Wednesday Wisdom: The Critical Period for B2B Buying & the Seventy-Percent Solution

In biology, some animals, like geese, experience critical periods in development. Geese imprint on the first moving object they see within the first 13 to 15 hours of life. Similarly, B2B buyers go through a critical period, occupying the first 70% of the buying process, which ends in the selection of their preferred vendor—what we call the 70% Solution. Only then do buyers begin to engage sellers, and, once their preferred vendor is chosen, it rarely changes.

Here’s how we know, based on findings from our B2B Buyer Experience Report:

• Buyers don’t engage sellers until 70% through their journey
• 82% of the time, buyers initiate the first conversation
• Buying groups have hundreds of content interactions before contacting vendors
• 70% of group members work with analysts/consultants
• 85% of buyers establish requirements before engaging sellers
• 81% engage with the ultimate winner first

Read more in our article, The Critical Period for B2B Buying & the 70% Solution (link below)!

@Kerry