In the light of the pandemic, the B2B marketplace has slowed down – buyers and vendors are hesitant when it comes to spending.
COVID-19 has drastically impacted the global economy, and the marketing sector has evolved like never before. Although there has been a rapid shift towards digital transformation to maintain business agility, B2B buyers are still reluctant to invest.
The scenario has altered in many ways, precisely in the B2B tech world. The marketing teams in software companies see a gap around how they advertise technology and buyers’ engagement. And this disconnect could indicate the marketing technology stack remains flat.
Currently, buyers are demanding self-service solutions, and not all vendors offer them. In an economy where business interactions are taking place digitally, buyers are highly concerned about data security and privacy. This is enough to cut down services and products from their shortlist.
Read More: Defining One Customer Journey per Customer is now Business-Critical
According to a recent TrustRadius study, many B2B buyers revealed that their tech spending has altered due to the pandemic.
- Almost 49% indicated decreasing technology spending throughout the course of 2020,
- Nearly 16% of them believe this will continue to decrease
- About 56% of B2B buyers are still hopeful – they believe that tech spending will return to previous levels in 2021
In its essence, around 64% of the B2B buyers expecting to invest more in web conferencing, video, online collaboration, and project management software in the upcoming year. However, there will be a reduction in spending on other business aspects.
In fact, with evolving consumer behavior, it is now trickier for brands to manage marketing tactics. Vendors are likely to take the help of reviews – most vendors (58%) are using the reviews strategy to educate and engage with their prospects, which is a 35% surge YOY.
Today, 3 out of 5 B2B buyers are millennials, and they consult around 5.1 different sources of information before the purchase decision. In fact, most of the buyers involved in a purchase decision choose not to engage with sales representatives, analysts, or the vendor’s website.
Simply put, modern buyers are changing the B2B technology landscape. They are 2X more than the older generations to find and analyze a product or service searching online. People today spend substantially longer time on critical early-stage activities now – compared to the pre-pandemic world.
Read More: The Opportunities and Challenges of Marketing Data & Analytics
As mentioned in the report, “Vendors spend more time and marketing dollars on content that buyers don’t consume as much. To make the most out of their marketing budgets and remove friction for buyers, vendors should invest more in user reviews, rep enablement, and product-led growth.”
