With an expanding menu of information and options available at their fingertips, new research reveals B2B buyers are increasingly bringing their consumer buying patterns into their selection process for business solutions. Whether its ordering a pizza or shopping for a car, the majority of purchases now start online with buyers researching and exploring their options and selecting the option that best fits their budget and needs. BtoB buyers’ interest in “test driving” solutions continuing throughout the buying cycle. You can read the entire report  here. MORE >>

The solution boils down to this: classify different contacts as related to the different stages in the buying process and then measure their effectiveness at moving customers from one stage to the next. Leadforce1 offers a range of typical B2B marketing automation features, but its main distinction is to infer each buyer's position in a four-stage funnel (discovery, evaluation, use, and affinity) based on Web behaviors. As brand marketers constantly remind us, a well-designed message can increase lifetime purchases among all recipients, whether or not they are current customers. MORE >>

In 2010 The Base One Agency of London sponsored some of the most important research I’ve seen in our field.  Their Buyersphere Report provided statistically-valid data connecting inbound marketing activities with buyer behavior. Here is the report summary of data from more than 1,000 European B2B purchasing agents.  68% of buyers said they consulted supplier websites, while 65% used search engines to find the information they needed to support their purchase decision. And they have followed it up with another great report for 2011! The youth factor. MORE >>

They want to be able to engage with a vendor when they are ready and actively seek out advice, often very late in the buying cycle, and have the vendor guide them through a complex buying and problem solving process - outsourcing part of the buying process to the vendor community if you will. Step 4 – Build Compelling Messages and Content With this information you get a pretty good idea for how to influence the prospect along every step, how to educate them, how to guide them to purchase. Customers are are in the driver’s seat today. What business problems do they face? MORE >>

Ten reasons to blog – even if nobody reads it - grow - Practical Marketing Solutions , November 7, 2010 Building an engaged community through a business blog can be extremely difficult — sometimes impossible. Social Media in B2B Marketing - Survey Results - Everything Technology Marketing , November 16, 2010 The B2B Technology Marketing Community on LinkedIn conducted a survey earlier this year to explore the rapidly changing landscape of social media in the context of B2B marketing. Twitter for B2B Marketing - MI6 Marketing Agency , November 18, 2010 Author: Chris Herbert. MORE >>