B2B buyers are warier than they were before the pandemic — at least in Great Britain, but probably in the U.S., too, judging by B2B Buyer Insights, a new study by durhamlane in partnership with Cyance.
Of the 80 buyers polled, 50% are consuming and marketing content than they did before 2020. But 79% report that they are served irrelevant content from vendors despite spending more time researching purchases.
In addition, 47% face more budget resistance. And 60% say purchase decisions are affected by shifting business priorities.
Worse, 58% agree with the statement that purchase decisions are more likely to be put on hold due to changing priorities, 9% strongly so, and 49% ay the same about potential buys.
But 45% rely on word of mouth and referrals, and 51% spend more time evaluating and analyzing before making a decision.
Of note to email marketers tasked with delivering content through the funnel is that 60% of buyers “find it helpful to receive relevant information form B2B throughout my buying journey,”
Here is what they expect of content:
But barely more than 20% agree that most B2B vendors provide them with relevant information. Almost 50% disagree and the remainder are neutral.
Sadly, over 80% agree that they share irrelevant information from vendors with decision-makers.
Good B2B personalization achieves these goals, in this order: