While B2B buyers continue to self educate before interacting with a salesperson, a recent report shows that 83% of respondents said they were receptive to outreach from vendors if the interactions were relevant and contextual.
The study, Selling to the Information Driven Business, was commissioned by Salesforce Pardot and conducted by IDC.
While they are open to more personalized interactions with salespeople, 63% of the 200 businesses surveyed said that they contact sales professionals only when they made a purchase decision.
B2B buyers continue to do a majority of their buying research on their own, the study revealed. Respondents noted that peers and colleagues are the most trustworthy information sources (95%), as well as independent content (86%).
Other findings from the report include:
- 42% of respondents stated that their purchase decision takes one to three months, while roughly 33% stated their buying decision is four to six months long;
- When asked to rank what influences purchase decisions, colleagues (38%), industry experts (22%) and relevant vendor content (14%) were impactful; and
- Almost one quarter (22%) of those surveyed noted that the biggest obstacle to making a purchase decision was that vendors didn’t properly understand their needs.
“As B2B marketing and sales continue to evolve, this relevancy is going to become even more critical to success,” said Adam Blitzer, SVP and GM for Salesforce Pardot, in a blog post spotlighting the study.
Click here to download a full copy of the report.
