TriComB2B

The Considered Purchase Decision
What Matters, What Doesn’t
And What It Means
For B2B Marketing and Sales

Research report compiled by TriComB2B in partnership with
the University of Dayton School of Business Administration

What do actual
B2B buyers think?

Over the last decade, the amount of information available to help guide B2B marketing
decisions has exploded. Reputable information sources such as MarketingSherpa,
MarketingProfs, GlobalSpec and others provide us with valuable insights as to what
other B2B marketers are doing and why. But in all the research we’ve seen, one key
ingredient seems to be missing.

Is there a difference
between influencers
and decision makers?

What does the actual B2B decision maker or influencer think? Does anyone really
understand the issues influencing their considered purchase decisions?
r Is total cost of ownership as powerful a message as we think it is?
r How do price, quality and delivery rank as considered purchase criteria?
r Does being a “preferred supplier” really mean your product or service is preferred?
r Does it make sense to rely on a distributor as a key information source for customers?
r What safety, health and environmental factors matter most in the consideredpurchase process?
We wanted the real answers to these questions – not from marketing peers, but fromthe actual purchasing influencers. After all, they’re the audience. So we met with ourfriends at the University of Dayton’s School of Business Administration and a research
partnership was born. Led by UD’s Business Research Group, a comprehensive survey
covering different aspects of the considered purchase process was developed. The
survey was conducted using MarketTools’ robust online market research tool andgarnered 448 responses from a variety of industries.
The respondents were either influencers or decision makers (Table 1). We also gathered
information about each respondent’s industry classification, company size, job title orrole, budget authority and the global reach of their company as described below.

What messages
will a B2B buyer
respond to?

How much of mymarketing mix
should be online?

Table 1

Decision role
Percent of respondents

35%

36%

17%

12%

Primary
decisionmaker

Influencer

Member of asmall teamwith equal
influence inthe decision
process

Member ofa large teamwith varying
amounts ofinfluence2© 2011 TriComB2B and University of Dayton. All rights reserved.

Do we need a blog?

The industries represented in the respondent pool included:r Energy-relatedr Construction
r Information technology
r Medical devices and pharmaceuticalsr Industrial manufacturingr Process industries
r Other
See “About this Report” on Page 21 for a more detailed breakdown ofindustry classifications.

Do we need our
distributor network?

The respondent pool represented various roles (Table 2).
Table 2

Role in firm
Percent of Respondents

16%

38%

11%

17%

18%

SeniorExecutive/
Owner

Engineer

Operations

Purchasing

Other

The survey was broken into three different subject areas, which created a unique
opportunity for research regarding B2B end users’ purchasing behavior:

Should we pursue
preferred supplier
status?

r Product considerations and message relevancy
r Information consumption and online habitsr Purchasing processThis summary report includes some of the key findings from these areas, and touches
on the potential implications for B2B marketers involved with industrial and technicalbusinesses where the considered purchase is paramount. Industry-specific reports
and more detailed demographic cross tabulations are available by request.
NOTE: Table details may not sum to totals because of rounding.

© 2011 TriComB2B and University of Dayton.All rights reserved.

3

PART I
Product Considerations andMessage Relevancy

The intent of our research in this area was to evaluate the impact of different productand service attributes and the relevancy of common marketing messages asviewed by those involved in the considered purchase process. How important is pricein the decision process? To what extent does total cost of ownership really matter?
What about the emergence of “green” messaging?

How relevant is priceto the B2B buyer?

How does priceset the stage formarket strategy?

DecisionorRecommendation“Do we offer uniquebenefits versus thecompetition?”“What economic
value do weoffer in themarketplace?”“Do we offer thecorrect safety andenvironmental benefits?”“Does our market
positioning resonate
with our target
audiences?”

4“I need referencesthat can quantify
the savings.”
How many
man-hours canthis save me?”“Can youprovide an
ROI calculation?”

What’s thelife cycle costover 20 years?”© 2011 TriComB2B and University of Dayton. All rights reserved.

1. Purchase price dominates.

In B2B, pricereally does matter.

About two-thirds of survey respondents indicated that 60% or more of their purchasedecisions were dominated by the immediate purchase price. On average, pricedominated in 64% of the purchases (Table 3).
There was no significant difference in response by decision role, industry type, agegroup or role in the firm.

Table 3

Percent of purchases where immediate purchase priceof the equipment dominated the decision
Percent of cases where immediate purchase price dominated
0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%
30%

29%
27%

25%

20%
17%

Percent ofsampleImplication: Good news
for price leaders. However,is it bad news for thosewith a more expensive
offering? If you are avoiding discussions about
price in your sales andmarketing approach, thisresearch indicates you
may find yourself on theoutside looking in. When
positioned as a higherpriced supplier, putting
in place a strategy thatclarifies the componentsof your price may benecessary to allow afair comparison to lower
priced and potentially lessfeature-rich offerings.

15%
14%
10%
8%
5%

4%
0%

© 2011 TriComB2B and University of Dayton.All rights reserved.

52. Total cost of ownership:
It’s important to the owner.

More than half the survey respondents (56%) indicated that at least 60% of the time,
the total cost of ownership (TCO) had been calculated in considered purchasedecisions in which they were involved (Table 4). Senior executives and businessowners evaluate TCO to a greater extent than any other role. Older respondents,
namely those greater than 60 years in age, were much more likely to evaluate thetotal cost of ownership for all considered purchases (33% of 60+ respondents vs.
10% to 14% for all other age groups). Machinery and equipment-intensive industries (e.g., energy-related and process industries) were the most likely to calculate
TCO in the considered purchase process.
Table 4

Percent of time total cost of ownership is calculated in aconsidered purchase decision by position in firm

Percent of cases
where total
cost of ownershipcalculated

6

Position in firm
SeniorExecutive/
Owner

Engineer

Operations

Purchasing

Other

Total

0%

7%

14%

18%

5%

7%

11%

20%

16%

21%

16%

21%

23%

20%

40%

10%

11%

14%

21%

12%

13%

60%

16%

18%

18%

15%

20%

18%

80%

33%

21%

20%

23%

23%

24%

100%

18%

13%

14%

15%

15%

15%

Implication: Phew! Thisis good news. It’s hard tofind a B2B marketing
program that doesn’t
incorporate some flavorof TCO or life cycle costs(LCC). More often thannot, the decision makers
and influencers think thisis an important consideration. So a credible TCO
story should be part ofa sound marketing andsales approach. If you’retalking to company leadership, this is certainly an
area of emphasis.

© 2011 TriComB2B and University of Dayton. All rights reserved.

3. What else matters in theconsidered purchase decision?

In B2B, one message
does not fit all.

Of course, the B2B considered purchase decision process does not just involve priceand the total cost of ownership. We evaluated the role of five additional considerations
to gain an understanding of their importance to decision makers and influencers. Of
these choices, the potential for process improvement resonated the most, with 78% of
respondents stating it played a significant role in at least 60% of purchases. This waswell ahead of operating costs (67%) and impact on customer service (66%). Other
considerations, such as availability of contracted maintenance support and financing
flexibility, were far less important.
Based on roles within an organization, different criteria produced varying degrees
of impact. For example, the category “potential improvements in overall processes”
was found to be more of a trigger for Senior Executives, Operations and Engineering.
Purchasing responded more favorably to operating costs and the impact on customer
service (Table 5).
Table 5

Respondents stating product or service consideration played significant rolein purchase decision 80% or more of the time
Position in firm
Product or service featureof significanceSeniorExecutive/
Owner

Engineering

Operations

Purchasing

Operating costs

60%

38%

50%

55%

Impact on customer service

57%

48%

48%

56%

Potential improvements inoverall process

74%

52%

62%

44%

Contracted maintenance support

21%

21%

20%

20%

Flexibility in financing

20%

15%

18%

21%

© 2011 TriComB2B and University of Dayton.All rights reserved.

Implication: Further validation that the concept
of total cost of ownershipstrikes a chord? Absolutely.
Operating costs are rightup there with two-thirds of
respondents, indicating
it’s a key consideration
the majority of the time.
But it’s also interesting to
see that the potentiallycomplex and harder-toexplain concept of overall
process improvement has
the most impact on thesepurchase considerations.
If a marketer can clearly
indicate where their productor service impacts a
customer’s operational
efficiency – in real terms(e.g., greater production
availability) – decision
makers and influencers
will pay attention. This isespecially true with Senior
Executives and Owners –74% of whom consider
this factor 80% of the time.
However, as the datasuggests, don’t lean on
this story with purchasing.

74. Go green or go lean?

If the choice is between
go green or go lean,survey says go lean.

With more and more emphasis put on safety and environmental factors in the B2B
considered purchase decision, our research set out to establish the relative importance of three key components of this category: safety features, energy efficiency andgreen supply chain.
Safety features were an important differentiator between two choices in at least 60% of
the purchases for 57% of the respondents. For almost half of the respondents (48%),energy efficiency of the product was an important differentiator in at least 60% of theirpurchases. The existence of a green supply chain for the product was an importantdifferentiator (between two choices) to only a minority of respondents (Table 6).
Table 6Percent of purchases where certain aspects were an
important differentiator between two choices
0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Safety features

16%

13%

14%

18%

22%

17%

Energy efficiency
of product

15%

19%

17%

19%

22%

7%

“Green” supply chain
for product

29%

27%

17%

15%

8%

4%

Significantly lower numbers for “green.”

Implication: Go green?
Probably not. Whileenergy efficiency cannot
be overlooked becauseof its close relationshipto operating costs, theresearch indicates thatthe less tangible benefitof buying a product with a“green” supply chain is asignificantly less importantfactor for the consideredpurchase product.
Go lean? That might makemore sense. The tangible
economic benefits thatcome from improved
operational efficiencies andlower operating costs (seeTable 5) have much more
impact. Express yourbenefit in terms of economic
value before emphasizing
the environmental friendliness of your story.

Safety features consistently outweighed the other two factors as a differentiator,
especially in energy-related and process industries. The information technology
sector assigns little significance to any of these factors, with only a small minority
indicating strong consideration in at least 60% of purchase decisions (safety – 23%;energy efficiency – 29%; green supply chain – 16%).

8© 2011 TriComB2B and University of Dayton. All rights reserved.

Part I Conclusion:
What should the message be?
Depends on who you talk to.

The B2B buyer appears to be motivated to consider a product or service first basedon price, but other features are also important. Total cost of ownership continues tobe a phrase that B2B buyers respond to positively, especially at the higher levelsof decision making, such as Senior Executives and Owners. Operational efficiency
also catches the attention of those involved in the considered purchase process.
A compelling story around the safety benefits of a product or service, at least incertain markets, may help tip the scales in your favor if other considerations appear
to be a wash.
Clearly, the role of the decision maker or influencer has a huge effect on the messages
that resonate most during the purchase process. One size does not fit all. Engineeringand Purchasing may have completely different concerns than the Senior Executive or
Owner. Tailor your message to your audience by stressing the right benefits based onwhom you are targeting at a given point in the purchase process.
Do you often think about the age of your audience? You should. In our research, we
found some substantial variations in responses by age. For example:r A far greater percentage of our respondents age 60 and older found total cost ofownership messages to be an important factor compared to any other age category.
r The same group of respondents age 60 and older also felt that impact on customer
service was significant in the decision-making process to a far greater extent thanother age groups.

2 out of 3

B2B buyers saypurchase pricedominates theirpurchase decision 60%
or more of the time67%

of Senior Execs/Owners
in B2B say TCO is
an important message

73%

of B2B buyers DON’T
consider “green”
features an important
product considerationr Respondents over age 50, on average, indicated safety features were an importantdifferentiator 58% of the time, well above those under 50 (49%).
r As you’ll see in Section II, respondents 30 to 39 years of age were more likely thanrespondents older than 60 to indicate online trade publication articles asimportant sources for considered purchase decisions (32% vs. 19%).

© 2011 TriComB2B and University of Dayton.All rights reserved.

9

PART II
Information Consumption and
Online Habits

The B2B buying cycle is often broken into six distinct phases: problem identification,
criteria creation, search, evaluation, test and selection, and procurement.
Little research exists to determine which information resources are most valuable toa B2B influencer or decision maker during each of these various phases, or if online
resources are as heavily referenced by this B2B audience as we might assume.

T

LUA

EN
EM
R
U
C
PR

O

RCH

IA N
ER IO
IT T
R A
C RE
C

EVA

SEA

TION

In this section of the survey, we attempted to discover the effectiveness ofvarious tactics and how relevant social media is to this group of industrial
and technical buyers.

PRO
B
IDEN LEM
TIFIC
ATIO

10

N

D
T AN
TES CTION
E
SEL© 2011 TriComB2B and University of Dayton. All rights reserved.

1. Useful information.

B2B buyers–
just give them facts.

There was substantial variation in the importance of particular written materials
as information sources (Table 7). Technical data sheets, whether online or in print,
topped the list in importance followed by informal contacts in your own industry andwebsite. Other online resources (product catalogs and trade publications) weremore important in each case than their in-print counterparts (37% vs. 22% and
27% vs. 23%, respectively).
Table 7

Importance as information sources forconsidered purchase decisions

On a scale of 1 to 5 where
1 is “Not at all important” and5 is “Very important”

Not
at allimportantVeryimportant

Percent“4” or “5”

1

2

3

4

5

Technical data sheets(online)

3%

9%

23%

41%

24%

65%

Informal contacts inyour own industry

6%

12%

29%

35%

19%

54%

Website

5%

16%

27%

36%

16%

52%

Technical data sheets(in print)

8%

16%

24%

32%

20%

52%

Product catalogs(online)

13%

20%

29%

26%

11%

37%

Case studies that include
3rd-party resources

16%

19%

29%

26%

10%

36%

Trade publication
articles (online)

14%

27%

32%

23%

4%

27%

White papers

17%

24%

34%

19%

6%

25%

Trade publication
articles (in print)

19%

25%

33%

20%

3%

23%

Product catalogs(in print)

21%

29%

28%

18%

4%

22%

© 2011 TriComB2B and University of Dayton.All rights reserved.

Implication: The
revelation that online
media needs to be themost prominent part ofthe B2B marketing mix
is hardly a new insight.
Confirmation that online
versions of technicaldata sheets, catalogs
and advertisements
are preferred over theirprinted counterparts isa welcome affirmation
for marketing managers
making the case to shiftbudgets to online media.
Keep your online content
current, detailed andrelevant to your audience.
Buyers in these areasof B2B are looking fortechnical data, drawings,
specifications and otherup-to-date materials
to help them makeconsidered purchasedecisions, and the easeof online access makes
electronic materials
preferable to print.

112. Networks rule.

Can we do lunch?

When evaluating a range of human information sources, survey respondents formeda hierarchy of importance. While all of these roles have some importance to decision
makers and influencers, informal contacts within the industry rated more important
to a higher percent of respondents (55%) than OEM sales reps (44%) or manufacturing trade representatives (39%) – (Table 8).
Table 8

Importance as sources for gathering information

On a scale of 1 to 5 where
1 is “Not at all important” and5 is “Very important”

Not
at allimportantVeryimportant

Percent“4” or “5”

1

2

3

4

5

Informal contacts in yourown industry

4%

12%

29%

36%

18%

55%

OEM sales representatives

7%

19%

31%

33%

10%

44%

Distributors

12%

18%

36%

26%

8%

34%

Manufacturing trade
representatives

11%

17%

33%

31%

8%

39%

Trade shows

17%

31%

29%

19%

3%

22%

Implication: Have a few
sales people that seemto burn bridges? Is yourcustomer service lessthan desirable? You’dbetter get that fixed.
Across all industries andacross every demographic,
the most important humaninteraction source for
information is the informal
contact within one’s
industry.

There were no significant demographic differences in the percentage of respondents
who indicated informal contacts were important sources for gathering information
for considered purchase decisions.

12© 2011 TriComB2B and University of Dayton. All rights reserved.

3. Be ready when theB2B buyer finds you.

As expected, respondents indicated most sources of information are important in the
search and evaluation stages of the decision process (Table 9). OEM sales reps anddistributors reach their highest percent at the procurement stage. It is of interest thatmost respondents do not regard these information sources as having high importancein the problem identification or criteria creation stages.
Table 9

Stage in purchase decision at which source is most important(among those ranking it a 4 or 5 on the importance scale)

Problem
identification

Criteria
creation

SearchEvaluation

Test andselection

Procurement

Informal contacts in yourown industry

10%

14%

31%

33%

8%

4%

OEM sales representatives

9%

14%

26%

30%

11%

9%

Distributors

4%

12%

22%

16%

14%

31%

Manufacturing trade
representatives

11%

11%

32%

26%

13%

7%

Trade shows

8%

15%

55%

13%

6%

3%

Stage where greatest percentage indicated source was most important© 2011 TriComB2B and University of Dayton.All rights reserved.

Implication: While there
is a lot of talk about marketing and sales playing
a role in helping customers identify their problems
and defining criteria, ourresearch indicates thecustomer is likely to beworking independently
at this stage. Logically,
the importance of different
outside influences picks
up dramatically as thesearch for supplieralternatives begins.
As a B2B marketer, focus
your energy on allowing
prospective buyers toquickly evaluate you as analternative. Understandtheir language and the
problems they’re likely
to encounter, but don’t
confuse them by trying tocreate scenarios and issues that may not exist.

13

4. Use of online resources:
How’s your blog?

75% of respondents
that are in a usergroup find it helpful
in making capitalpurchase decisions.

A research study isn’t needed to tell us that industrial and technical B2B buyers aregoing online to gather information about a purchase. However, to what extent do theyuse other devices and information sources? The majority of respondents use a smart
phone to access email and the Web, and nearly half are regularly following discussion
forums linked to their industry. In both cases, the majority of these users are doing so
to gather purchase information (Table 10).
Approximately one-third of our respondents regularly follow industry-related blogs witha majority of them doing so to gather purchase information. While 35% of respondents
use LinkedIn, only one-third of those users do so to gather purchase information.
Podcasts and Facebook had the lowest level of adoption, with a very small percentage
using either as a resource for a purchasing decision.
Table 10

Use of online resources and help in gathering purchase information
Percent using
Smart phone to access email and the Web

59%

Regularly follow discussion forums linked to your industry

46%

Regularly follow blogs linked to your industry

31%

LinkedIn

35%

Podcasts

24%

Facebook

13%

Implication: Considering
B2B buyers’ preference
for online material,
the next logical stepis to make your online
libraries as mobilefriendly as possible.
With the emergence andincreasing popularity ofsmart phones and tablets,
more materials are being
accessed on-the-go.
Additionally, elevation ofyour users’ roles in formaluser groups can reap
major benefits, including
long-term customer
retention.

Other online behaviors uncovered as part of this research study included:r Nearly half of the respondents (49%) have clicked on an online ad to gather information. Of those who clicked, 34% sought it out and 66% just noticed it in passing.
r Slightly more than half (51%) of respondents have clicked on an online video togather information. Of those who clicked, 44% sought it out and 56% just noticed
it in passing.
r Approximately one-third (35%) of respondents belong to a user group. Of those
who do, 75% found information from that user group helpful in making capitalpurchase decisions.
14© 2011 TriComB2B and University of Dayton. All rights reserved.

Part II Conclusion:
Think about your tactical mix.

To no one’s surprise, this research confirms the importance of various online
and digital media as an information source for those involved in the consideredpurchase process.
r Online resources in the form of technical data sheets, product catalogs andtrade publication articles all outweighed their print counterparts when evaluatedfor their importance.
r Mobile websites, discussion forums and blogs are important information sources
for purchasing decisions.
r The utility of online ads and videos is clear, with half or more of respondents
indicating experience with both for gathering purchase information.
Before re-allocating our marketing budgets to all things digital, however, let’s notforget the most important resource: informal contacts within the industry. In all cases,industry peers rank this resource as a highly important part of the information andsupplier evaluation process.

© 2011 TriComB2B and University of Dayton.All rights reserved.

1 out of 3
Number of
respondents
that follow anindustry blog

50%of respondents
have clicked on
an online video.

In B2B, it is
all aboutcontent andcontacts.

15

PART IIIThe Purchasing Process:Preferred Suppliers and Critical Attributes

The intent of this research area was to uncover how a company gains consideration
as a preferred supplier. With the existence of online bidding systems and the proliferationof online information about potential supplier options, we set out to understand how
these factors affect the ability of a company to become a preferred supplier. We alsoquestioned whether preferred supplier status truly leads to increased sales.

“I wonder if they
regularly measurecustomer satisfaction?”“Can we obtainsome productsamples and have
Quality Assurance
test them?”
Sourcing
Company/Customer

16

Preferred
Supplier Status
has been
awarded to
COMPANY X.
“Should we
include Purchasingin this meeting?”

In what format will
they want to see
our on-time
delivery metrics?

Preferred
Supplier Candidate© 2011 TriComB2B and University of Dayton. All rights reserved.

1. Preferred suppliers get the business.

Our research showed that 83% of considered purchases were from a preferredsupplier a majority of the time.
Table 11Percent of purchases from preferred suppliers
Percent of cases where purchase was made from preferred supplier
0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%
50%

53%

40%

30%

Percent ofsampleImplication: Becominga preferred supplier cansometimes be a complex
process, but it is worth theeffort. For a consideredpurchase product orservice, the developmentof a mutually beneficial
business relationship isof importance and shouldbe part of the overall B2B
sales strategy.

20%

19%

3%

5%

8%

11%

10%

0%

With respect to variations by age or role, no significant areas of difference were found.
When asked to classify the types of purchases for which preferred supplier lists weremost commonly used, respondents provided a broad range of responses. Capital
equipment (22%) garnered the most mentions with raw materials (15%) and technicalservices (14%) rounding out the top three. Thirteen percent of respondents indicatedthey used a preferred supplier list for all purchases (Table 12).
Table 12In what purchase areas are preferred supplier lists commonly used?
Percent
Capital equipment

22%

Raw materials

15%

Technical services including IT

14%

All

13%

Computer hardware

6%

Computer software

6%

Business supplies

5%

Construction/building materials/furniture5%© 2011 TriComB2B and University of Dayton.All rights reserved.

17

2. Quality and price matter,but what else?

Can you show evidenceof satisfied customers?

In almost all cases, respondents indicated product quality and price were used to
select preferred suppliers. More than half of respondents indicated that customer
satisfaction, service considerations, on-time delivery, product availability and proofof financial stability were used in the selection process (Table 13).
Table 13

Factors in selecting preferred supplier
Percent
Product quality

90%

Price

87%

Evidence of customer satisfaction

64%

Service considerations with the equipment(service level agreements, aftermarket support)

63%

Evidence of successful prior contract compliance in: On-time delivery

60%

Evidence of successful prior contract compliance in: Product availability

58%

Proof of financial stability

52%

There are some additional findings of interest related to the selection ofpreferred suppliers:

Implication: If the oldadage, “Price, quality anddelivery – you can have
two out of three,” is true,
then we now know which
two are most important.
Price and quality dominate
the landscape for preferredsupplier selection, whereon-time delivery ranked
significantly less important.
Evidence of customer
satisfaction ranked as
the third most importantcriteria. This reinforces
the notion that formally
nurturing a strong groupof satisfied referralcustomers may be oneof the most importantinvestments you canmake (see Section II).

r Those in Purchasing were more likely than respondents in general to consider all
aspects of the purchase criteria in selecting preferred suppliers.
r Younger respondents, specifically those between age 30 and 39, appear to be
more disposed to risk-taking when evaluating suppliers, with half or less indicating
evidence of customer satisfaction, on-time delivery compliance, financial stability
and proof of production capacity as important criteria.
r Respondents in the information technology industry indicated the lowest percentageof purchases from a preferred supplier list (57%) with those from energy-related andprocess industries indicating the largest percentage (74%).

18© 2011 TriComB2B and University of Dayton. All rights reserved.

Part III Conclusion:
Being a preferred supplieris worth the effort.

With respondents indicating that 70% of purchases come from a preferred supplierlist, this may be an important area of emphasis in a B2B sales strategy. If you domove into the preferred supplier arena, be prepared to demonstrate the following anddefend these aspects of your product or service:r Product quality

83%

of respondents statedthat consideredpurchases came frompreferred suppliers
most of the time.

r Pricer Evidence of customer satisfactionr Service considerations (service level agreements and aftermarket support)r Evidence of successful on-time deliveryr Evidence of successful product availability

How well do you
track service levelagreements?

r Proof of financial stability

Purchasing departments are more likely
than other respondents
to consider all productaspects in selecting
preferred suppliers.

© 2011 TriComB2B and University of Dayton.All rights reserved.

19

Report Conclusion

To build on the B2B marketing data available from trusted resources such as
MarketingProfs, MarketingSherpa, BtoBOnline and GlobalSpec, TriComB2B teamedwith the University of Dayton’s School of Business Administration to conduct primaryresearch into B2B marketing industry trends. In early 2011, a customized survey of
448 individuals provided important insights regarding how they react to marketingmessages, the information sources they consider most important and how they view therole of preferred suppliers. Some summary observations are provided on the next page.

While B2B buyers
respond to different
messages dependingon their role within
the organization,
everyone responds
to price.

In B2B, differences
exist between
influencers anddecision makers, but
the role or functionthat one has within
an organization ismore important.

B2B buyers arelooking for strong
technical content,
and they will
go online first.

20© 2011 TriComB2B and University of Dayton. All rights reserved.

Consider the message and the audience
The B2B buyer is motivated to consider a product or service first based on price, butother features are also important. Total cost of ownership continues to be a phrasethat B2B buyers respond to, especially at the higher levels of decision making.
Determine which feature to stress over another based on the role of the individual
who is making the purchase decision.

Social media is being
adopted at a rapid
pace within B2B,
including LinkedIn,
blogs and discussion
forums.

With the increased activity of green marketing, especially in the consumer world,“going green” is not as important a differentiator in the purchase decision whencompared to safety features and energy efficiency.
Regardless of role, information from informal industry contacts was second only
to online technical data sheets in importance to the decision-making process.
Make sure those contacts are sharing positive feedback.
Consider how information consumption and online habits are changing
It is clear from the research that the B2B buyer ranks technical information as very
important in the purchase decision process. Technical information should be focusedon supporting the search, evaluation or procurement stages of that process. By thetime most B2B buyers search for a supplier, they have already passed through the
problem identification and purchase criteria phases.
Go mobile – or be prepared to, soon. More B2B buyers are using a smart phone regularly
and participating in industry discussion forums and networks such as LinkedIn.
If a product or service lends itself well to active feedback from users, an investment ina user-group format makes sense.
Consider the benefits of becoming a preferred supplier
The global and interconnected nature of today’s B2B world has created a more
complex process for those companies aspiring to preferred supplier status. With
70% of survey respondents, particularly those in Operations, indicating they use apreferred supplier list, this should be an important part of your sales and strategy.

© 2011 TriComB2B and University of Dayton.All rights reserved.

Distributor networks
play a critical role in
the B2B marketplace atthe time of procurement.

Preferred supplier
status is critical to B2B
sales strategy if themarketplace accepts
that model of businessdevelopment.

21About this Report

This report was created and executed through a partnership between TriComB2B andthe University of Dayton’s School of Business Administration. The Business ResearchGroup at the University of Dayton designed the survey and analyzed the survey data.
During the first quarter of 2011, a total of 448 respondents across industry sectors
participated in the survey. In some cases, similar industry segments were combined
into larger groupings to simplify analysis and results presentation. The number of
respondents for each industry grouping is provided below, as well as the definition of
the groupings where applicable.
Industry Group# of respondents

Energy-related

41

Construction

50

Information technology

31

Medical device and pharmaceutical

58

Industrial manufacturing

107

Process industries

45

Other

116

INDUSTRY GROUPING DEFINITIONSEnergy-related – petroleum refining, oil and gas, power generation, alternative energy
Construction – industry grouping not applicable
Information technology – industry grouping not applicable
Medical device and pharmaceutical – industry grouping not applicable
Industrial manufacturing – industrial equipment, power transmission, machine tool,
controls and electronics, component manufacturing, other manufacturing
Process industries – mining, food and beverage, chemical processing,water resources, pulp and paper
Other – various industries not classified in the above categories, to include agriculture,
automotive, consulting engineering, HVAC, packaging and telecommunications
Versions of this report that are specific to the above industries can be requested at:
www.tricomb2b.com/2011Research.
22© 2011 TriComB2B and University of Dayton. All rights reserved.

About The Business Research Groupat the University of Dayton
The Business Research Group at the University of Dayton
is part of the university’s School of Business Administration.
This organization offers comprehensive market researchofferings, including:r Survey researchr Focus group researchr Program evaluations
r Economic forecasts
For more information, visit http://businessresearchgroup.udayton.edu/.

About TriComB2B
Solving the complex marketing challenges businesses
face today requires a balance of innovative and provenstrategies. Striking that balance calls for creativity,
experience and a comprehensive set of capabilities.

TriComB2B

Located in Dayton, Ohio, TriComB2B is a business-to-business marketing agency
that truly understands these challenges. Our commitment to addressing the complexities encountered in marketing technical products and services has madeTriComB2B a trusted marketing partner for companies throughout the U.S.
TriComB2B was recognized in 2011 as a Top 150 Agency by BtoB Magazine.
For more information, visit www.tricomb2b.com.

© 2011 TriComB2B and University of Dayton.All rights reserved.

23

© 2011 TriComB2B and the University of Dayton. All rights reserved.

You are free to copy, distribute and display and create derivative works from this paper
provided that you give TriComB2B and University of Dayton proper credit as the source.