Here are a few we uncovered this year: Sell to reasons why your customers buy. And with price points as high as they are for many B2B products and services, buyers think long and hard about their purchases, and expect a level of customization and personal service that consumers can’t really ask for. In another part of this year’s B2B purchase decision research, we noted that budget pressures, among other things, have led to customers putting off Sales contact until well beyond the “mid-funnel” What are they replacing that contact with? MORE >>

In the B2B space, that question of how to best use data is frequently presented in the context of working towards becoming a more customer-centric organization through better understanding of who customers are and what they need.  Cutting Edge B2B Marketing Customer Understanding Marketing AnalyticsA marketer at a member company recently summed up his current situation as follows: “We’re awash in data, but short on information.”  A difficult challenge to be sure, but not a unique one.  Not surprisingly, this is not a coincidence.  Research’s Duncan Watts). MORE >>

Matt Dixon and Brent Adamson, both of our  sister program for sales executives , have a great new book out explaining how the relationship sales approach is becoming less effective, and how the best sales reps for the new environment are those that don’t acquiesce to the customer’s every demand, and who push back and remain in control of the sale. A lot of folks have made New Year’s resolutions to stay more on top of developments in marketing and related fields – I know I have. The Filter Bubble. Steve Jobs. The Challenger Sale. Definitely worth a look. MORE >>

Many B2B customers today find themselves unpleasantly surprised, when companies design offerings for them that they never asked for. Customers complain that companies claim to design products “just like they wanted”, except that they never wanted it! Which brings up the question – how can B2B companies better understand and serve their customers? We’ve gathered some of MLC’s research over time to help marketers identify what their customers want. Customers have a desired outcome for each job. can imagine feelings of shock and disappointment. MORE >>

Your customers live in a noisy environment.  At best, a typical B2B supplier can expect to get 12% of a customer’s total share of attention across the purchase process. We know from our work last year that the average B2B customer is nearly 60% of the way through the purchase decision before engaging supplier sales reps.  That’s because customers can learn on their own with the vast amount of information at their fingertips through the Internet. Wherever the customer, you need to be there.  It has become part of the noise for your customers. . MORE >>