B2B Buying Differs for Millennials, Gen X, Boomers

If you want your business-to-business marketing to work across generations, you may need to change things up. Millennial buyers are distinctly different from previous generations, namely Gen X and Baby Boomer purchasers, in their B2B buying preferences, according to a MarketingProfs report of recent IBM research. IBM analyzed data from a survey of 704 people who influence or are responsible for B2B purchasing decisions of $10,000 or more for companies in 12 countries and 6 industries. The study found that, when researching products and services, Millennials (born 1980-1993) want to interact directly with vendors' representatives far more than Gen X (born 1965-1979) or Baby Boomers (born 1954-1964). Gen X buyers rely most on third-party articles/blogs/reviews to research products and servcies, while Baby Boomers rely most on trade shows. But before you send a rep out to knock on Millennials' doors, note that Millennials opt for remote over face-to-face vendor interactions, with some 69% of Millennials saying they prefer e-mail communications compared with only 24% who prefer in-person meetings. And when it comes to the vendor attributes most likely to impress potential B2B buyers, there is another generational divide: Millennial buyers value ease of doing business most highly, while Gen X buyers look for assurances that they'll be satisfied with their purchase, and Baby Boomers prize a vendor's ability to respond quickly. For more details of the study, see http://www.marketingprofs.com/charts/2015/27408/b2b-buying-millennials-vs-gen-x-baby-boomers