2025年B2B买家的独特视角以及输赢之间的差异报告（英文版）-dentsu电通

2024EDITION

AUNIQUEPERSPECTIVE

ONTHEB2BBUYERAND

THEDIFFERENCEBETWEENWINNINGANDLOSING

Foreword

Weadmitit–weareobsessedaboutB2Bbuyersandwhatdrivesthem.

Fouryearsago,westartedajourneytounderstandtheB2Bbuyerbetter,askingB2Bbuyersabouttheir

recentpurchaseexperiences.Wewantedtounderstandwhatwasmakingthedifferencebetweenwinningandlosing.Andwewantedtogointodetailwedidn’tseeinotherstudies.

We’vebeencollectingthatdatanowforfouryears.Coveringover25,000brandexperiences,webelieveTheSuperpowersIndexisthelargesteversystematicstudyofB2Bbuyingbehaviourglobally.

Superpowershasbecomemuchmorethanapieceofresearchtous.TheSuperpowersdatapowerstwo

proprietaryinsightstoolsthatourcreatives,strategists,mediaplannersandexperiencedesignersuse

everyday.WealsousethedatatohelpourclientsbenchmarktheirperformanceintheB2Bbuyerjourneyandplanwaystoimprovetheirimpact.

Thisyear’supdategivesanewperspectiveonmanyofthebigtrendsinB2B:theimportanceoftrustandbrandbuilding;theever-narrowinggapbetweenwinningandlosing;thegrowinginfluenceofthought

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ThisreporthassomeofthebigheadlinesfromTheSuperpowersIndex.We’llbesharingmuchmoreoverthecomingmonths…fornow,wehopeyouenjoyseeingtheworldfromthebuyer’spointofview!

2

leadershipandthechallengesofscalingABM.

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Thelargesteverglobalstudybuyingbehaviour

Wesetouttounderstand…

THEDRIVERSBEHINDB2BBUYINGDECISIONS.

What’simportanttobuyersandwhatmakesthedifference

betweenwinningandlosing.

THEB2BBUYINGJOURNEY.

Who’sinvolvedandwhatmakesadifferencetothemat

eachstage.

COMMERCIALIMPACT.

Howimprovingthebuying

experiencedrivescommercialoutcomes.

ofB2B

Todothat,weinterviewed

3,528

B2BBUYERSGLOBALLY

(~14ksince2021)

About…

6,539

B2BBRAND

EXPERIENCES

ACROSS4INDUSTRIES

(25kB2Bbrandexperiencesinthefulldatabase)

perpowers

INDEX

813

541

169

270

338

280

400

290

181

246

Technology

FinancialServices

Manufacturing

ProfessionalServices

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HowTheSuperpowersIndexworks

2

3

1

Eachyear,wesurveyB2B

decisionmakersandask

themindepthaboutrecent

buyingexperiences

MAPRECENTB2BPURCHASEJOURNEY

BEHAVIOURS

BRANDEXPERIENCES

DECISIONDRIVERS

Weidentifythefactorsthatmakethebiggestdifferencebetweenwinningandlosing

IDENTIFY

THE‘HIGHIMPACT’

FACTORS

Weconnectthiswithcommercial

outcomes:sizeofthedeal,

propensitytore-purchase,

considerationforothercategories,

loyaltymetricsetc.

MONITORTHECOMMERCIAL

OUTCOMESOFDOINGTHE

HIGHIMPACTTHINGSWELL

SuperpowershelpsuslookatB2Bbuyingfrommultipleperspectives

MARKETTRENDS

Whatarethebigshifts

year-on-yearinbuyerpriorities?

INDUSTRYTRENDS

Includingperformanceacrossthebuyerjourney

Andthisyear,forthefirsttime,wecanmeasuretheperformanceofindividualbrandswiththesuperpowersscore.

INDEX

Overallinfluenceofdifferenttypesof

decisiondriversonthelikelihoodofbeing

selected(outof100%)

☆

SEEKER

CATALYST

CHAMPION

ENDORSER

EVALUATOR

INFLUENCER

14

21

16

24

25

27

20

21

GOODFORSOCIETY

GOODFORPEOPLE

GOODFORBUSINESS

Considersoptions

andmakes

recommendations

Involvedinall

stepsofthe

purchase

Provides

fnalsign-off

ondecisions

Researches

available

options

Provides

suggestionsand

feedback

ldEntifesthe

needforchange

1

5

6

7

65

61

59

48

10

16

2021

2022

2023

2024

77.6

77.2

77.2

77.1

77.0

77.0

77.0

76.9

76.7

76.5

58.6

58.6

57.5

57.0

57.0

56.6

55.1

53.0

51.9

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HowareB2Bbrandsdoingatmeetingbuyerneeds?

INTRODUCINGTHESUPERPOWERSINDEXSCORE

Forthisyear’sstudywe’vecreatedanIndexscore:Asinglemetricthatcapturesoverallbrandexperience.

TheIndexismeasuredfrom0-100,weightedaccordingtoabrand’sdeliveryonthemostimportantdecisiondrivers.

TheIndexalsotakesaccountofculturalfactorstoensurethescoreiscomparablebetweencountries,industriesandcompanyprofiles.

BETTEREXPERIENCES,

BIGGERDEALS!

Aten-pointimprovement

intheSuperpowersIndex

Scorecorrelateswitha14%

upliftinthedollarvalueofan

opportunity,onaverage.

Grade

SPIndexScore

Proportionmeetingthisstandardin2024

Exceptional

>90

15%

VeryStrong

85-90

14%

Strong

80-85

12%

Average

70-80

37%

Poor

60-70

17%

VeryPoor

<60

22%

WE’VEMEASUREDPERFORMANCE

FOROVER120

NAMEDB2B

BRANDSIN2024

Source:B2BSuperpowersIndex2022-2024|Countriesincluded:UK,DE,FR,US,CA,JP,SG,IN,AU,CN

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BetterB2Bexperiencesdelivertoplineimpact

Ourresearchshowsastrongcorrelationbetweenabetterbuyingexperience–measuredbystrongperformanceonthetopdecisiondriversforB2Bbuyers–andcommercialimpact.

THEIRSALESCYCLESARE27%SHORTER

ONAVERAGE

..ANDTHEYRECEIVEMUCHHIGHERNPSSCORES

(+83VS+23FOROTHERBRANDS)

WHENB2BBRANDS

PERFORMWELL

ACROSSTHE10

MOSTIMPORTANT

THEYARENEARLY3TIMES

ASLIKELYTOSEEINCREASEDSPENDFROMTHEIR

CUSTOMERSINTHEFUTURE

(33%VS.13%FOROTHERBRANDS)

THEYAREALMOST

TWICEASLIKELYTOBE

ADOPTEDFORFURTHER

PRODUCTSANDSERVICES

(41%VS23%FOROTHERBRANDS)

DECISIONDRIVERS

FOR2024…

Themarginsbetweensuccessandfailurearefine…andgettingfinereveryyear

SINCE2021,

THEGAPHAS

SHRUNK

78%

SuperpowersshowsusjusthowcompetitiveitisoutthereforB2Bbrands.Thegapbetweenwinningandlosingbrandshasbeenshrinkingeveryyear.Assmallmarginsincreasinglytipthebalancebetweensuccessandfailure,reviewingthestrengthofyourbuyerexperienceindetailisimperative.

Thecompetitivegapbetweenthewinningbrand

andthesecond-placed(losing)brand

(performanceacrossall30decision-driverstrackedinSuperpowersIndex,

basedonmeanaveragescoregap)

2021

2022

2023

2024

dentsuSource:B2BSuperpowersIndex2021-2024|Countriesincluded:UK,DE,FR,US,CA,JP,SG,AU,CN8

Morebrandsandmoredecisionmakersareinvolved,whileincumbencyisawaningadvantage

Asbuyinggroupsgrowsodoesthecomplexityoftheexperience.Asweshallsee,buyersarealsofindingithardtospotthedifferencesbetweenbrands,makingthecompetitiveenvironmentmorevolatile.

+62%

BRANDSCONSIDERED

Thenumberofbrands

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consideredaspartofB2Bbuyingjourneysvs.2021

7.4

GROWING

BUYINGGROUP

Growingnumberof

peopleintheB2Bbuying

group;now7.4

(+6%YoY)

17%

LOSSRATE

Theincumbent

lossrateincreasing

(34%vs29%lastyear)

AwatershedmomentforB2B:personaloutweighsprofessionalforthefirsttime

ForyearstheB2BindustryhaspushedagainsttheperceptionthatB2Bbuyersarerationaldecision-makers,drivenprimarilybybusinessoutcomes.

Butthisyear,forthefirsttimesincewestartedSuperpowers,wesee‘personal’decisiondriversoutweighthemorefunctionalprofessionaldriversintheiroverallimportanceintheB2Bbuyerjourney.

Thisshouldaddfueltothecallformorecreativity,storytellingandemotionalresonanceinB2B.

OverallinfluenceofdecisiondriversonB2Bpurchasedecisions

PERSONALDECISIONDRIVERS

e.g.Feelsafesigningacontract,alignswithpersonalvalues/ethics,teachesmenewskills/knowledge

PROFESSIONALDECISIONDRIVERS

e.g.Competitivelypriced,productsandservicesjustwork,varietyandchoice

2021202220232024

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WHATMAKESTHE

BIGGESTDIFFERENCEBETWEENWINNING

ANDLOSINGIN2024?

KEYTRENDSINB2BBUYING

11

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Threetrendsthatdefinewinningbuyerexperiencesin2024

We’veidentifiedthreemajortrendsthataremakingthedifferencebetweenwinningandlosingforB2Bbrands

#1

BRANDHAS

NEVERMATTERED

MOREINB2B

#2

EXPERIENCE

CANSHORTENTHE

SALESCYCLE

Asbuyersemphasisetrust

andexpertise,B2Bcompanies

muststrengthentheirbrand

buildingmuscles.

Buyerinertiaisagrowingproblembut

thereisevidencethathybriddigital-

physicalexperiencesthathaveimpact

fromminuteonecanacceleratedeals.

#3

THERISEOFTHEPERSONALIZED,ADAPTIVEGTM

Forthefirsttimeever,personal

decisiondriversoutweighprofessionaldriversinimportance–buthowdoB2Bbrandsscalepersonalizedapproaches?

TREND#1

BrandhasnevermatteredmoreinB2B

Disillusionmentwiththeeffectivenessofleadgeneration,

toughereconomicconditionsandresearchfromthelikesof

HBRandLinkedInhavedrivenarenaissanceforbrandbuilding.

Despitethis,buyersstillstruggletoseethedifferencebetweenbrandsswimminginaseaofsameness.

#1

13

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TOP10REVEALED:Buyersprioritisetrustandexpertiseamiduncertainty

Forthesecondyearrunning,thetop

priorityforbuyersisfeelingsafesigningacontract.Whenwedigfurtherintowhatthismeans,wefindbuyerswantittobe

“easytoconvincemycolleaguesonthebrand’scredentials”andtobe“reassuredbythebrand’strackrecord”.

Alongwiththeriseofbeing“knownasagoodemployer”–aproxyforabrand’strustworthiness–wecanseetherisingimportanceofbrand.

Therapidriseintheimportanceofthoughtleadership,wecanseebuyerslookingfor

integritytohelpnavigateuncertainty.

Top10ranked‘DecisionDrivers’basedontheiroverall

influenceonwinningandlosingintheB2Bbuyingexperience

Ifeelsafesigningacontractwiththem

Isknownasbeingagoodemployer

Activethoughtleadersintheircategory/sector

Complywithregulations,law,industrystandardsðicalpracticesTakescareofitssuppliers,businesspartnersandcommunities

IsabrandthatalignswithmypersonalvaluesandethicsMeetmycompany’sminimumquality/functionalneedsSupportuswithexpertise

Offerenoughvarietyandchoice

Providesthesupport,informationandexpertiseweneed

Rank,byyear

2024

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

2023

1

10

20

2

7

3

9

8

14

5

B2Bmarketers

arerespondingbyprioritisingbrand

It’snosurprisetoseetheintentfromB2B

marketerstoinvestinbrand.Leadgen

hascomeunderincreasingfire;brandhas

momentum.Theinfluenceoflobbying

fromLinkedIn,conceptslikethe95/5rule,

researchfromEhrenbergBassandothersalladdtoastrongcaseforbrandinvestment.

Superpowers

databacksthisup:

thetopthreemost

influentialdrivers

areallabout

buildingtrust.

Butthere’sa

twistinthetale

BUYERSAREN’T

GETTINGWHAT

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THEYNEED…

‘Demandgeneration /drivingandconvertingleads’

‘Raisingbrand awareness/topoffunnelperformance’

RankgivenbyB2Bmarketersbasedonimportancetofuturestrategy

SP1:2021SP2:2022SP3:2023SP4:2024

3

3

4

7

SP1:2021SP2:2022SP3:2023SP4:2024

1

4

5

6

There’sabiggapbetween

buyerperceptionandmarketers’

…BUYERS,

NOTSOMUCH

MARKETERSRATE

THEIRPERFORMANCE

HIGHLY…

71%

ofB2Bmarketersratetheirperformanceas

strongfor“communicatingadistinctbrand

positionorstrongUSP”

SP2:2022SP3:2023SP4:2024

68%

63%

60%

%ofB2Bbuyersagreeingwiththestatement

'ManyofthebrandsIseeatworkhavevery

similarmarketingandcommunicationsmessages

–theyallsoundandactthesame'

Question:Q47–B2Bsolutionbuyers

Source:B2BSuperpowersIndex2022-2024

Countriesincluded:UK,DE,FR,US,CA,JP,SG,AU,CN,IN

16

Buyerscraveexpertise,butfewB2Bbrandsdothoughtleadershipwell

AsAIacceleratesdisruptioninevery

industry,buyersareunderstandablylookingtobrandsthatcandemonstrategenuine

expertise,with“Beingseenasanactive

thoughtleaderinmycategory”risingfrom20thto3rdmostimportantdecisiondriver.

ButonlyjustoveraquarterofB2BbuyersrateB2Bbrandseffortshighly.It’sabig

opportunityforthosebrandsthatgetitrighttosetthemselvesapart.

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TheproportionofB2Bbuyersgivingbrandshighmarksforbeing‘activethoughtleaders’isn’timprovingovertime…

31%

26%

26%

202220232024

Source:B2BSuperpowersIndex2022–2024|Countriesincluded:UK,DE,FR,US,CA,JP,SG,AU,CN17

TREND#2

Experiencecanshortenthe

salescycle

Growingnumbersofdecisionmakersandagrowing

cautiousnessmeansbuyingdecisionsaretakinglongerandarehardertoclose–buttherearestepswetaketotackletheproblem.

#2

18

Buyerinertiaisarealproblem

THERE’SBEENAN

INCREASEINAVERAGE

DECISIONTIMEOF54DAYS

SINCE2021

379

350

344

325

SP1:2021SP2:2022SP3:2023SP4:2024

Totalmeandecisiontime(indays)frominitialresearchtofinaldecision

Source:B2BSuperpowersIndex2021-2024

Countriesincluded:UK,DE,FR,US,CA,JP,SG,AU,CN,IN

EACHDAYOFDELAYED

B2BPURCHASEDECISIONS

ISMONEYLOST…

Infact,weestimatethatthevaluetotheworldeconomy

ofthesedelayedb2bopportunitiesisaround…

$1.9tn

(oraround2.2%ofglobalGDP)

Source:B2BSuperpowersIndex2024andanalysisofGDPand

businessspenddatareportedbynationalstatisticalinstitutes.

19

Experienceisthebiggestinfluencingfactor

UsingourSuperpowersdataset,we’veconductedstatisticalmodellingto

BUSINESSFACTORS

EXPERIENCEINFLUENCED

understandwhatfactorsmostaffectthelengthofthedecision-makingcycle.

Inourmodelling,welookedattheimpactof3typesoffactors:

BUSINESSFACTORS:

Thesizeoftheorganisation,thefinancialcircumstancesofthebusinessetc.

30%

1

37%

CATEGORY/DECISIONTYPE:

Toaccountforthefactthatdecisionsinsomecategories/forcertainlevelsofinvestmenttakelongerthanothers.

Oncewecontrolfor(1)and(2),thatleavesotherfactorsthatmarketerscaninfluencethroughIMPROVEDEXPERIENCES.

2

3

33%

DECISION-TYPE

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CATEGORY/

Whatwecandotoacceleratedecisiontimes

Oncewecontrolforotherfactors,wecanseethatdecisionsaresignificantlyquickerwhereB2Bbrandexperiencesexcelathybridexperiences,blendingstrongdigitalandhumaninteractionsandmakingiteasierforbuyerstobuy.

DECISIONTIMETHATCOULDBESAVED

16weeks

11weeks

11weeks

9weeks

EXPERIENCEAREA

Wheretheinitialinteractionwiththebrandisstrong,andwhereessentialcredentialsofthebrandarequicklyestablished

Wherepeerrecommendationandadvocacyforthebrandisstrong

Wherethenegotiationandcontractingprocessisstreamlined

Offeringmarket-

leadingdigitalpurchase

experiences

•Beingabletoconductsignificantpartsofthepurchasethroughadigitalchannel

•Havingastrongbrand/vendorwebsite

Wherethereisastrong,1-to-1,humaninteractionwiththebrandduringthepurchaseprocess

Whereabrand’sengagementwiththebuyer’sprocurementfunctionisstrong

4weeks

2weeks

ShorteningofdecisiontimeframesassociatedwithB2Bpurchaseexperienceswiththeabovecharacteristics.

dentsu21

TREND#3

Theriseofthepersonalized,adaptiveGTM

B2Bbuyerswantexperiencesthatarerelevanttothem,butwhat’srelevantvariessignificantlydependingontheroleofthebuyer.

Experiencesthataretailoredtotheneedsofthebuyersaremoreeffective,andmaturingtechnologyallowsbrandstoincreasinglydeliverthispersonalizationatscale.

#3

22

B2Bbuyerswantexperiencesthatreflecttheirneeds

There’slotsoftalkinB2Baboutpersonalisation,butmorethananythingitisrelevancethatbuyerscrave.

Rightnow,theydon’tfeelthey’regettingitasoftenastheyshouldbe…

%OfB2Bbuyersandinfluencersagreeingthat:

“Iwouldlikebusinesssupplierstospendmoretimeseekingtounderstandme

andhowitcansolveday-to-dayproblemsIfaceatwork”(Q47)

71%

69%

67%

SP2:2022SP3:2023SP4:2024

dentsu

Source:B2BSuperpowersIndex2022-2024|Countriesincluded:UK,DE,FR,US,CA,JP,SG,AU,CN

23

dentsuSource:B2BSuperpowersIndex2022-2024|Countriesincluded:UK,DE,FR,US,CA,JP,SG,AU,CN24

SatisfactionacrosstheB2Bcustomerjourneyislow

SCORESHAVEN’TIMPROVEDSINCETHEIRDECLINEIN2023

%havingpositiveexperiencesacross

differentaspectsofthepurchasejourney

(9-10scoresoutof10,W2N16)

B2Bbrandsstruggletofullysatisfythedesireforcustomisation

Onlyaround2in5businesswerehighlysatisfiedwiththebrandtheychoseintermsofdoingagoodjobfortailoringtheirofferingtofittheirneeds...andthesescoreshaveshownnosignofimprovingsince2022.

%Delighted(9/10outof10)

For“Diagnosingrequirementsandtailoringofferingstoourneeds”

43%39%39%

SP2:2022SP3:2023SP4:2024

dentsuSource:B2BSuperpowersIndex2022-2024|Countriesincluded:UK,DE,FR,US,CA,JP,SG,AU,CN25

Source:B2BSuperpowersIndex2022-2024|Countriesincluded:UK,DE,FR,US,CA,JP,SG,AU,CN26

ThisappearstobelinkedwithB2Bbrandsnotengagingsufficientlywiththedistinctneedsofkeymembersofthebuyinggroup

☆

CATALYST

Moresenior

SEEKERINFLUENCEREVALUATORENDORSERCHAMPION

Morejunior

Morejunior

Moresenior

*%Delighted(9+/10)For"Diagnosingrequirements

andtailoringofferingstoourneeds"

**Measuredbyaveragedifferenceinrank

ofimportancefromtheoverallpicturefor

Superpowersattributes

Levelofsatisfactionwithhowcustomised/tailoredexperiencesarewithB2Bbrands*

B2Bbrandsdobetteratservingtheneedsof

themoreseniorDMsinvolvedintheprocessbutcanendupfailingtosatisfykeygatekeepers,

suchasSeekersandInfluencers

MediocreLowVerylowLowMediocreMediocre

Degreeofdifferenceinkeyneeds(decisiondrivers)tooverallpicture**

Theseless-well-servedrolesalsohavedecision-driverprioritiesthatareparticularlydistinctfromtheoverallpicture.Underthesecircumstances,

amoretailoredapproachisneeded.

MediumVeryhighHighHighHighMedium

Thosebrandsdeliveringrelevant,account-basedexperiencesareseeingclearbenefitsbutstillstruggletoscale

WecanuseourSuperpowersIndexdatatoidentifypurchaseexperiencesthatbearthehallmarksofwhat

However,onlyaround

5%ofallpurchaseexperiencescurrentlybear thesehallmarks.ABX remainsanascenttrendbutasAItechnologiesanddatapracticesmature,webelievewinningbrandswill bethosethateffectively scaleaccount-based approachesthatrespondtocustomerneeds.

wecallan‘AccountBasedExperience’.Thisiswheretherehasbeenextensiveuseoftargetedmedia,wheremarketingapproacheshavebeenpersonalizedandwherearangeofcontenttypeshavebeenengagedwith.

WheretherearestrongsignsofABXapproacheshavingbeentaken,arangeoftangiblecommercialbenefitstobrandsareevident…

387

211

73

38

100362

Avg.LengthOf

SalesCycle(days)