Recently, Enquiro, in conjunction with MarketingSherpa and Survey Sampling International, released a report entitled Marketing to a B2B Technical Buyer (requires registration). Comprised of roughly equal parts research report and Enquiro marketing perspectives, the document seeks to analyze the behaviors of B2B technical buyers and convey their priorities.
While there are a few interesting takeaways, there isn’t much in the research data that would surprise any seasoned B2B marketing professional. And despite the sheer volume of the document that portends the importance of the B2B technical buyer, the report fails to mention a key characteristic of the technical buyer:
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When someone visits an online retailer to buy a book or a Polo shirt, he or she is probably pretty far along the path to a buying decision. Two, maybe three sites are checked for the price on the book, or the colors available for the shirt. But chances are, there’s not a lot of searching going on. The buyer simply wants to find that particular item, buy it, and get delivery as soon as possible.
In the B2B realm, the situation couldn’t be more different, for several very good reasons.
It’s a matter of time.
First, the vast majority of B2B purchases are not snap decisions. For major supplies and capital investments in particular, the factors influencing the decision unfold over time, and in many cases can ebb and flow with business realities. In the B2B buying cycle, it can be a year to 18 months or more from the time the possible need is first acknowledge to the time the “trigger is pulled” for purchase.
Throughout the entire process, starting at the very earliest speculation, information is being gathered and preliminary decisions are being made, at least informally. These prospects—prospects tiptoeing around the rim of your sales funnel—need to know about you early to put you in their consideration set. That’s what B2B SEO does. And why it matters.
It’s a complex issue, with more people involved in it.
Not too many things to think about when you’re buying a blue Polo shirt. And only your opinion matters. That’s not true for B2B purchases. The very nature of many B2B purchases requires significant knowledge and research in order to make the best purchase decision.
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