B2B buyer behaviour is changing. The buying team is made up of digital millennials with short attention spans and a need to be entertained. We discuss 4 differences in buyer behaviour now that millennials are in the picture – and how B2B content marketing should adapt to keep your sales funnel full.

1. The changing face of
B2B buyer behaviour
Attribution: Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg, Fotograf: Willy Pragher
4 differences in
buyer behaviour -
and how you need
to respond to
stay ahead

2. There have been some
key shifts in B2B
buyer behaviour...
...from who the buyers
are to what they do
before they buy
Source: Google,: The Changing B2B Buyer

3. Who's
buying?

4. Millennials
are
under-35
digital
natives

5. They've never
known a world
without the internet
– and that affects
everything they
do...

6. ... blurring the line
between professional
and personal lives.
As marketers, we need to make sure we're
taking this into account when engaging with
these buyers.

7. Even if millennials don't
make the final purchase
decision, they
influence it – from
initial research and
shortlists through to the
final outcome.81% of non-C-suite researchers
influence purchase decisions
Think with Google, 2015

8. ...And it's no longer a solitary
figure that makes the decision –
it's made by teams.

9. So how are these buyers
different? And how can we adapt
to that?

10. Difference 1
Millennials are tech-savvy
and mobile

11. They look for
meaningful
data and expect
to find it
instantly and
easily.

12. And they're always online.
So how do we reach them?

13. 1. With online
interaction and a
24/7 digital
presence to
provide the
answers they're
looking for.
How do we reach
them?

14. 2. By offering different levels of insight
for their decision-making process.
How do we reach them?

15. 3. And by making
all our assets
mobile-friendly
and easy to
access.
How do we reach them?

16. Difference 2
Millennials do lots of
online research

17. At the
beginning,
they aren't
searching by
brand...
B2B buyers conduct 12 internet searches
before engaging with a brand.
Think with Google, 2015
Image: booksandbeverages.org

18. ... so we should offer
different assets to
match their appetite:
in a variety of
formats
with varying levels
of detail

19. Be visible on sites where
they spend time regularly.
Talk to your customers and your
sales people to find out your
prospects' online watering holes.
Conduct 'social listening' by
monitoring forums and social
media.
Publish articles about topics that
interest them on sites they
visit frequently.

20. Difference 3
Millennials don't
like spin

21. They form opinions after contact with
real people online.
"They see social
sharing as a way
to gather input
and learn from
others"
Harvard Business
Review, 2015
85% use social
media to research
products and
services for their
companies.
Sacunas, B2B Report:
Millennials

22. They use forums, social
media and reviews to
do this.
So how should we
respond?
Image: blogtrepreneur.com/smi

23. By sharing our
stories through
demos, videos,
and panels –
followed up with
engagement on
social media.
How should we
respond?

24. Difference 4
Millennials don't
clock off

25. They
multi-task
while
online.
Image: Richard Giles

26. They have:
decreasing
attention spans...
... a need for instant
gratification.
... a need to be
entertained

27. So how can we get their attention?
87% have phones by their sides every second of the day
Mitek and Zogby Analytics

28. 70% watch videos during the research stages
Short ones for credibility
and overviews
Long ones for detail
Image: University of Haifa Younes & Soraya Nazarian Library

29. Does your content reflect
how your buyers buy?
Image: Bowie15, Dreamstime

30. Talk to us today about
creating B2B content that
fuels profitable sales
conversations.
info@hn-marketing.co.uk
+44 1628 622187
LinkedIn.com/company/
hn-marketing-ltd
@hnmarketing
hn-marketing.co.uk/contact-us