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B2B buying behavior

There is a big difference between the buying behavior, buying process and types of buying behavior in B2B companies vs B2C companies. Typically, the buying process is longer in the B2B segment, and therefore it can be more complex to analyze and actively work with in the sales process.

What is buying behavior?

This article focuses on B2B companies and this text will therefore be relevant to the manufacturer market and other companies that trade with each other.

For the sake of good order, we'll start from the end with the definition of what buying behavior actually is. The term is used in the world of sales and marketing and relates to the behavior of customers. Buying behavior can be analyzed in the decision-making process when the customer is faced with buying a product or service from your company.


Why B2B needs a buyer behavior analysis

Only by analyzing your customers' buying behavior can you better understand their thoughts, motives, needs, dreams, fears and issues. This will help you help them make the right decision to buy one of your products or services.

Those who are very good at spotting the buying behavior of their customers know very quickly what to sell to each customer and how to sell it to each customer.


Buying behavior types model

Note! That buying behavior can be very different from B2C and the B2B world, as the decision-making process is almost never about impulse purchases, but more about deliberation. Likewise, there are typically multiple roles involved in B2B commerce.

If you as a salesperson are familiar with these different types of buying behavior, you have a smart move in your pocket, because you know who to talk to when and how to best communicate to each individual - as they typically have their own interests in relation to the purchase.

Let's get an overview of the different roles here:

  • The initiator
    Is the person who takes the initiative to contact your store
  • Consumers
    Is the person who will use the product or service
  • Influent
    Is the same as an influencer who (for example) on social media can influence the customer's thoughts on whether a purchase is good or bad. It can also be a colleague or something else in this context that can influence the decision.
  • The decision maker
    Is the person who makes the final decision on what to buy and what not to buy
  • Dispatchers
    Is the person who orders and pays for the item

Your most important job here is to find out who the decision-maker is and who the consumer is (i.e. the person who will use the product) - they are typically the people you can see as "real" customers. If you capture this, you can target sales towards them to a greater extent.

Ian Rosenfeldt</trp-post-container
Ian Rosenfeldt</trp-post-container
Founder, COO & Chief AI Strategist
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