B2B Web Strategy Blog - eMagine

Changing information sources for large purchase decisions

August 7th, 2009 Posted by: Bill Gadless

Once again, a bit of research from MarketingSherpa that puts the stamp of validity on what we’ve kinda suspected:  in this case, that the poor economy has forced a shift away from face-to-face events and trade shows, and toward their virtual or online counterparts.  And this was a survey of buyers and influencers about the means they used for gathering information in making large (greater than $25,000) purchase decisions during 2009’s first half …not one of marketers’ preferences.

Also down:  print advertising …no surprise there.  Among those up dramatically:  search engine use;  business news/info websites, vendor websites, research/analysts, and – somewhat more surprisingly – social media (mainly due to the perceived objectivity of their content).

The message is pretty clear:  B2Bs who match their mix of methods to these buyer preferences should do better than those who chug along following last year’s model.

Entry Filed under: B2B Web Strategy, Internet Marketing