• by Ray Schultz , August 5, 2022

B2B buyers are no less challenging to serve than B2C ones— especially in the current environment.  

For one thing, many report their needs have changed due to the pandemic and other conditions, according to the 2022 B2B Buyer Behavior Survey from Demand Gen, sponsored by DemandBase. They say:

• We have escalated some purchases due to changing business needs—38%
• We are looking for more hands-on/engagement from solution providers—23%
• We have had to delay potential purchases due to budget freezes—20%
• Our research/engagement has not changed—19% 

Moreover, purchase timelines have changed. They have:

• Stayed the same—38%
• Increased somewhat—35%
• Increased significantly—20% 
• Decreased somewhat—6%

When researching solutions, buyers rely on these top three resources:

• Web search—52%
• Vendor websites—36% 
• Review sites—26%

What do buyers expect? They want:

• Easy access to relevant content that speaks directly to my company—63%
• Easy access to pricing and competitive information—62%
• Speaks directly to and demonstrates expertise around the needs of our industry—56% 

The top five variables when evaluating a provider are: 

• Pricing—82% 
• Reviews—56%
• Features/functionality—54%
• Vendor demonstrated experience with/knowledge of our industry—53%
• Deployment time/easy of use—50%

And, 84% say the vendor’s content had a significant impact on their buying decision. 

But sellers need the right tools:

“With the right software, you can bring together data from your CRM, marketing automation system, corporate email and calendar, website and advertising metrics (first-party data) with company information, hierarchies and groupings, news and events, technographics, contact data, social insights, connections, intent and account identification (third-party data),” the study notes. 

Demand Gen surveyed 340 B2B executives. Of those, 29% work in C-level roles, 42% are managers, 20% are at the director level and 8% are VPs. Their industries include manufacturing (18%), professional services (17%), financial services (11%), high-tech (10%) and media/entertainment (10%).