[Research Round-Up] A Detailed Look at Real-World B2B Buying

(This month's Research Round-Up discusses the 2024 B2B Buyer Experience Study by 6sense. The 6sense study provides detailed insights regarding how business buyers make purchase decisions in real-world scenarios. This makes the study report a must-read for anyone involved in B2B revenue generation.)

2024 B2B Buyer Experience Report by 6sense 

Source:  6sense

• Based on a survey of 2,509 B2B buyers located in North America (37.46%). EMEA (29.77%), and APAC (32.76%).
• To qualify for the survey, participants must have bought at least $10,000 USD in annualized value within the 24 months preceding the survey. The average value of actual purchases made by the survey respondents exceeded $200,000 USD.
• More than 95% of the respondents were manager-level or above.
• Survey respondents were drawn from five industry verticals, with the largest cohort working at tech and software companies.
• 6sense released the study report on October 9, 2024; the report doesn't state when the survey was in the field.

The 2024 B2B Buyer Experience Study by 6sense is one of the most detailed examinations of B2B buying behavior that I've seen recently.

The study is based on a survey that produced more than 2,500 qualified respondents, and the researchers used various statistical techniques to analyze the survey data.

The study findings, combined with the insights from the statistical analysis, paint a picture of B2B buying that differs markedly from the conventional view. Therefore, this research should prompt B2B marketing and sales leaders to reexamine their strategies from the ground up.

The Basics

The 6sense researchers asked participants about several issues that earlier studies have also addressed. For example, the study found that for these survey respondents:

• The length of the average buying cycle was 11.5 months.

• The average number of individuals in the buying group was 10.9 people.

• The average number of prospective vendors considered by the buying group was 4.6.

• On average, the survey respondents were about 70% through their buying process before they engaged directly with representatives of prospective vendors.

These findings are similar to the results of numerous earlier research studies.

Extra Insights

What makes the 6sense study particularly valuable is that it also provides insights about issues that haven't been frequently addressed in previous studies. For example:

• 92.6% of the surveyed buyers had prior experience with at least one of the prospective vendors they considered. 84% had experience with the vendor that was ultimately selected, while 8.6% had prior experience with only a "losing" vendor.

• Buyers initiated contact with prospective vendors 81% of the time.

• In 85% of the buying scenarios represented in the survey, the buying group had their purchase requirements nearly or completely set before initiating contact with prospective vendors.

When Buyers Pick a Favorite

One of the most interesting topics discussed in the 6sense study report relates to when B2B buyers identify a preferred vendor.

At several places, the report's authors assert that most B2B buyers have identified a preferred vendor before they contact any prospective vendors. For example, on page 23 of the report, the authors write:

"Buyers devote nearly 70% of their buying journey to identifying a short-list of potential providers. They review content, have internal meetings and consult with outside resources to establish their requirements and agree on a shortlist and a favored vendor. Only then do they reach out to vendors to confirm that choice, starting with the preferred vendor. They end up buying from the initially preferred vendor 81% of the time."

While I suspect this statement is probably accurate, it's not clear from the study report that the survey data directly supports this conclusion.

The 6sense researchers asked survey participants ". . . whether their first interaction with a provider organization was with the ultimate winner or instead with one of the other providers." Eighty-one percent (81%) of the respondents reported that their first vendor contact was with the ultimate winner.

The focus of this question is who buyers contact first. However, it's not clear from the study report that the survey specifically asked participants (a) whether their buying group identified a preferred vendor before initiating content with prospective vendors, or (b) what percentage of the time the preferred vendor turns out to be the winning vendor.

I'm not sure why the researchers didn't ask these questions, and I hope they will be included in future editions of this research.

*****

The 2024 B2B Buyer Experience Report provides great insights into B2B buying behavior. I encourage you to take the time to review the full 65-page report.

[Book Review] How to Build the Strategic Human Relationships that Drive B2B Growth

Source:  Kogan Page

An old business adage states, "People buy from people." Other versions of the adage include:  "People buy from people they like" and "People buy from people they trust."

Whatever version, the adage makes the point that human relationships are vital to business success, just as much in B2B as in B2C.

This is the central theme of a new book by Dr. Ryan O'Sullivan. In Building B2B Relationships:  How to identify, map and develop key relationships to win more business (Kogan Page, 2025), Dr. O'Sullivan presents a compelling argument for the importance of high-quality person-to-person relationships in B2B, and he provides a detailed process for building such relationships intentionally and strategically.

Ryan O'Sullivan is a senior business executive, board member, business advisor, and university guest lecturer. He is currently a Global Account Manager at Introhive, a relationship intelligence and mapping company. Previously, he was a Regional Head (EMEA) at Infosys, a global IT services firm. Dr. O'Sullivan earned his PhD from the University of Portsmouth in 2022.

What's In the Book

Building B2B Relationships is structured in three parts.

Part 1 (Chapters 1-3)

In this part, Dr. O'Sullivan explains what trusted relationships are and why they matter in business. He also discusses the three attributes that are necessary to create trust - ability, integrity, and benevolence - and he describes how trust forms between organizations. Lastly, he introduces relationship mapping and explains why it's important.

Dr. O'Sullivan clearly states his view on the importance of relationships when he writes:

"It is my view, based on many years of experience, that strong relationships lie at the heart of successful B2B interactions. In a world where there is access to so much data and information, it is becoming harder and harder for many suppliers to offer a truly unique, differentiated product. Relationships are by definition bespoke and personal (even though of course they are often built in a business context), and thus continue to present the supplier with the opportunity to offer something different from their competition."

Dr. O'Sullivan also makes it clear that his book is focused on the importance of leveraging existing relationships. He writes:

"So, while there are many people out there today who can advise you on cold outreach strategies, this book takes a very different tack. It is focused on strategies to leverage your existing relationship network and will help to open your peripheral vision beyond what you might consider to be 'your network.'"

Part 2 (Chapters 4-6)

Part 2 of Building B2B Relationships describes Dr. O'Sullivan's three-step process for mapping relationships for business purposes, and he provides a simple but persuasive argument for each step.

• Step 1 is the initial identification and mapping of key stakeholders (". . . if you don't know who the key people are, how can you influence them?")

• Step 2 consists of research and intelligence gathering about the priorities of key stakeholders and other relevant factors (". . . if you know who they are but don't know what is important to them, why will they give you their time?")

• Step 3 involves the development of a detailed strategy for engaging the key stakeholders (". . . if you know who they are, and you know what is important to them, who is the best person to engage, through what channel, and with what message?")

Part 3 (Chapters 7-10)

Throughout Building B2B Relationships, Dr. O'Sullivan focuses on three specific use cases for relationship mapping - winning key deals, managing key projects, and managing key accounts.

In Part 3 of the book, he devotes a separate chapter to each of these use cases, and he concludes the book with a chapter discussing how to implement relationship mapping and how to take it to the next level.

My Take

Astute businesspeople intuitively understand the importance of creating and sustaining good customer relationships. But despite this recognition, relationship management doesn't always get as much attention as it deserves.

Many of us tend to think that strong customer relationships will naturally develop if we do the rest of our jobs well. We don't usually treat relationship management as a distinct "thing" that, in some circumstances at least, calls for a distinct, intentional strategy.

Building B2B Relationships provides a detailed roadmap for developing and executing an intentional relationship management strategy. As noted earlier, the book focuses on three use cases - winning key deals, managing key projects, and managing key accounts.

What these use cases have in common is that they are strategically important and can have a significant impact on a company's financial performance. Dr. O'Sullivan's relationship mapping process is clearly best suited for these kinds of game-changing scenarios.

Building B2B Relationships is well-written, but it often reads a little like an instruction manual. This is not a criticism of the author's writing style; it's simply a reflection of the book's subject matter.

Dr. O'Sullivan includes four case studies in the book, which help readers better understand how his relationship mapping process works in the real world. More case studies would have made the book even better.

Building B2B Relationships will be a valuable resource for anyone in a customer-facing role at a B2B company. The book will be particularly valuable for anyone involved in developing or managing a strategic account-based marketing or key account management program. If you're in such a role, you should put Building B2B Relationships on your reading list.

Cracking the Code on Strategic ABM Success

 The Story of ABM

Over the past two-plus decades, account-based marketing (ABM) has evolved from a niche marketing discipline used mainly by large IT services firms to become a core component of marketing at many B2B companies.

The Information Technology Services Marketing Association (ITSMA) (now part of Momentum) coined the term "account-based marketing" in 2003, and ABM soon became a central focus of its research and consulting.

ITSMA defines account-based marketing as ". . . a strategic approach to designing and executing highly-targeted and personalized marketing programs to drive business growth and impact with specific, named accounts." [Source]

The popularity of account-based marketing has grown dramatically because B2B marketers perceive that ABM is highly effective. In the 2023 Global State of Account-Based Marketing survey by ITSMA and ABM Leadership Alliance, 81% of the respondents said ABM programs deliver a higher return on investment than "traditional marketing initiatives."

As originally conceived, ABM was viewed as a special approach to marketing that would be used with a company's most valuable customers. Within a few years, however, the successes achieved by early ABM adopters prompted marketers to look for ways to scale account-based marketing so that it could be cost-effectively used with a broader range of accounts.

In its 2016 Account-Based Marketing Benchmarking Survey, ITSMA documented the rise of three distinct types of ABM - strategic ABM (a/k/a one-to-one ABM), ABM Lite (a/k/a one-to-few ABM), and programmatic ABM (a/k/a one-to-many ABM).

This three-part framework has become the standard way to describe account-based marketing, but the reality today is that one-to-few and one-to-many ABM aren't materially different from state-of-the-art conventional outbound B2B demand generation marketing.

This is not true for strategic ABM, which embodies a very different marketing approach. With strategic ABM, marketing activities and programs are components of a multi-faceted management plan for a single customer account, and they are customized for that account.

Strategic ABM Still Rules

While one-to-few and one-to-many ABM have broadened the reach of account-based marketing, the linchpin of any successful ABM initiative is still strategic ABM.

Strategic ABM remains the most widely-used type of account-based marketing, and most ABM thought leaders and practitioners agree that strategic ABM - if done well - will generate a higher ROI than one-to-few or one-to-many ABM. Put simply, it's hard to have a high-performing ABM program if don't master strategic ABM.

The functional centerpiece of a successful strategic ABM initiative is the account management plan. With strategic ABM, a separate plan is developed for each account in the initiative. This is the first distinguishing characteristic of strategic ABM. It's truly one-to-one.

An effective strategic ABM account plan is also distinguished by the process used to develop it and the content it contains.

Developing the Plan(s)

Strategic ABM is often implemented in companies that already have a key account management (KAM) program. Key account programs have existed in some large B2B companies since the late 1950s. Early KAM programs were usually led by a sales executive, and their primary focus was managing sales opportunities.

The discipline of key account management has evolved substantially over the past six decades. Many companies now have well-developed KAM programs that are designed and executed by cross-functional account teams, and led by dedicated, senior-level account managers.

Today, the best KAM programs are focused on identifying longer-term growth opportunities in the account and maintaining the long-term health of the customer relationship, as well as on shorter-term sales opportunities.

In these circumstances, strategic ABM is essentially synonymous with key account management. A marketer becomes a member of the account management teams (usually no more than 5) and brings marketing expertise to the formulation of the account management plans. ABM activities are fully integrated into the account management plan so that the company has a single, cohesive strategy and plan for each key account.

Content of the Plan(s)

An effective strategic ABM/KAM account management plan is essentially a full-fledged business plan that is focused on an individual customer. The objective of the account planning process is to formulate a strategy and set of actions that will (a) protect the current revenue you are earning from the customer, and (b) enable you to grow the revenue you earn from the customer.

I used the term "business plan" intentionally because an effective strategic ABM/KAM plan is similar to the kind of business plan you would develop for any strategic move, such as the introduction of a new product or service, or an adjacent market expansion.

You can easily find dozens of business plan templates by performing a simple Google search. The framework that I've found works well for an account management plan contains six major components.

Customer Description

The objective of this portion of the plan is to provide a comprehensive picture of the customer's business operations, competitive position, organizational structure, and financial performance.

This portion of the plan should describe:

• The market(s) the customer serves and the economic attractiveness and growth potential of those markets
• The products and/or services the customer offers
• The types of individuals and/or organizations the customer primarily serves
• The customer's principal competitors
• The customer's current and recent financial performance
• The customer's business strategy and strategic priorities
• Any recent or planned structural changes (expansions or contractions)
• The customer's senior leadership team

If the customer is a public company, much of this information, including financial performance data, can be obtained from the customer's regulatory filings. If the customer is privately owned, financial data can be more challenging to obtain.

A mindset that I've found useful when preparing this portion of an account plan is to imagine that you are a stock analyst who is preparing an evaluation of the customer for investment purposes.

Current Relationship

This portion of the plan is where you describe your current position with the customer. What products and/or services do you sell to the customer? How long have you been doing business with the customer? How has the revenue you earn from the customer changed over the past 2-3 years? Who are your principal competitors for the customer's business? How strong is your current relationship with the customer? Most importantly, what "share of wallet" are you currently earning from the customer?

Relationship Objectives

This portion of the plan details your objectives for the relationship with the customer. Most of these objectives will be about increasing the revenue you earn from the customer, and those objectives are usually best expressed in terms of increasing the share of customer spend you earn in relevant areas.

You may also want to include more "operational" objectives. For example, if the customer has several business units and you are currently doing business with only some of those business units, you may have an objective to win business from a new business unit.

Threats/Barriers to Success

This is where you identify the events or circumstances that could throw a wrench into your plan. Obviously, you can't foresee every possible threat or barrier, but if you have deep customer insights and a realistic picture of your company's capabilities, you can identify many of the plausible events or circumstances that could derail your success.

Measurable Outcomes and Milestones

Every account management plan should include specific outcomes that are quantitatively measurable. Obviously, these outcomes will include your ultimate relationship objectives. For example:  "Increase the revenue we earn from XXX by 15% in our next fiscal year." You should also include measurable outcomes that are milestones or leading indicators of progress toward your ultimate objectives.

Action Plan

This portion of the account plan details the actions you will take to achieve your relationship objectives. Your account plan should identify who is responsible for each action and specify a target completion date. This level of detail will enable the members of your account management team to organize their work, hold each other accountable, and track progress toward success.

Final Thoughts

It should be clear that developing this type of account business plan isn't a trivial undertaking. It requires a significant amount of time and effort, especially the first time it's done for a customer. That's why strategic ABM/KAM initiatives should be reserved for your most valuable customers.

The deep customer insights and level of focus resulting from the account planning process also go a long way to explaining why well-designed and executed strategic ABM/KAM programs deliver outstanding value and ROI.

Image courtesy of emiliokuffer via Flickr (CC).