30+ Amazing B2B Video Marketing Statistics & Latest Trends 2026
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Since we’ve already established why understanding the B2B buyer’s journey is important, it’s time to explore how to create a B2B customer journey map. I’ll then guide you through the steps to create a buyer-centric approach that we use to land qualified, in-the-market, five and six-figure opportunities with 20%+ of target accounts. The research was used to validate and build the buyer journey for each segment, develop buyer personas for different roles across the decision-making unit, and to develop value propositions to help effectively target customers and prospects. Over 100 in-depth telephone interviews were carried out with Sodexo’s customers and prospects, covering all job roles from C-suite and Finance Directors to Facilities Managers. Currently, 86% of B2B purchases stall during the buying process and 81% of buyers express dissatisfaction with their chosen providers. LinkedIn delivers consistent impressions to keep brands top of mind until prospects are ready to buy.
77% of B2B buyers say their last purchase was very complex or difficult, and 83% prefer to self-serve at least some portion of their buying process. Vendors who provide ready-made business case templates, compliance documentation, and ROI calculators dramatically reduce friction at this stage. The B2B buying process is the series of steps an organization goes through to identify a business problem, research potential solutions, evaluate vendors, and complete a purchase.
At its heart though the B2B buyer’s journey consists of three stages. The buyer’s journey may seem like quite a simple thing; in fact, it can be quite a detailed and intricate process. Unfortunately today, there are far too many businesses teetering on the crest of a wave, ready to fall into the ocean. Targeting falls primarily on the heads of B2B marketers but requires the faith of the sales team. The sales team should be helping to design the outreach campaign in order to make the best possible impact on the mind of the B2B buying team. Suddenly the sales campaign has gone from a cold communication, to more or less a follow-up.
- By following these steps, you can help decision makers feel confident in their purchase decision.
- B2B and B2C buyers have different motivations, timelines, and decision-making processes, which impact how sales teams should approach them.
- Ultimately, 2025 will undoubtedly bring unique challenges for your sales team, but those challenges are nothing to be afraid of.
- If sales follow exactly the same outreach procedure, the success of their campaign will obviously be higher.
- Build a quarterly review process that pulls fresh data from your CRM, your content analytics, and your sales team to keep the journey map current and operational.
- Then, follow the next steps to develop a buyer journey for your top segment, before refining it for the other segments.
What Is a Buyer’s Journey?
During this time, businesses should focus on serving prospects the right content at the right time to keep them moving on their journey and eventually turn them into customers. By tracking your potential customers’ journey using data, you can follow their path from your content and your marketing outreach through your platforms, all the way to initial contact with the sales team. Rather than starting your buyer journey aiming at all potential customers in a particular segment, it’s better to narrow down your focus to those who will find your business relevant and useful. Journey mapping reveals friction points where prospects might abandon their buying process.
Winning vendors provide stakeholder-specific content libraries and facilitate internal alignment meetings.Create decision-rights templates that clarify who owns what aspects of the purchase decision. Unlike B2C purchases, B2B buying involves multiple stakeholders, longer timelines (typically 3-12 months), and higher stakes. Join 550K+ companies who replaced manual research with automated prospecting.
Brand reputation is critical for organizations to make it to the vendor shortlist, which makes brand-to-demand approaches strategic for business growth. Effective marketing and sales strategies address the needs of each stakeholder role, providing relevant information and value propositions that resonate with their specific priorities. Enterprise purchases typically involve larger buying groups with buyer journey b2b more formal evaluation processes, while smaller transactions may involve fewer stakeholders with faster decision cycles. Stakeholder involvement varies by purchase complexity and organizational structure.
This approach aligns with current trends in consumer behavior on social media platforms. He envisions a future where sales reps have built social followings and demonstrated their expertise in a given industry, so they’re seen as thought leaders rather than just sellers. As more stakeholders get added to the buying process, it becomes increasingly critical for your sales reps to know your product inside and out. To combat this challenge, Buscemi urges your sales reps to get comfortable asking, “Who else is involved in the buying process?
However, those buyer journeys will differ, so you must create separate personas. A B2B customer journey map visually represents each customer journey stage from start to finish. When you understand what buyers need at each stage and provide it, you're not just selling – you're helping. Your website plays a crucial role in maintaining confidence and building advocacy. Next, customer success stories provide concrete examples of measurable results, like Fundraise Up growing 3X or Loom building demand generation campaigns 80% faster. This flexibility helps buyers feel in control while signaling that HubSpot can accommodate complex, enterprise-level solutions.
Step 8: Emotional graph
If the software has improved the agency’s reporting process, they might consider renewing their subscription or exploring additional features or services offered by the provider. Before full implementation, the agency focuses on educating its team about the new software. After evaluating different options, the marketing agency would decide on software based on costs, ease of use, and compatibility with existing systems. Think of your buyer’s journey as a process with smooth steps and challenges. At Cognism, we’ve created a handy TAM calculator to help potential customers measure their total addressable market.
In the B2C buyer’s journey, there’s a great emphasis on brand appeal, convenience, and pricing. Oppositely, the B2C buyer’s journey is much shorter and more emotional; it also involves fewer people. While both involve decision-making, research, and evaluation of offerings, the complexity, timelines, and number of stakeholders involved vary distinctly. The B2B and B2C buyer’s journeys may sound alike, but they aren’t as one and the same as you may think. A lead-scoring system helps prioritize prospective buyers based on engagement, behavior, and intent signals.
Step 05: List the problems and pain points
It ranges from instant (i.e., e-commerce purchases) to a few days or weeks (i.e., renting an apartment). Because the B2C buyer’s journey operates more quickly, its sales cycle is shorter. Thus, it takes longer; sometimes, the B2B buyer’s journey can take weeks, months, or even years. Oppositely, the B2C buyer’s journey is quicker, primarily because it’s a process sustained on emotion.
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And for most B2B businesses, that means shifting away from a product-focused approach and towards a buyer-focused model. What takes its place in importance is your ability to provide educational materials every step of the way. This shift means that companies need to provide comprehensive and accessible online resources to meet buyers’ informational needs early in the journey. Using a CRM system to track buyer stages and engagement levels can help sales teams provide the right information at the right time.
We know the B2B buyer’s journey is a winding road. Mapping the buyer’s journey is not a one-time exercise. A visual representation of the buyer’s journey helps you see the big picture and identify potential pain points. Data is essential for understanding your buyer’s journey and identifying areas for improvement. Touchpoints are any interactions a buyer has with your company, both online and offline. Imagine you’re a software company selling project management tools.