For B2B marketers, understanding the dynamics of buyer behavior is more crucial than ever. So, I recently sat down with Valerie Riley, Head of Content and Digital Marketing at Insightly CRM, to explore these dynamics and shifts on the Closing Time podcast. 

Our discussion centered on the findings of our 2024 B2B Buying Disconnect Report, which sheds light on significant shifts in buyer expectations, vendor strategies and the disconnects and what it means for B2B marketers moving forward.

Allyson Havener

SVP of Marketing & Community | TrustRadius

The Vendor-Buyer Disconnect

If you’re new to the 2024 report, it showed several pivotal themes shaping the B2B buying landscape right now, namely brand awareness, trust, and transparency. One of the major findings that drives that home is the shrinking shortlist of vendors that B2B tech buyers consider. 

Today’s buyers are largely comprised of Millennials and Gen Z who are digitally savvy and risk-averse. So, with 78% of buyers (86% of enterprise buyers) selecting products to purchase they’d heard of before starting the research process, it’s clear establishing your brand early in their journey is critical. You have to be top of mind and, sure, that’s easier as a market leader, but challenger brands can still build a marketing strategy to be top of mind by prioritizing brand marketing. 

Another important topic we covered is that the stabilization of buying group sizes doesn’t mean things are getting easier. The number of decision-makers involved is leveling out to between two and five people for the majority of companies, yet 52% of these buying decisions involve VP titles or above, even for purchases as low as $10,000.

Then, there’s the ongoing debate between brand marketing and demand generation budgets. Despite the emphasis on performance-driven marketing, the report reveals that buyers prioritize brands they trust and are familiar with. However, the current spending imbalance—with less than 35% allocated to brand marketing—indicates a “brand crisis” for companies overly focused on demand generation. 

And, Valerie’s insight into how hard it can be to get buy-in for brand generation efforts goes to show how true this finding is. We were both in agreement that it will be exciting to see the potential for the pendulum to swing more toward campaigns that serve both brand building and demand gen, rather than fully on the results-based demand capture.

Lastly, we talk about the critical issue of sales and marketing effectiveness, as well as the post-purchase phase. With buyers demanding more transparency and self-serve options, traditional sales roles as gatekeepers of product information are becoming obsolete. And after purchase, it’s imperative to ensure proper implementation to maximize the value your technology brings to buyers. Your buyers will be repeat buyers if and when they move companies. Remember, you are selling to people.

A key takeaway from this discussion is that buyers today are more informed and skeptical, demanding transparency and authenticity from vendors, while vendors struggle to align their strategies with these shifting expectations. 

This disconnect is evident in the way buyers now rely heavily on peer reviews, peer conversations, and self-serve information to make informed decisions. Vendors who fail to bridge this gap will be excluded from buyers’ shortlists. And if you can’t make the shortlist, hitting your revenue targets will only become harder.

Listen to the podcast for our full discussion in, Is Your Brand in Crisis Mode? Key Insights from the 2024 B2B Buying Disconnect Report.