Tighter budgets are extending the B2B purchase cycle

Tighter budgets are extending the B2B purchase cycle with buyers doing more research and looking for more ROI data, according to a new survey.

B2B buyers are contending with many new purchase processes, according to DemandGen’s 2023 B2B Buyer’s Survey. The top five new ones are:

• Conducting a more detailed ROI analysis (38%)
• Spending more time researching purchase decisions (31%) 
• Altering decision timelines based on changing business needs/priorities (24%)
• Spending more time using social media to research vendors and solutions (24%)
• Relying more on peer recommendations/review sites (23%)

Why we care. It’s essential to understand all the parts of the buyer’s journey, especially when new parts are added. Buyers are also facing two conflicting imperatives as 31% say they’ve had to delay potential purchases due to budget freezes, but 29% have had to escalate some purchases due to changing business needs.

Dig deeper: The 7 B2B website essentials: What customers want

The good news. Customers want to do business with people they already know. The survey found a notable trend toward retention and cross-sell/up-sell plays, as prior experience with the vendor jumped from 25% in 2022 to 40% in 2023. This shows buyers are sticking with tried-and-true solutions to get deal with uncertainty and tighter budgets.

Methodology. The survey gathered insights from nearly 300 B2B buyers, who hold roles in marketing, IT, operations, sales, finance and more. In terms of revenue, 60% generated less than $100 million, 30% brought in between $100 million and $1 billion and 10% brought in more than $1 billion.