What do these insights reveal about the state of the modern B2B Buyer Decision Process?
The DMU concept has evolved since Webster and Wind’s 1972 model. Millennials, online buying and day-to-day organizational complexities have shaped behaviors, attitudes and motivations.
The strongest brands stay abreast of these changes, identifying new opportunities to engage with their target audiences.
How are you adapting your strategy to meet modern demand?
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B2B Buyer Stage: Need Recognition
This is the only process step that is never skipped…
62% of B2B buyers say a web search is one of the first 3 resources they use to learn about a solution (Demand Gen Report)
Solutions that solve a pain point were ranked 84% of importance to buyers (Demand Gen Report)
90% of B2B decision makers never respond to any form of cold outreach (Kevin Scott, LinkedIn EMEA)
B2B buyers spend 2 hours per day on their mobile devices (Google & BCG)
B2B Buyer Stage: Research
71% of B2B researchers start with a generic search — rather than searching for a particular company (Fronetics)
Buyers are digitally empowered; 68% of B2B customers prefer to research independently online (Forrester)
Research is self-directed; 60% prefer not to interact with a sales rep as the primary source of information (Forrester)
62% say they can now develop selection criteria or finalize a vendor list — based solely on digital content (Forrester)
Whilst researching, buyers of categories such as “Security Software” put the sales-rep-in-person #6 after Tech Info Websites, Tech Analysts, Vendor Websites, Peers and IT Forums (Forrester)
15% of the customer purchase process consists of untangling conflicting information (Gartner)
88% of B2B customers say that the information they find online is of high quality (Gartner)
B2B Buyer Stage: Research Evaluation
Also known as the ‘Evaluation of Alternatives’ stage
95% of B2B customers said they would stay loyal to a brand they trust (Salesforce)
People usually overestimate how much information they need (Harvard Business Review)
Buyers are 57% of the way down the sales path by the time they engage with a brand’s website (Fronetics)
B2B Buyer Stage: Decision
Suppliers that make buying easy are 62% more likely to win premium sales (Harvard Business Review)
69% of buyers said the most influential aspect of vendors’ websites is relevant, tailored content (Demand Gen Report)
The average size of the decision-making unit has grown to 6.8 members (Harvard Business Review)
B2B Buyer Stage: Post-Purchase Evaluation
40% of B2B buyers experience post-purchase doubts (Harvard Business Review)
70% of survey respondents said timeliness of a vendor’s response was one of the reasons they selected a winning vendor – whilst poor timing led to unhappy purchase decisions (Demand Gen Report)
A proactive, prescriptive sales approach can reduce post-purchase regret by 50% (Harvard Business Review)
This infographic is part of our Mini-Series on B2B Segmentation. You can download our definitive guide, An Advanced Guide to B2B Segmentation here.
