Exploring Five New Standards for BtoB Website Development in the AI Era

Overview of the New Standards for BtoB Websites

At the Web担当者 Forum Meeting 2026 Spring, Takahiro Tabushi, CEO of Turbine Interactive, delivered an insightful lecture on the evolving standards of BtoB website development in the age of AI. As customer behaviors shift dramatically, especially with 70% of purchasing decisions made before direct interaction with sales teams, the significance of effective web presence becomes paramount.

Common Pitfalls in BtoB Websites

Takahiro Tabushi introduced five common failure patterns seen in BtoB websites that yield poor results:

1. Purpose of Site Development Lost in Aesthetics: Many companies focus solely on appearance, lacking essential information that prospective customers seek.

2. Disconnection from Sales Process: The fragmentation of marketing and sales processes leads to achieving metrics like page views, but these do not translate into meaningful business engagements.

3. Inconsistent Content Creation: Post-renewal, companies often fail to keep content updated, resulting in diminished site value over time.

4. Data Inefficiency: Without a cross-departmental approach for utilizing data, companies often settle for suboptimal practices that do not contribute to decision-making.

5. Vendor Dependency: Neglecting operational frameworks leads to reliance on external vendors, escalating costs with every update.

Leveraging AI for Maximum Results

To optimize BtoB website performance, Tabushi suggested specific AI applications aligned with the customer journey stages:

- Information Gathering Phase: Identify targets through cross-analysis of market trends and CRM data, explore search intents, and utilize AI chatbots for improved navigation on websites.
- Comparison Phase: Enrich customer profiles through the combination of CRM data and up-to-date online resources, tailoring a 1-to-1 approach based on behavioral forecasts, and refining FAQs and competitive comparisons.
- Decision-Making Phase: Conduct advanced company research prior to initial visits, create foundational proposal materials and scripts, and refine approaches based on meeting minutes for future proposals.

Tabushi emphasized the importance of customizing these actions to tailor-fit individual products and customer interactions.

Five New Standards for Website Renewal in the AI Age

He outlined five new standards for BtoB website renewal in the context of AI:

1. Clear Role Division Between AI and Humans: Utilize AI for rapid data processing while ensuring humans retain the role of understanding customer needs deeply and making decisions.

2. Design Web as an Extension of the Sales Process: Adapt the website’s structure to function as a virtual sales representative, providing content aligned with customer purchasing phases.

3. Implement Improvement Cycles from the Start: Launch the site with essential content and iterate based on effectiveness, progressively enhancing content through a validated operational model.

4. Optimize Site Structure with AI: Balance the company's messaging with the information customers seek, utilizing AI to revise information architecture.

5. Expect a Partner Who Understands Your Journey: Choose partners not just for their technical skills but for their capability to design and collaborate on business processes and site operations collectively.

By addressing these new standards, BtoB companies can effectively build websites that generate meaningful results, thus adapting to the ever-changing digital landscape.

About Turbine Interactive

Turbine Interactive, which operates under the Hakuhodo DY ONE Group and serves as a HubSpot solution partner, has a rich history of consulting and supporting BtoB marketing strategies, website and system development, and marketing automation. Since its founding in April 1999, it has grown to become a trusted leader in the industry. In 2015, they secured a domestic partnership with HubSpot, a top marketing automation platform, and achieved Platinum Partner status by 2019.