MARKET REPORT Purchasing
“Social media has a strong role to play and not just in outbound marketing. The comms reseller
channel has an important role as the trusted advisor, so that business can make educated purchasing
decisions and not be lost in the technology sell.” Craig Thomas, Marketing Director, Abzorb
today’s consumers purchase
products and services.
omas commented, “Social
media has a strong role to
play and not just in outbound
marketing. e comms reseller
channel has an important role
as the trusted advisor, so that
business can make educated
MILLENNIALS – ARE WE NEARLY THERE YET?!
ARE THE MILLENNIAL GENERATION INFLUENCING PURCHASING
DECISIONS YET?
Craig Thomas, Marketing Director, Abzorb – “Yes, millennials are now the
decision makers, certainly within some businesses. It is often millennials
that are the most informed and aware of the business’ needs, and
understand the bigger communications picture and, if not the decision
maker, are certainly in the position to be the biggest infl uencer. We see
millennial infl uencers across all LOBs, especially in marketing, sales and
support functions.”
Terry Pattinson, Director at Enable Network Services - “As millennials, by
defi nition, are somewhere between 23 - 38 they are defi nitely moving into
the ranks of middle management. However, typical millennial marketing
strategies (as an example, remarketing via Instagram, Snapchat or
Facebook) are not particularly appropriate marketing channels for high
value complex requirements.”
Paul Burn, Purchasing Director, Nimans - “Millennials are affecting the type
of technology being bought. There’s an expectation that it’s just there.
They are defi nitely infl uencing decisions. But I wouldn’t say they are making
decisions. Business owners want to employ millennials so they need the
technology in place to attract them and future proof their workforces.”
purchasing decisions and not
be lost in the technology sell.
Most recently I think this is
highlighted in the 5G debate
and its impact on the SMB
community.
e buying journey is now
as much about having trusted
partners who will educate
you in the di erent options
and support you towards
making the right decision for
your business. Feature-based
comparisons on speed and price
are no longer enough.”
Burn states, “Social media is
playing a more prominent role
and in many ways it’s become a
modern newspaper. It’s a way of
creating demand and interest in
a very engaging way. It’s more
instant and there’s so much
more information to consume.
It could be a product review or
technical specs or pricing. It
makes research so much easier.”
Pattinson added, “Typically,
needs are very speci c, and
requirements aren’t met with
glib answers. is ensures
that deep technical leadership
combined with commercial
sensitivity is required. Social
media, even business oriented
versions (Linkedin) barely
registers in the buying journey.
Far more important is search
(standard Google) leading to
high grade content such as
technical publications, review
blogs, and partner and vendor
websites.”
ED SAYS…
Times are changing, but clearly at different rates. If you sell into small businesses
then you may be resistant to some, but not all, of these changes. Clearly LoB
is becoming a prominent theme and is something I infl uence within my own
organisation (much to the dismay of the IT department). Making an informed
judgement of who is impacting the decisions will be crucial for the Channel to
ensure inexperienced purchasers don’t push transactions directly to vendors who
have simplifi ed their online ordering process.
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buying journey might look like.
According to McBain, “With
73% of business buyers nding
the web more convenient to
make purchases and Forrester
predicting that 17% of all
B2B transactions will happen
through eCommerce by 2023,
the end of traditional resell will
accelerate in 2019.”
An increasingly digitised
society is impacting our
high streets already, brands
are focusing their e orts on
communicating with customers
accross online channels. As
consumers spend more time
online for activities that range
from browsing social media
to transferring money, there
is an assumption that online
channels are on an upward
trajectory when it comes to how
42 | Comms Business Magazine | August 2019 www.commsbusiness.co.uk
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