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Marketing

Hunter or Hunted? How Digital Media and GDPR

Increases Importance of Inbound B2B Sales

BY LAURENCE MINSKY AND KEITH A. QUESENBERRY

Today, through prior digital and social media research, Since these B2B buyers already know about features, specs,
organisational buyers approach their vendor sales teams competitors, pricing, reviews and more before even engaging
much more informed. Hence, it is indispensable for with their vendors, organisations must reconsider their B2B
B2B sales to focus on becoming a valued and trusted sales process and take steps to align it with this new reality.
partner early in their customer’s decision journey. Such To be heard and help guide the buying decision, companies
could be achieved through six strategic steps, which the PXVW ÀJXUH RXW QHZ ZD\V RI HQJDJLQJ WKH FXVWRPHU GXULQJ
authors elaborate on in this article. the early stages of the buying cycle. 3
Gartner Research of global enterprise buyers found that
ong gone are the days of information asymmetry only 32% of the buying time is spent interacting with
where the sales person had more information than the providers. Of the remaining 68% of the time, 18% was
L customer. In that bygone era, potential customers came spent on internal company evaluations, 9% on social
to sales seeking information – or the sales person contacted networks with peers, 12% on other interactions with peers,
the buyer through cold calling or canvassing. 13% on third party interactions, and 15% on reviewing
Today, through prior digital and social media research, independent information. Most of this time is spent inter-
organisational buyers approach their vendor sales teams acting with others to understand and interpret the vendor
much more informed. In fact, a Consumer Executive
Board survey found that B2B buyers make their way
through 57% to 70% of the decision-making process A Consumer Executive Board survey found
1
before even contacting potential suppliers. And, recent that B2B buyers make their way through 57%
Forrester Research indicates that 74% of buyers now to 70% of the decision-making process
conduct more than half of their research online before
PDNLQJ DQ RIÁLQH SXUFKDVH 2 before even contacting potential suppliers.

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