Half of UK B2B business buyers don’t use social, the Buyersphere Report 2015, has revealed.
Of the 211 UK B2B buyers surveyed by B2B Marketing and Base One, 50 per cent reported that social media plays no part in their information collection efforts prior to making business purchases.
Unsurprisingly, the likelihood of a buyer turning to social channels varies according to the age of the respondent. Those under 40 are significantly more likely to use social media than those above the age of 50.
Commenting on the findings, Alex Aspinall, head of content at B2B Marketing, said: “It’s possible to read this one of two ways. On one hand it should make marketers question how much time and effort they should be spending on their social media efforts. Are their buyers actually in that space?
“However, it’s also important that marketers don’t ignore the 50 per cent that do value social as an information gathering tool. It’s possible to see this as a tipping point. The younger buyers – those with more of an instinctive tendency to gravitate to social – are the people that are gong to be leading the business world in the near future.”
The annual Buyersphere Report throws the spotlight on B2B buyers; highlighting the straight-from-the-horse’s-mouth insight B2B marketers need in order to deliver customer-centric campaigns and messaging.
This year 200 UK-based business buyers with budgetary sign-off for business purchases worth in excess of £20,000 were surveyed. The final report, with a detailed analysis written by Base One’s John Bottom, is available for download now.
