Savvy B2B Marketing

Research about B2B buyer attitudes and perceptions of marketing and its effectiveness are very rare.  Particularly comprehensive research spanning 800 decision makers across dozens of industries that take into consideration generational attitudes and biases of those buyers.  That's why we are thrilled to once again share the BuyerSphere report from Base One.  This third annual installment shows not only attitudes but now trends based on how the perceptions are shifting over time. 

Some highlights I drew from my review were:

• Web searches (71%) and Word of Mouth (56%) lead in research channels across all phases of the buying process.  They also scored the highest for the usefulness of the information found.

• Buyers with less than 5 years in their current role are twice as likely to download a whitepaper while researching a purchase.

• Word of Mouth is the lead influencer in decision making (7.3 on a 10 point scale) but the term Word of Mouth varies across generations.  Millenials are more likely to get that Word of Mouth via a social channel than a Gen X or older decision maker.  They are more likely to get it via offline interaction at a conference or seminar!

• Twitter usage dropped from 10% in 2011 to 3% in 2012.  Facebook dropped 12% to 5% over the same period.  Blogs and Linked in both dropped slightly but remained greater channels and less volital for B2B buyers.

• But don't count social media out!  20 something B2B buyers are twice as likely as 31-40 year olds to use it.  So the trend will tick up as those younger buyers become more senior in their organizations and garner more purchase decision making power!

Check it out!  We look forward to discussing the BuyerSphere 2020 report with you before we know it!