Trust Your Decisions Research Study

The Top Factors Driving B2B Buying Decisions

Let’s make something that matters

new york

1211 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10036 USA

hong kong

25/F, Central Plaza, 18 Harbour Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong

london

1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF UK

business inquiries

thetrust@wsjbarrons.com

WHAT WE DO

what we do

who we are

careers

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL / BARRON’S GROUP

Marketers and brand leaders have long assumed that B2B buying decisions are based solely on logical factors, such as ROI calculations. But a growing body of research reveals that emotional connections—particularly feelings of trust and confidence—play a significant role in how business decision-makers choose their suppliers. WSJ Intelligence, the research unit of The Wall Street Journal | Barron’s Group, and market research firm B2B International teamed up to better understand the B2B purchase journey and where decision-makers turn for information about brands before deciding which ones to work with. We surveyed 1,601 individuals who had recently made the decision to bring on a new vendor to their company, representing companies with at least $250 million in annual revenue—and we asked them to reflect on a “winning” and “losing” brand. In our new “Trust Your Decisions” whitepaper, we reveal our findings of how the purchase journey occurs and, perhaps most groundbreakingly, the key content and channels B2B decision-makers rely on for information before choosing their suppliers.

The Wall Street Journal news organization was not involved in the creation of this content.

Understanding the Buying Journey

Among the findings:

What types of communication are most effective for reaching B2B decision-makers? The survey looked first at the types of content decision-makers rely on as they search for, evaluate and select new providers. It found they deem case studies, videos and thought leadership research most valuable—presumably because these are seen as objective and digestible sources of information. Infographics, opinion pieces and audio recordings, on the other hand, were at the bottom of the list. When seeking relevant content about a potential supplier brand, decision-makers turn first to business news and trade media—which, interestingly, respondents said elevated their trust in both the brands they chose to buy from and the ones they didn’t. Business news and trade media are seen as highly trustworthy sources of information about brands, according to the study. Other channels that also rated highly—but not as highly—included brand websites and social media platforms. Nearly 70% of respondents agreed they trust content about a brand in business news and trade media more than content that comes directly from a brand or is found on its website. Near the bottom of the list of trustworthiness were a brand’s marketing materials, cable TV networks and podcasts. Overall, the survey results show the risks brands take by relying too much on account-based marketing and highly targeted marketing approaches, as the buying journey can be fast, unpredictable and nonlinear. Instead, taking an “always-on,” omnichannel approach seems to be the safer bet for B2B brands—focusing on those channels that drive trust and ultimately lead to winning more business.

The Most Trusted Sources

The top reason companies bring on new suppliers is internal growth plans. Choosing a new supplier can take as little as six weeks. These decision-makers consider two to four potential suppliers, on average, during the selection process. At the outset of the journey, decision-makers have greater familiarity with the winning brands than the losing brands. On average, five to seven individuals are involved in these complex decisions across two to five different roles or teams. Emotional connections—specifically, having trust and confidence in a brand—were significantly higher among winning brands.

Marketers and brand leaders have long assumed that B2B buying decisions are based solely on logical factors, such as ROI calculations. But a growing body of research reveals that emotional connections—particularly feelings of trust and confidence—play a significant role in how business decision-makers choose their suppliers. In fact, surprisingly, B2B purchase decisions have shown to be just as driven by emotions than consumers’ buying decisions—if not more. WSJ Intelligence, the research unit of The Wall Street Journal | Barron’s Group, and market research firm B2B International teamed up to better understand the B2B purchase journey and where decision-makers turn for information around brands before deciding which ones to work with. We surveyed 1,601 companies with at least $250 million in annual revenue. Each had taken on new suppliers over the prior 12 months, and we asked them to reflect on a “winning” and “losing” brand. In our new “Trust Your Decisions” report, we reveal our findings of how the purchase journey realistically occurs and, perhaps most groundbreakingly, the key content and channels B2B decision-makers rely on for information before choosing their suppliers.

Among the findings related to selecting suppliers:

Understanding the Buying Journey

Marketers and brand leaders have long assumed that B2B buying decisions are based solely on logical factors, such as ROI calculations. But a growing body of research reveals that emotional connections—particularly feelings of trust and confidence—play a significant role in how business decision-makers choose their suppliers. In fact, surprisingly, B2B purchase decisions have shown to be just as driven by emotions than consumers’ buying decisions—if not more. WSJ Intelligence, the research unit of The Wall Street Journal | Barron’s Group, and market research firm B2B International teamed up to better understand the B2B purchase journey and where decision-makers turn for information around brands before deciding which ones to work with. We surveyed 1,601 companies with at least $250 million in annual revenue. Each had taken on new suppliers over the prior 12 months, and we asked them to reflect on a “winning” and “losing” brand. In our new “Trust Your Decisions” report, we reveal our findings of how the purchase journey realistically occurs and, perhaps most groundbreakingly, the key content and channels B2B decision-makers rely on for information before choosing their suppliers.

In Association with

Prepared by

A new study reveals how business decision-makers choose their suppliers—and the sources they turn to along their purchasing journey.

Marketers and brand leaders have long assumed that B2B buying decisions are based solely on logical factors, such as ROI calculations. But a growing body of research reveals that emotional connections—particularly feelings of trust and confidence—play a significant role in how business decision-makers choose their suppliers. In fact, surprisingly, B2B purchase decisions have shown to be just as driven by emotions than consumers’ buying decisions—if not more. WSJ Intelligence, the research unit of The Wall Street Journal | Barron’s Group, and market research firm B2B International teamed up to better understand the B2B purchase journey and where decision-makers turn for information around brands before deciding which ones to work with. We surveyed 1,601 companies with at least $250 million in annual revenue. Each had taken on new suppliers over the prior 12 months, and we asked them to reflect on a “winning” and “losing” brand. In our new “Trust Your Decisions” report, we reveal our findings of how the purchase journey realistically occurs and, perhaps most groundbreakingly, the key content and channels B2B decision-makers rely on for information before choosing their suppliers.

The Role of Trust in B2B Purchase Decisions

Decision-makers reported having much higher levels of trust in the brands they ultimately chose to buy from than in the “losing” brands—and throughout all three stages of their buying journey.

Trust In Winning Brand

Trust In Losing Brand

Evaluation & Shortlisting Stage

Pre-Decision Stage

Final Decision Stage

Source: WSJ Intelligence and B2B International,“Trust Your Decision Study,” July 2021. Base Total n= 1601.

56%

54%

55%

38%

37%

Here’s a look at the types of content decision-makers said they prefer to look at during the important “pre-decision” phase when choosing new product or service providers—broken down by four common categories of suppliers.

Content Types B2B Decision-Makers Turn to Most—and Least

Tech

Professional Services

Marketing

Finance

Source: WSJ Intelligence & B2B International “Trust Your Decision Study” July 2021. Base Technology decision-makers; n= 401.

Source: WSJ Intelligence & B2B International “Trust Your Decision Study” July 2021. Base: Professional Services decision-makers; n=400.

Source: WSJ Intelligence and B2B International, "Trust Your Decision Study," July 2021. Base: Marketing services decision-makers; n=400.

Source: WSJ Intelligence & B2B International “Trust Your Decision Study” July 2021. Base: Finance decsion-makers; n=400.

38%

37%

Click to view larger