A major B2B research initiative, conducted by Enquiro with input from Google, Business.com, Covario, Marketo and DemandBase, showed that most marketers aren't effectively leveraging online assets to their best potential. Among other things, the notion of a strictly followed, traditional buying funnel is simply not accurate in many instances, risk dictates buying behavior, search is incredibly important as an integrator across online and offline channels and face-to-face persuasion is still necessary in many high risk, complex purchases. The BuyerSphere project looks at how online strategies became artificially separated from traditional best practices, how they can be more effectively integrated and the part search plays as a major influencer. This panel discussed the research from over 100 face-to-face interviews, hundreds of eye tracking sessions and over 3,000 survey responses in total. The project represents a major step forward in understanding B2B buyer patterns and the part online marketing can play in influencing them. For more the project and how B2B marketers can benefit, check out this interview with Gord Hotchkiss from Enquiro: B2B marketers, will find these conclusions most interesting:

1.  The marketing funnel does not always apply in B2B buying situations

  • Normal buying = Risk vs. reward. The problem with b2b buying is that it’s all risk and very little individual reward for the buyer
  • Awareness is an important stage, but must include a path to the consideration phase for the buyer
2. B2B marketers should more effectively their customer's buying process
  • Understand the mindscape of your prospect (your offer is perceived relative to the competition)
  • Risk = fear = long purchase cycle.  More people are involved in B2B buying decisions which requires more research, more touch points and more risk control
  • Understand your buyer. Are they a repeat buyer or have they never bought your type of product before?
3.  Existence of the Buyer-Doer Gap creates opportunity to establish metrics for attribution of marketing tactics that lead to a sale
  • Definition of risk changes during the buying cycle
  • "Doers" have a need for information; tend to drive buying early (thought leadership, white papers, webinars, product information
  • "Buyers" – the need for trust building, tend to get involved late during procurement (vendor reliability, pricing, guarantees, risk avoidance) – consider gating via registration information for buyers.
For more information and access to the full report from Enquiro go here.