We live in an age where sales are no longer as easy as meeting in person and shaking hands to seal the deal. The B2B buyer journey is a little more complex.
The B2B buyer journey is layered and complex and requires a little in-depth analysis to truly understand how we go from “Hello” to “Sign Here!” Thankfully, REM Web Solutions are masters of digital innovation and marketing, and we’re no strangers to the B2B journey. We’ll provide you with a comprehensive breakdown.
In this article, we’ll explore actionable insights on how to fully flesh out and map each critical step, including how to align your digital customer strategy and how to retain them. We’ll offer insights on some best practices while clarifying some of the complexities of the B2B buyer journey so you can walk away feeling like you learned a little something from us.
But What is the B2B Buyer Journey?
The B2B Buyer’s journey is the process businesses take on when they’re considering purchasing a product or service provided by another business.
This is generally a more complicated process than a consumer buying process, which consists largely of just convincing someone to buy a product. B2B (or business-to-business), is usually an ongoing relationship where another business purchases a recurring service or relies on your company to supply a product.
While not all B2B buyer’s journeys are the same, they do come with certain intricacies.
During this buyer journey, prospective businesses generally do a good deal of research, seeking out information to help them understand and frame where they can use another business to fill the gap. Businesses that map out this journey well generally find other businesses that align with their unique goals.
More than ever, businesses are relying on digital resources for this journey, including us! AKA, sales and marketing teams provide the content that helps buyers move toward deciding key points in their journey.
Understanding the intricacies of this journey allows companies like us (and YOU) to create unique strategies that can influence the outcome of the purchase process. AKA, we convince businesses because our products and/or services will take them from point A to point B. Or, “Hello” to “Sign Here!”
How Does the B2B Journey Differ from the B2C Journey? And Why Does It Matter?
The B2B buyer journey is quite different from the B2C (or business-to-consumer) journey in several ways:
- More People Are Involved in the Process: When it comes to making decisions during the B2B buyer journey, you’re usually involving a group of stakeholders who are going to have their unique perspectives and opinions. It isn’t as simple as going from start to finish – there’s a process and considerations that need to be addressed. In comparison to B2C, decisions are usually left up to the individual consumers. This process, as you can imagine, is generally faster and far more simplistic.
- The Purchase Motivations are Different: B2B buyers are typically looking to get a return on their investment, as well as increased efficiency for their business. This value needs to have a long-term impact for them to consider making a purchase. Generally speaking, B2C buyers are simply looking for a product or service that fulfills a current need or desire: say someone with curly hair looking for a hair spray that enhances their natural hair texture. They’re often moved by emotional triggers and personal desires.
- The B2B Buying Process Takes Longer: The sales process for B2B takes longer because it requires more research and approval from many levels of the company looking to make the purchase. B2C is usually a much simpler, shorter sales cycle that can happen immediately upon purchase.
- There’s a Deeper Customer Relationship: B2B relationships require ongoing engagement and a deeper focus on developing a long-term partnership. Ideally, most B2B customer relationships continue, while B2C customer relationships can be a one-time deal, with customers occasionally switching between brands based on price or current trends.
- B2B Requires a More Tailored Marketing Strategy: B2B marketers have to tailor their approach to present themselves as an authority to a niche audience, which often requires a lot of comprehensive content like blogs and whitepapers. B2C, on the other hand, tends to leverage more general appeal strategies based on trends, emotional storytelling, eye-catching ads, or even quirky “gimmicks” to appeal to their audience.
- B2B Products and Services Tend to be More Intricate and Multifaceted: B2B products and services tend to be more complex rather than being a grab-and-go item. They often need thorough explanations and personal customization to fit each business. B2C products are typically just designed for a more general appeal and ease of use, which is their main selling point. Imagine the difference between buying shipping services and buying lipstick.
Exploring the Stages of the B2B Buyer Journey
The B2B buyer journey has several distinct stages that businesses navigate carefully when choosing to purchase products or services. As we’ve mentioned, the B2B buyer journey is more complex than the B2C journey because sales cycles tend to be longer and involve several stakeholders. With B2C, you seek out a product and purchase it – there are typically no additional steps required.
Now, we’re going to explore the stages of the B2B buyer journey from start to finish to help you understand what to expect.
Research, Research, Research
Research is one of the most critical stages of the B2B buyer journey, as it involves identifying issues within the business and then sourcing out solutions. This stage is the jumping-off point for the future decision-making process.
Recognizing the Gaps
During the early stages of the B2B buyer journey, businesses generally recognize that there is a gap (or gaps) in their operations or untapped potential, which is what ignites the official start of the B2B buyer journey.
This process requires internal discussions and assessments to identify specific needs within the business that can be caused by several factors. You may recognize that your business isn’t keeping up with the competition; there may have been internal developments that require more support; the market could be moving in a new direction, and your business needs to get on with the times. These discussions and assessments lay out a solid foundation for the solution-seeking stage.
Seeking Out Solutions
Once a business has clearly defined the gaps in its operations, it’s time to move the focus to seeking out solutions. There are plenty of places for businesses to explore to find more information: there’s industry reports, vendor websites, whitepapers, case studies, blogs, etc.
They may even explore leads through word of mouth from fellow businesses within their sector; whoever they may be using to fill a gap could be a good option to consider, especially if they have a good rapport.
This is the stage where stakeholders gather early data to see where potential solutions lie and see if they align with the desires and needs of the business.
Further Evaluation
This stage is simple but very important. In the B2B buyer journey, there is no jumping the gun to make a purchase. Buyers have to assess their options and pick apart potential solutions until they find the perfect match.
Here are some deeper considerations to bear in mind for the evaluation phase:
- Product/Service Primary Features and Abilities: The product or service has to meet the specific needs of the buyer.
- The Reputation of the Company and Reliability: reputation is essential to consider before decisions can be finalized. Businesses have to be able to trust that the company they plan to purchase the product or service from are well received within their industry and has a good reputation for providing reliable products and services. You also want to analyze the overall success of the company.
- Understanding the Cost: It’s important to consider costs before making investments, ensuring that the product or service doesn’t just fit in the business, but will provide a good ROI.
Shortlisting Desired Vendors
The shortlisting process involves a lot of steps to determine the best potential solutions:
- Gathering detailed information on each vendor and eliminating those that don’t meet buyer’s criteria.
- Compare remaining vendors and weigh the pros and cons.
- Narrow down the list of vendors to the best possible solutions.
This process allows the buyer to select the few most capable options and move on to the request for proposal (RFP) or negotiation stage.
Finalizing Decisions and Preparing for Purchase
Once buyers make it to the decision and prepare for the purchase stage of the journey, businesses begin to finalize their choices and go through the necessary steps to prepare for purchase. This process usually involves intricate systems of approval and a very detailed selection process for the desired vendor.
Final Decisions
Now approaching the end of the B2B buyer journey, businesses consider several factors and finally deliberate on the company they wish to buy from:
- Price negotiation outcomes
- Service level agreement process (SLAs)
- Vendor reputation
- Compatibility with existing processes within the buyer’s business.
The emphasis lies on achieving long-term value over immediate costs. Decisions are typically reached after a thorough review of proposals, often involving pilot programs or demonstrations. Businesses look to form partnerships that promote growth and drive innovation. Once a choice is made, the process concludes with contract exchanges and finalizing the purchase.
OK! That was a lot to digest, but, hopefully, REM Web Solutions was able to help you understand the B2B buyer journey from start to finish. REM Web Solutions is a leading provider of digital transformation marketing services and aims to help bring your business to new heights. Our dedicated team are here to maximize your marketing potential.
Contact us today for more information.
