B2B buyer distrust and scepticism of technology providers is at an all-time high. So to ensure your B2B marketing efforts are going to enable you to achieve the sales and business growth levels you’re aiming for, understanding how decision-makers operate is key.
TrustRadius, a trusted review site for business technology, recently released its annual B2B Buying Disconnect Study, showing just where the big problems in B2B technology sales lie.
In this article, we take a look at some of the report’s key findings and offer some insights on how your SME or start-up can use this knowledge to its advantage.
Over 50% of B2B buyers don’t want to talk to you!
The study has found that 49% of B2B buyers involved in the purchase decision don’t engage directly with the vendor’s representatives. They prefer to seek information through other sources
Helping B2B buyers to gain access to the information, tools and expert opinion they seek must be a core component of your start-up or SME’s B2B marketing strategy.
Tell buyers what can go wrong!
77% of buyers say it is very important to understand “the cons” (i.e. what can go wrong) before making a purchase.
Be sure to convey to buyers in your meetings, demonstrations and customer reviews what could go wrong as well as how this could/will be addressed
Millennials have the buying power!
60% of technology buyers are Millennials. On average they use 5 sources of information (slightly more than their younger Gen Y and Baby Boomer counterparts)
They typically use User reviews, product demonstrations and free trials as part of their technology purchase decision making more than their older buyers.
It’s buying by committee – usually!
B2B technology purchase decisions are typically made through one of two types of buying committees
- Consensus Decision (24%) whereby committee members equally contribute to the decision
- Collaborative (24%): committee worked together to create a recommendation which is presented to the leadership for approval
- Divide & Conquer (17%): Everyone has different roles-some responsible for research, others for trial and evaluation, others for decision making
Therefore, in order to succeed, technology product and service providers
- Identify all buying committee participants
- Enable B2B technology buyers
- Know their priorities, drivers and key requirements
- Know who they talk to, where they go, what they listen to and/or read
- Provide the right content to the right people in the right format, based on how they buy
Get your copy of the 2019 Buyer Disconnect Report here
Surveying 941 tech buyers and vendors to learn about the state of B2B technology purchases, this report provides and in-depth study on buying preferences, vendor impact, and the persistent trust gap in B2B tech
It takes 5 to make them buy!
B2B buyers consult 5 sources on average when making technology purchase decisions.
Top sources used in the Selection Process are:
- Product demonstrations (61%)
- Vendor / Product website (56%)
- User reviews (52%)
- Vendor representatives (47%)
- Free trials (42%)
Free trials, buyers’ own experience, user reviews and product demonstrations have the strongest influence on technology purchases and are regarded as the most trustworthy sources.
The power of the user review
User reviews are heavily relied upon and influential in the purchase decision process as they enable buyers to:
- Get unbiased information before they talk to technology vendors or follow up on their claims
- Hear directly from people whose motivations they trust and who have relevant experience
- Identify products they believe will work in their specific environment
Develop your company’s review strategy
Creating a user review strategy must be a component of your company’s B2B marketing strategy.
As you develop the strategy, be sure to do the following:
- Identify reputable review sites that:
- Are high quality
- Provide balanced feedback
- Contain reviews that are representative of your customer base
- Develop a process to ask for customer reviews which includes:
- List of customers to approach for reviews
- Key triggers/touchpoints when to ask (e.g. after implementation or at an event)
- Make it easy to review
- Provide target customers with the necessary information (e.g. links to review site)
Did you find this article helpful?
Please let me know in the comments below, and don’t forget to subscribe & join the LIG community to access our ever-growing library of B2B resources such as planning toolkits & checklists.
About Michael Haynes
B2B Customer Acquisition & Growth Strategy Consultant
For over 20 years, Michael has worked with micro-businesses to large corporates alike across Australia and Canada, developing and implementing business growth strategies and programs.
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