New Survey Shows BtoB Buying, Budgeting Process Shifting Due To Social, ROI Factors

February 9, 2010
Written by Andrew Gaffney
Published in Feature Articles

The classic path for a BtoB buyer has traditionally been built around BANT criteria, with Budget, Authority, Need and Timing all identified before a prospect is considered a qualified sales lead. However, according to the preliminary results of a new DemandGen Report survey, the BtoB buying process is changing dramatically as a result of social media and the need to clearly demonstrate ROI.

The survey titled “Transforming the BtoB Buying Process,” found only 2 in 10 BtoB executives who were involved in the purchase of a solution during the past 12 months indicated budget for the project was approved and allocated during the beginning of the year. Nearly 4 in 10 respondents indicated they determined “the potential impact through other adopters and built a business case for immediate adoption,” then received approval although the project was unbudgeted.

More than 8 in 10 respondents said the buying process did not follow a traditional path where a budget was established, criteria outlined and then an RFP distributed to a pre-set list of solution providers.

Also demonstrating a more flexible and nimble buying process, 25% of early respondents indicated budget for the solution was allocated as part of a larger line item once the need was established and the ROI was clearly demonstrated. More than 10% said budget was determined after multiple bids were collected and 7% indicated budget was taken from another line item based on the clear ROI for the project.

The survey also showed the growing influence social media, blogs and other Web 2.0 tools are having on the BtoB buying process. A majority of respondents said Twitter and LinkedIn influenced their decisions during the “Solution Analysis” and “Problem Identification” phases. Nearly 90% indicated that blogs impacted their research during the “Solution Analysis” phase and 3 in 4 respondents said social bookmarking sites such as Digg and Delicious were utilized during the early Analysis phases.

“The early survey results validate what we have been seeing in our own business as well as through the results of our customers,” said Scott Mersy, VP of Marketing at Genius.com, the sponsors of the survey. “There is a lot of research and conversations taking place outside of the traditional sales funnel and BtoB companies can realize greater revenue by reaching out and responding to these interested prospects.”

BtoB buyers are also increasingly interested in sharing their experiences after they have completed a purchase, with more than 60% of respondents indicating they shared the learnings from their research and buying process with others after the fact. One-on-one discussions were the most common platform for sharing insights, but blog postings and participating in discussion forums on LinkedIn and other social sites represented a growing area.

The early results of the “Transforming the BtoB Buying Process” survey were collected primarily through social media as well, via tweets on Twitter and postings on targeted LinkedIn groups. Executives who have been involved in the purchase of solution or system in the past 12 months are encouraged to share their own experiences by taking part in the survey. DemandGen Report will be collecting feedback through this Friday, February 12^th and respondents will receive a detailed breakdown of the results and also be entered into a drawing to win an Amazon Kindle.