Tactics: The State of Business Buying

Business buyers around the world are overwhelmingly price-sensitive as they navigate macroeconomic headwinds such as inflation, the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, and a generational shift in the workforce. To understand how these factors affect business buying behavior, Forrester surveyed more than 18,000 global respondents to glean their latest preferences. The 2023 survey results, highlighted in our new report, The State Of Business Buying, 2023 exposed four areas that impacted businesses’ purchases:

1.  FINANCIAL CONSTRAINTS
   • 89% of respondents faced stall reasons due to budget constraints.
   • Price is the top priority for buyer.
2. VENDOR-OWNED INTERACTIONS
   • Product experts, sales representatives, and customer service/success teams are most influential in the buying cycle.
   • Vendor presentations have the most influence on complex purchases.
3. GENERATIONAL DIFFERENCES
   •  71% of respondents are “younger buyers”(Millennials and Generation Z), while 29% are “older buyers” (Generation X and Baby Boomers).
   • Older buyers rely more on previous provider experience for information.
   • Younger buyers face challenges like building internal consensus on vendor selection.
4. REGIONAL PRACTICES
   • Asia Pacific buyers value trust and relationships with vendors.
   • Social issues like diversity, equity, sustainability, and customer experience are crucial for Asia Pacific buyers.
   • North American buyers are more autonomous in their decision-making.

FACE IT: NEW GENERATION RESPONDS TO IN-PERSON CONNECTION

•  Buyers aged 25 to 44 will make up 75% of business buying teams in 2024.
•  64% of today’s B2B buyers were born after 1980 (digital natives).
• When engaged in face-to-face buying, Forrester’s data shows that these buyers find personal interactions with product experts more meaningful than all other in-person activities.
• Forrester predicts that 40% of younger buyers will rate person- to-person meetings with product experts as their most meaningful personal interactions.
•  Successful sellers will need to match buyer needs to appropriate offerings— and their representative experts —earlier in the sales process.
• To alleviate buyer friction points in a smarter, more seamless manner, top sellers should forge effective partnerships with these experts and effectively orchestrate all person-to- person interactions.
• Sellers who practice this will see their time spent on direct buyer engagement rise to 25% or more of their overall work week.

RETRO-ACTIVE: BRANDS INVEST IN DIRECT MAIL

According to a recent Winterberry Group study sponsored by the U.S. Post Office, U.S. brands are set to invest over $39 billion in direct mail this year, ranking it fifth among advertising and marketing channels. Direct mail’s resilience is attributed to its effectiveness as a performance marketing channel, aiding in customer acquisition, sales, and data generation for measurability and personalization. However, it faces challenges due to its reputation for being expensive and traditional. Brands are increasingly adopting an omnichannel approach, prioritizing performance, exploring alternative channels like direct mail, leveraging data and technology, relying on third-party data, and seeking flexibility and scalability in their marketing strategies.

Percent of Marketers Citing Reasons for Direct Mail Usage:

37% Omnichannel Activation
36% Enhanced Targeting Ability

34% Increased Personalization

Note: 53% of marketers are shifting to more personalized content over the next year.