The Business Case for Expanding B2B SEM
If you're looking to expand your B2B SEM efforts, read Jessica Bowman's review of the Enquiro 2007 Business to Business Survey. You'll get the key take-aways and all the nitty gritty in between.
If you're looking to expand your B2B SEM efforts, read Jessica Bowman's review of the Enquiro 2007 Business to Business Survey. You'll get the key take-aways and all the nitty gritty in between.
If you’re looking for the business case for expanding your B2B SEM efforts, this is the executive summary.
I recently sat down to dissect the results of Enquiro’s Business to Business Survey 2007, and it’s impressive. Here is a summary of what I gleaned; it makes a great business case for expanding your B2B search marketing efforts.
Online Research Happens at All Phases, Search Engines Take the Lead
We all know there are many factors that influence B2B buyers throughout the buying cycle, particularly in the early awareness and research phases. However, what surprised those doing the study was that online research is relied upon in all phases of the buying cycle, not just the early phases.
The study found an overwhelming number (85 percent) of business buyers go online during the purchasing process, and 83 percent found the vendor from which they eventually purchased online. Of those using the Internet, over 70 percent start with a search engine (either a general search engine such as Google or Yahoo!, or a B2B search engine such as Business.com or KnowledgeStorm). There are, consistently, three top online influencers used in all phases of the buying cycle:
Search engines consistently ranked in the top three, making it a primary means for getting in front of business buyers.
An interesting discovery was how much the offline and online research are intertwined – throughout the entire buying process – using search engines starting at the awareness phase and continuing into the purchase phase. The study showed that once the buyer becomes aware of a particular product or service that could meet his/her needs, even if it is from an offline source such as a tradeshow or a business colleague, most B2B buyers will then turn to a search engine to find a vendor’s Web site and more information.
B2B Buyers Use Search More than they Realize
Search is actually used by business buyers more than they realize. Even when the buyer said s/he wouldn’t use a search engine as a starting point for the online research, 27 percent actually did use search. In many cases, rather than guessing the URL, it may simply be easier to navigate to a vendor site or industry site, using the browser’s built-in search functionality, a search box on the homepage, or an installed toolbar.
The breakdown of when the respondents used search to navigate to a site is interesting; search is used to find an industry site far more than to find a vendor site. The Awareness phase is highest for an industry site, and the Research phase is by far the highest for a vendor site:
Navigation to a Vendor vs. Industry Site via Search
Life Cycle Phase | Vendor Site | Industry Site |
Awareness | 12.6% | 55.5% |
Research | 29.6% | 34.5% |
Negotiation | 15.4% | 30.8% |
Purchase | 17.3% | 19.2% |
Where You Want to Be: General and Vertical Engines
As with the general public, B2B buyers prefer Google as a general search engine by a considerable margin. For general search, the study found that 77 percent of B2B buyers prefer Google, 14 percent prefer Yahoo, and 7 percent prefer MSN. This is in line with where most companies place the focus of their search marketing campaigns.
B2B Vertical search engines “definitely have a place in the purchase process” as well, according to the study. While general search engines (Google, Yahoo! and MSN) are used initially, buyers increase their use of B2B search as they move from basic awareness into the research, negotiation, and purchase phases. The leading vertical business search engines were:
The Key Take-Aways
This study had many great stats. After poring over it for a few hours, here are my key take-aways and recommendations for B2B search marketers to use this information for expanding their search marketing initiatives:
Enquiro’s Business to Business Survey 2007 is available to download.