The Millennial Buy-Out

There is a new generation of business buyers as millennials are increasingly assuming positions of greater influence in B2B companies. This influential 18-34 year-old audience now comprises 46% of B2B buyers, up from 27% in 2012. Digital technology has transformed B2B marketing profoundly, changing the way business buyers access information and interact with sellers. Unlike the digital immigrants who began using digital technology in their everyday lives as adults, millennials are digital natives who have been using these technologies since they were children.

Connecting with this new era of buyers is going to mean adopting new strategies and tactics in B2B marketing. Marketers must understand how millennials approach business decision making, how they prefer to perform the activities that are part of the B2B buying process, and what attributes they value in prospective vendors.

The IBM Institute for Business Value recently conducted research that provides insights into the mind of the millennial buyer. A survey of 704 individuals who influence or make B2B purchasing decisions of $10,000 or more for their company included respondents from three generational groups – millennials (born 1980-1993), Gen X (born 1965-1979), and Baby Boomers (born 1954-1964) – and found significant differences in how they make business decisions. Millennials (54%) and Gen X (64%) buyers say they make better decisions when they receive input from a variety of people, as opposed to only 49% of Baby Boomers who are more likely to make decisions in isolation.

Even more interesting, millennials want to interact directly with vendors when they are researching products or services. Out of nine possible choices, millennials ranked vendor representatives first while Baby Boomers ranked it fifth and Gen X ranked it seventh.

Check out this infographic To buy or not to buy from the IBM Institute for Business Value for more information on how millennials are reshaping B2B marketing.

 

 Bullets

• The chief digital officer (CDO) role emerged alongside the digital transformation, and companies are rapidly making room for the position. In a report released in May 2015, The CDO Club estimated that the number of CDOs worldwide would double between 2014 and 2015, from 1,000 to 2,000. This was more than four times that of the 488 registered in 2013, and almost 800% more than 2012’s 225.
  emarketer.com

• Digital ad spending by the US telecom industry will reach $6.49 billion this year. Computing products and consumer electronics industry digital ad spend levels are significantly lower, at $4.44 billion in 2015.
  emarketer.com

• 70% of B2B marketers are creating more content than they did one year ago, even those who say they are least effective (58%) and those without any type of strategy (56%).
  contentmarketinginstitute.com

• In 2014 we realized 7 billion mobile subscriptions, with a 30% smartphone subscription penetration rate. Since 2010, that’s approximately 52% growth in mobile subscriptions and 600% growth in smartphone subscriptions.
  komarketing.com

• Nearly 64% of B2B technology buyers indicated that they read between 2 to 5 pieces of content before making a purchase.
  eccolomedia.com