exercise and that has given me confidence for the future success of both brands. Why has it been so stright forward?

It's all about the management having a clear sense of what it is that makes the business what it is - essentially the culture. So if it's as easy as that why do so many businesses get it wrong? And believe me they do. I had a look at the "Best Brands" listed in the Business Superbrands book. (I have to admit to a prejudice against this book) but it is a single place to find the values of many of the UK's "leading brands" just to remind myself of some bad examples.

All too often they include the values that are a pre-requisite for a succesful business today - Honesty (uh!), Customer First (that's a distinct idea) ... I could go on. Your values are your chance to focus your employees on what is distinct about you and since having too many is confusing you need to focus on the values that make you what you are. It's important because your brand will reflect your values, the experience of interacting with your business will be what your values feel like at the recieving end and they are what give you a distinct personality.

An example of distinctive value would be those for TNS, the market research business, they are: Wit, Intelligence, Attitude and Imagination. Combine them and you have a really unique personality and one that is recognisable and believable.

So if you're rethinking your brand remember the importance of clear and distinct values. There's a good definition at http://www.brandchannel.com/education_glossary.asp and in other places and what they all say is that your values should act as a benchmark against which to judge the brands behaviour. In B2B it goes further - it's a benchmark against your employees also need to judge their own behaviour since in most cases they are the brand!