In the current marketplace, B2B transactions are characteristically different from B2C or consumer transactions since decisions require collaboration and coordination between various entities to reach the final stage of the transaction. Unsurprisingly all B2B dealings are ongoing processes that involve a certain time-lapse between researching the product and placing the order.
Snap decisions are unheard of in such a scenario! It, therefore, goes without saying that search engines play a dominant role in B2B purchases whereby they are extensively used during the research phase (early and mid) of the transaction.
Being mostly the domain of B2C businesses thus far, B2B marketers have recently caught on with the idea of making use of Search Engine Marketing (SEM) for increasing online visibility of their products and, subsequently, augmenting sales. Since the research done in B2B marketing is far more intensive than traditional research during product purchase, SEO and SEM become key players in the research.
Recent Findings on B2B Marketing Trends Based on Search Engines
A recent study highlighting “the role of search in Business to Business buying decisions” has concluded the following facts after an extensive survey:
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Search engines play a leading role in making purchase decisions. About 93 percent of the respondents agreed they would lookup online prior to a B2B purchase. That should be a very encouraging number for marketers!
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Search engines are predominantly used during the early and mid-research stage (95.5 percent of the cases) of the buying cycle.
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Not only is Google favored over other search engines, but the research begins at least a month or two prior to actual purchase.
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Organic SEO (Search Engine Optimization) contributes to over 70 % of the clicks as compared to paid clicks. Needless to say, B2B marketers must build a strong SEO strategy.
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86.9 % of the respondents admitted that even after checking out the manufacturers’ sites and industry portals, they come back to search engines when fixing a budget for their purchases, mainly for the purpose of making comparisons.
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Since SEO and SEM are non-intrusive marketing tools, therefore, B2B marketers need not worry about interrupting consumer behavior or annoying them with unnecessary ads or mails while they can reach out to their target audience through high page ranks and impeccably done websites.
Ensure Cost-Effective Marketing Through SEO/SEM
For any marketer, it is obviously profitable to go for a cost-effective marketing strategy. SEM fits the bill perfectly for economical B2B online marketing plan. Maximizing web traffic through optimization of web pages and constant monitoring using the analytics tools provided by Google and other related engines are far cheaper than placing expensive ads on various websites.
However, B2B marketers must also keep in mind that since purchase decisions are made after a lot of consideration unlike B2C ecommerce scenario, therefore, it makes a lot of difference in B2B buying cycle if the marketer is able to get shortlisted to the preferred list of suppliers with the help of sound SEO/SEM strategy.
The nature of the optimized web-page copy should be strong so that the company can clearly put its message across to buyers who would be compelled to delve deeper into the site and make a favorable acquisition from the list of products and services.
