By Andy Martinus, digital director at creative agency HB
For all the promise of digital, the average B2B experience still feels depressingly static. Too often, websites are clunky and jargon-heavy, interfaces unintuitive, and journeys unclear. Visitors are met with stock images, endless forms, PDFs masquerading as “content”, and videos of talking heads. At best it’s forgettable; at worst it’s alienating – and that’s not how you get customers to come back.
It doesn’t have to be this way. B2B doesn’t have to be boring and beige. Many brands would benefit from looking outside their own sector – not to Coca Cola or Nike, whose worlds feel too far removed – but at organisations with similar challenges. Better to look at brands like the National Trust or the Wellcome Collection. Both must project authority, speak to informed audiences and bring large, often traditional organisations along as they modernise. They’ve shown how digital creativity can blend authority with accessibility.
Of course, it’s not easy. B2B deals are complex, buying cycles are long, and internal processes often dictate how journeys are built. Playing safe can feel like the best option. But it is possible: Arup has stripped back complexity in its digital presence, using storytelling and motion to make technical subjects easier to explore. While Atlassian has built experiences that prioritise user needs, layering interaction and information in ways that feel closer to consumer expectations than enterprise software.
So, how can other B2B brands improve their digital creative?
Make complexity simple
One of the hardest things to do is to simplify complexity, but it’s a powerful tool. Trust is built on clarity: if I can understand you quickly, I’m more likely to believe you can solve my problem. Too many B2B sites bury meaning under buzzwords and 40-page white papers.
Arup shows it’s possible to work in deeply technical areas like aviation and climate, and still present them concisely. They use layered pages and motion that make content accessible at different levels. Digital content doesn’t have to be complex to show technical and sector know-how. Overcomplicating digital offerings is visually off-putting and can feel like masking a lack of knowledge. Present ideas with confidence, in language people can grasp.
Reduce friction
Every unnecessary step in the journey costs money and trust. If someone comes with intent, don’t make them fight your process to act on it. The National Trust is a good benchmark: its membership flow is smoother than many retail checkouts. Compare that with the typical B2B approach: forcing people to hand over personal details to download a PDF, or insisting on a “discovery call” before customers have even had a chance to consider the offerings.
Map the main jobs your site exists to do – book a demo, see pricing, get in touch – and cut the steps in half. If you’re asking for information you’ll never use, it’s friction for the sake of it.
Use storytelling to build confidence
People remember stories, not sales decks. Too many B2B brands talk endlessly about themselves without showing what any of it means in practice. Case studies need to show more than success, but help readers understand how that success was reached.
The Wellcome Collection’s shift in its digital content strategy, moved it away from static updates and towards magazine-style features: essays, interviews and interactive ‘digital stories’ combining archival material, video and design. Engagement climbed, with readers spending longer and returning more often. Frame your services through the lens of impact, not just deliverables: show the story of transformation and why it matters.
Design for a non-linear journey
The traditional B2B journey imagines a neat funnel from ad to asset to form to sale. Today, buyers do their own research across multiple channels, often months before they’re ready to talk. Push them down a rigid funnel and they’ll disappear or hand over a burner email. Atlassian takes a different approach, with an ecosystem of content that supports exploration – product tours, documentation, community stories. Users aren’t forced down a single track. Other B2B brands should do the same. Make sure blogs, resource hubs and sector pages link both ways. Keep contact options visible but optional. When someone is ready, the path should be obvious. Until then, let them explore on their own terms.
Think like a consumer
People don’t become different humans when they go to work. They still respond to experiences that feel personal, interactive and engaging. Yet most B2B digital feels like ticking boxes rather than sparking curiosity. Consumer-inspired doesn’t mean gimmicky. Adobe’s “Creative Types” is a great example: a simple sequence of videos and questions that ends in a shareable, personalised output. It’s playful, but strengthens Adobe’s positioning as a brand that understands creativity. The principle for B2B is the same. Borrow the formats people love – interactive tests, calculators, modular case browsers – but ground them in your audience’s real needs. Style and substance aren’t a trade-off.
Make content an experience
Static content is the enemy of memorability. Case studies and reports don’t need to live as 40-page PDFs or gated white papers. They can become digital experiences that invite exploration — interactive timelines, modular stories, or magazine-style hubs.
The National Trust proves it can be done. We helped the 130-year-old membership organisation reimagine its print magazine. Rather than a simple page turner format or microsite, we created a dynamic, interactive platform that enhances storytelling through animation, immersive soundscapes, video and read-aloud functionality, puzzles, crosswords, interactive maps and exclusive digital features. Within a year, 58% of members – many of whom had previously been reluctant to move away from print – said they prefer digital or like both formats equally, and 110,000 members had already signed up for digital.
The lesson for B2B: there’s no excuse to stay stuck in static formats. Experiences keep people longer, bring them back, and get shared.
The cost of sameness
Risk aversion explains much of B2B’s digital stagnation. Big-ticket purchases demand trust, so teams equate “serious” with “safe”. Processes prioritise form fills and downloads, not long-term engagement. The result: a sea of sameness.
However, if every brand looks alike, there’s no reason to choose one, and in an era of feeds and AI, indistinct brands may not even be seen. Marketing Week’s 2025 Language of Effectiveness study shows more than half of B2B marketers are increasing their focus on creativity. The intent is there. Now it needs action. Those who strip out friction, tell better stories, and borrow from consumer experiences will stand out, convert more, and build trust faster.
