详情描述

For years now, we've heard that B2B buyers are most of the way through the buyer's journeybefore they are willing to speak to a sales person.

However, recent findings from our 2nd annual B2B Buyer Survey (conducted in collaboration withPJAAdvertising & Marketing) revealed that buyers actually tend to reach out to vendors atthe beginning of the buying process.

What's more, buyers are especially willing to speak to vendors early in the buying process lF thevendor can actually help them make a buying decision.

Traditionally, companies have pursued an SEO-oriented, inbound marketing strategy to capturethe attention of buyers who have embarked on their buying journey.The problem is that thisapproach leaves a lot to chance.

Today, by leveraging the power of intent data, vendors can identify and engage prospects at thevery beginning of their buying journey.As a result, vendors can now uncover active new deals,increase their consideration percentage, and close more business.

When asked to describe their most recent B2B purchase, respondents to our B2B Buyer'sSurvey painted a very telling picture:

Yikes.B2B buying can be a painful and rarely rewarding struggle.And this struggle has severalcauses.

First, buyers just don't know what they need.50% of our survey respondents said that theirneeds were either partially,not well, or poorly defined.

lt should come as no surprise then to discover that buyers have difficulty getting a purchase overthe finish line:

Interestingly, when buyers can't complete a purchase, they don't fault their own inability to definetheir needs.Instead, they blame vendors:

The funny thing is, buyers look to vendors to help them alleviate the inevitable pain of the buyingprocess.

First of all,73% of B2B buyers say that they reach out to vendors early in the process.
Second of all, they are more willing to speak with a vendor "earlier than usual in theconsideration process" if that vendor can help them frame their decision:

ln many cases, the best way for vendors to help buyers frame their decision is to challenge theirassumptions about what they really need.
Furthermore, in last year's B2B Buyer Survey, we found that 65% of those surveyed would bemore likely to work with a vendor who challenged their way of doing business by highlighting apain point or organizational need they weren't aware of.

Unsurprisingly, buyers are much more open to such challenges at the beginning of the buying process:

And such challenges are most effective when they involve showing buyers a new way to solvean established problem:

Finally, it's worth noting that challenging buyers can really broaden their horizons. New entrantsand challenger brands can raise their profile in the eyes of buyers:

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