AUNIQUEPERSPECTIVEON

THE

B2B

BUYER

ANDTHEDIFFERENCEBETWEENWINNINGANDLOSING2024EDITIONForewordWe

admit

it–we

are

obsessed

about

B2B

buyers

and

what

drives

them.We’vebeencollectingthatdatanowforfouryears.Coveringover25,000brandexperiences,webelieve

TheSuperpowersIndexisthelargesteversystematicstudyofB2Bbuyingbehaviourglobally.Superpowershasbecomemuchmorethanapieceofresearchtous.TheSuperpowersdatapowerstwoproprietaryinsightstoolsthatourcreatives,strategists,mediaplannersandexperiencedesignersuseeveryday.WealsousethedatatohelpourclientsbenchmarktheirperformanceintheB2Bbuyer

journey

andplanwaystoimprovetheirimpact.Thisyear’supdategivesanewperspectiveonmanyofthebigtrendsinB2B:theimportanceoftrustand

brandbuilding;theever-narrowinggapbetweenwinningandlosing;thegrowinginfluenceofthoughtleadershipandthechallengesofscalingABM.Fouryearsago,westarteda

journeytounderstandtheB2Bbuyerbetter,askingB2Bbuyersabouttheirrecentpurchaseexperiences.Wewantedtounderstandwhatwasmakingthedifferencebetweenwinning

andlosing.Andwewantedtogointodetailwedidn’tseeinotherstudies.ThisreporthassomeofthebigheadlinesfromTheSuperpowersIndex.We’llbesharingmuchmoreover

thecomingmonths…fornow,wehopeyouenjoyseeingtheworldfromthebuyer’spointofview!dentsu2Todothat,weinterviewed3,528B2B

BUYERS

GLOBALLY(~14k

since2021)About…6,539B2B

BRANDEXPERIENCESACROSS4INDUSTRIES(25kB2Bbrand

experiences

inthefull

database)THE

DRIVERS

BEHIND

B2B

BUYING

DECISIONS.What’simportanttobuyersandwhatmakesthedifferencebetweenwinningandlosing.THE

B2B

BUYING

JOURNEY.Who’sinvolvedandwhatmakesadifferenceto

themateach

stage.COMMERCIALIMPACT.Howimprovingthebuyingexperiencedrivescommercialoutcomes.Thelargesteverglobalstudy

buyingbehaviourWesetouttounderstand…dentsu

3ProfessionalServicesTechnology270280181246perpowersINDEX338400290813169of

B2BFinancial

ServicesManufacturing541Weidentifythefactorsthat

makethebiggestdifference

betweenwinningandlosingIDENTIFYTHE‘HIGH

IMPACT’FACTORSEachyear,wesurveyB2Bdecision

makers

and

askthemindepthaboutrecentbuying

experiencesMAP

RECENT

B2B

PURCHASE

JOURNEYBEHAVIOURSBRANDEXPERIENCESDECISIONDRIVERSWeconnectthiswithcommercialoutcomes:size

of

the

deal,propensitytore-purchase,considerationforothercategories,loyaltymetricsetc.MONITORTHECOMMERCIALOUTCOMESOFDOINGTHEHIGHIMPACTTHINGSWELLHowTheSuperpowersIndexworksdentsu

4123dentsu

5SuperpowershelpsuslookatB2Bbuying

frommultipleperspectives77.677.277.277.177.077.077.076.976.776.558.658.657.557.057.056.655.153.051.9And

this

year,for

the

first

time,we

canmeasuretheperformanceofindividual

brands

with

the

superpowersscore.INDEXMARKETTRENDSWhatarethebigshiftsyear-on-year

in

buyer

priorities?INDUSTRY

TRENDSIncludingperformanceacrossthebuyer

journeyOverallinfluenceofdifferenttypesofdecision

drivers

on

the

likelihood

of

beingselected(out

of100%)GOODFOR

SOCIETYGOODFOR

PEOPLEGOODFOR

BUSINESS2527202116241421EVALUATORConsidersoptionsand

makesrecommendationsINFLUENCERProvidessuggestionsandfeedbackCHAMPIONInvolvedinallstepsofthepurchaseCATALYSTldEntifestheneedforchangeENDORSERProvidesfnalsign-offondecisionsSEEKERResearchesavailableoptions20242023202220214859656157161061☆

6GradeSPIndexScoreProportionmeetingthisstandard

in2024Exceptional>9015%VeryStrong85-9014%Strong80-8512%Average70-8037%Poor60-7017%Very

Poor<6022%How

are

B2B

brands

doingatmeetingbuyerneeds?INTRODUCINGTHESUPERPOWERSINDEXSCOREForthisyear’sstudywe’vecreatedanIndexscore:Asinglemetricthatcaptures

overallbrandexperience.TheIndexismeasuredfrom0-100,weightedaccordingtoabrand’sdeliveryonthe

mostimportantdecisiondrivers.TheIndexalsotakesaccountofculturalfactorstoensurethescoreiscomparable

betweencountries,industriesandcompanyprofiles.BETTER

EXPERIENCES,BIGGER

DEALS!Aten-pointimprovementintheSuperpowersIndexScorecorrelateswitha14%upliftinthedollarvalueofanopportunity,onaverage.WE’VEMEASUREDPERFORMANCEFOR

OVER120NAMED

B2BBRANDS

IN2024Source:B2B

Superpowers

Index2022-2024|Countries

included:

UK,

DE,

FR,

US,

CA,JP,SG,

IN,AU,

CNdentsuTHEIR

SALES

CYCLESARE

27%SHORTERONAVERAGETHEYAREALMOSTTWICE

AS

LIKELY

TO

BEADOPTEDFORFURTHERPRODUCTSANDSERVICES(41%VS23%FOR

OTHER

BRANDS)..ANDTHEYRECEIVEMUCH

HIGHERNPSSCORES(+83VS+23FOR

OTHER

BRANDS)THEY

ARE

NEARLY3TIMESAS

LIKELY

TO

SEE

INCREASEDSPENDFROMTHEIRCUSTOMERSINTHEFUTURE(33%VS.13%FOR

OTHER

BRANDS)BetterB2BexperiencesdelivertoplineimpactOurresearchshowsastrongcorrelationbetweenabetterbuyingexperience–measuredbystrong

performanceonthetopdecisiondriversforB2Bbuyers–andcommercialimpact.WHEN

B2B

BRANDSPERFORMWELLACROSS

THE10MOSTIMPORTANTDECISIONDRIVERSFOR2024

…dentsu

7Superpowersshowsus

justhowcompetitiveitisoutthereforB2Bbrands.Thegap

betweenwinningandlosingbrandshasbeenshrinkingeveryyear.Assmallmargins

increasinglytipthebalancebetweensuccessandfailure,reviewingthestrengthof

yourbuyerexperienceindetailisimperative.Thecompetitivegapbetweenthewinningbrandand

the

second-placed(losing)brand(performance

across

all30decision-drivers

tracked

in

Superpowers

Index,based

on

mean

average

score

gap)2021202220232024The

margins

between

success

and

failure

are

fine…andgettingfinereveryyearSINCE2021,THEGAP

HASSHRUNK78%dentsu

Source:

B2B

Superpowers

Index

2021

-

2024

|

Countries

included:

UK,

DE,

FR,

US,

CA,

JP,

SG,

AU,

CN

8Morebrandsandmoredecisionmakersareinvolved,whileincumbencyisawaningadvantageAsbuyinggroupsgrowsodoesthecomplexityoftheexperience.Asweshallsee,

buyersarealsofindingithardtospotthedifferencesbetweenbrands,makingthe

competitiveenvironmentmorevolatile.7.4GROWINGBUYINGGROUPGrowingnumberofpeople

in

the

B2B

buyinggroup;now7.4(+6%YoY)+62%BRANDSCONSIDEREDThe

number

of

brandsconsidered

as

part

of

B2B

buying

journeys

vs.202117%LOSS

RATETheincumbentloss

rate

increasing(34%vs29%last

year)dentsu

9AwatershedmomentforB2B:personaloutweighsprofessionalforthefirsttimeForyearstheB2BindustryhaspushedagainsttheperceptionthatB2Bbuyersarerationaldecision-makers,

drivenprimarilybybusinessoutcomes.Butthisyear,forthefirsttimesincewestartedSuperpowers,wesee‘personal’decisiondriversoutweighthe

morefunctionalprofessionaldriversintheiroverallimportanceintheB2Bbuyer

journey.Thisshouldaddfueltothecallformorecreativity,storytellingandemotionalresonanceinB2B.PERSONAL

DECISION

DRIVERSe.g.Feel

safe

signing

a

contract,aligns

withpersonalvalues/ethics,teaches

menewskills/knowledgePROFESSIONALDECISIONDRIVERSe.g.Competitively

priced,products

and

services

justwork,varietyandchoicedentsu

10Overall

influence

of

decision

drivers

on

B2B

purchase

decisions2021

2022

2023

2024WHATMAKESTHEBIGGEST

DIFFERENCEBETWEENWINNINGAND

LOSING

IN2024?KEY

TRENDS

IN

B2B

BUYING

11#3THE

RISE

OF

THEPERSONALIZED,

ADAPTIVEGTMThreetrendsthatdefinewinningbuyer

experiences

in2024We’veidentifiedthreemajortrendsthataremakingthedifferencebetweenwinningandlosingforB2Bbrands#1BRANDHASNEVERMATTEREDMORE

IN

B2B#2EXPERIENCECANSHORTENTHESALESCYCLEForthefirsttimeever,personaldecisiondriversoutweighprofessional

drivers

in

importance–but

how

do

B2B

brands

scale

personalized

approaches?Buyer

inertia

is

a

growing

problem

butthereisevidencethathybriddigital-physicalexperiencesthathaveimpactfromminuteonecanacceleratedeals.As

buyers

emphasise

trustand

expertise,B2B

companiesmuststrengthentheirbrandbuildingmuscles.dentsu

12 13TREND#1Brandhasnever

matteredmore

in

B2BDisillusionmentwiththeeffectivenessofleadgeneration,toughereconomicconditionsandresearchfromthelikesofHBR

and

LinkedIn

have

driven

a

renaissance

for

brand

building.Despitethis,buyersstillstruggletoseethedifferencebetween

brands

swimming

in

a

sea

of

sameness.#1TOP10REVEALED:Buyers

prioritise

trust

andexpertiseamiduncertaintyIfeelsafesigningacontractwiththemIsknownasbeingagoodemployerActivethoughtleadersintheircategory/sectorComplywithregulations,law,industrystandardsðicalpracticesTakescareofitssuppliers,businesspartnersandcommunitiesIsabrandthatalignswithmypersonalvaluesandethicsMeetmycompany’sminimumquality/functionalneedsSupportuswithexpertiseOfferenoughvarietyandchoiceProvidesthesupport,informationandexpertiseweneedForthesecondyearrunning,thetoppriorityforbuyersisfeelingsafesigninga

contract.Whenwedigfurtherintowhat

thismeans,wefindbuyerswantittobe“easytoconvincemycolleaguesonthe

brand’scredentials”andtobe“reassured

bythebrand’strackrecord”.Alongwiththeriseofbeing“knownasa

goodemployer”–aproxyforabrand’s

trustworthiness–wecanseetherising

importanceofbrand.Therapidriseintheimportanceof

thought

leadership,wecanseebuyerslookingforintegritytohelpnavigateuncertainty.20231102027398145202412345678910Top10ranked‘Decision

Drivers’based

on

their

overallinfluence

on

winning

and

losing

in

the

B2B

buying

experiencedentsu

14Rank,byyearB2B

marketersarerespondingby

prioritisingbrandIt’snosurprisetoseetheintentfromB2Bmarketerstoinvestinbrand.Lead

genhascomeunderincreasingfire;brandhasmomentum.TheinfluenceoflobbyingfromLinkedIn,conceptslikethe95/5rule,researchfromEhrenbergBassandothersall

addtoastrongcaseforbrandinvestment.1456But

there’s

atwistinthe

taleBUYERSAREN’TGETTINGWHATTHEY

NEED…Superpowersdata

backs

this

up:thetopthreemostinfluentialdriversareallaboutbuildingtrust.‘Demandgeneration

/drivingand

convertingleads’‘Raisingbrand

awareness/topof

funnelperformance’Rank

given

by

B2B

marketers

based

onimportancetofuturestrategySP1:2021SP2:2022SP3:2023SP4:2024dentsu

15SP1:2021SP2:2022SP3:2023SP4:20243473Question:Q47–B2B

solution

buyersSource:B2B

Superpowers

Index2022-2024Countriesincluded:

UK,

DE,

FR,

US,CA,JP,SG,AU,CN,

IN

1671%ofB2Bmarketersratetheirperformanceasstrongfor“communicatingadistinctbrandposition

or

strong

USP”MARKETERS

RATETHEIRPERFORMANCEHIGHLY…buyerperceptionandmarketers’%of

B2B

buyers

agreeing

with

the

statement'Many

of

the

brands

I

see

at

work

have

verysimilarmarketingandcommunicationsmessages–they

all

sound

and

act

the

same'There’sabiggapbetween…BUYERS,NOTSOMUCHSP2:2022

SP3:2023

SP4:202460%68%63%Buyerscraveexpertise,butfewB2BbrandsdothoughtleadershipwellAsAIacceleratesdisruptionineveryindustry,buyersareunderstandablylooking

tobrandsthatcandemonstrategenuineexpertise,with“Beingseenasanactivethoughtleaderinmycategory”risingfrom

20thto3rdmostimportantdecisiondriver.Butonly

justoveraquarterofB2Bbuyers

rateB2Bbrandseffortshighly.

It’sa

bigopportunityforthosebrandsthatgetit

righttosetthemselvesapart.31%26%The

proportion

of

B2B

buyers

giving

brands

high

marks

for

being‘a(chǎn)ctive

thought

leaders’

isn’t

improving

over

time…2022

2023

2024Source:B2B

Superpowers

Index2022–2024|Countries

included:

UK,

DE,

FR,

US,

CA,JP,SG,AU,

CN1726%dentsu

18TREND#2Experiencecan

shortenthesalescycleGrowing

numbers

of

decision

makers

and

a

growingcautiousness

means

buying

decisions

are

taking

longer

and

are

harder

to

close–but

there

are

steps

we

take

to

tackletheproblem.#2EACH

DAY

OF

DELAYEDB2B

PURCHASE

DECISIONSIS

MONEY

LOST…Infact,weestimatethatthevaluetothe

worldeconomyof

these

delayed

b2b

opportunities

is

around…$1.9tn(or

around2.2%of

global

GDP)Source:B2BSuperpowersIndex2024andanalysisofGDPandbusinessspenddatareportedbynationalstatisticalinstitutes.19SP1:2021SP2:2022SP3:2023

SP4:2024Total

mean

decision

time(in

days)

frominitialresearchtofinaldecisionSource:B2B

Superpowers

Index2021-2024Countriesincluded:

UK,

DE,

FR,

US,CA,JP,SG,AU,CN,

INTHERE’S

BEEN

ANINCREASEINAVERAGEDECISION

TIME

OF54DAYSSINCE2021Buyerinertiaisarealproblem379350344325CATEGORY/BUSINESSFACTORS:Thesizeoftheorganisation,thefinancialcircumstancesofthe

businessetc.CATEGORY/DECISION

TYPE:Toaccountforthefactthatdecisionsinsomecategories/for

certainlevelsofinvestmenttakelongerthanothers.Oncewecontrolfor(1)and(2),thatleavesotherfactorsthat

marketerscaninfluencethroughIMPROVEDEXPERIENCES.Experienceisthebiggestinfluencingfactor30%37%33%UsingourSuperpowersdataset,we’veconductedstatisticalmodellingtounderstandwhatfactorsmostaffectthelengthof

thedecision-makingcycle.Inourmodelling,welookedattheimpactof3typesoffactors:dentsu

20EXPERIENCEINFLUENCEDBUSINESS

FACTORSDECISION-TYPE123EXPERIENCEAREAWheretheinitialinteractionwiththebrandisstrong,andwhereessentialcredentialsof

thebrandarequicklyestablishedWherepeerrecommendationandadvocacyforthebrandisstrongWherethenegotiationandcontractingprocessisstreamlined?Beingabletoconductsignificantpartsof

the

purchasethroughadigitalchannel?Havingastrongbrand/vendorwebsite4weeks2weeksWhatwecandotoacceleratedecisiontimesOncewecontrolforotherfactors,wecanseethatdecisionsaresignificantlyquickerwhereB2Bbrandexperiences

excelathybridexperiences,blendingstrongdigitalandhumaninteractionsandmakingiteasierforbuyerstobuy.Wherethereisastrong,1-to-1,humaninteractionwiththebrandduringthe

purchaseprocessWhereabrand’sengagementwiththebuyer’sprocurementfunctionisstrongDECISIONTIMETHAT

COULDBESAVED16weeks11weeks11weeks9weeksdentsu

21ShorteningofdecisiontimeframesassociatedwithB2Bpurchaseexperienceswiththeabovecharacteristics.Offeringmarket-leadingdigitalpurchaseexperiences

22TREND#3Theriseofthe

personalized,

adaptiveGTMB2B

buyers

want

experiences

that

are

relevant

to

them,

butwhat’srelevantvariessignificantlydependingonthe

roleofthebuyer.Experiencesthataretailoredtotheneedsofthebuyersare

moreeffective,andmaturingtechnologyallowsbrandsto

increasinglydeliverthispersonalizationatscale.#323B2BbuyerswantexperiencesthatreflecttheirneedsThere’slotsoftalkinB2Baboutpersonalisation,butmorethananythingitisrelevancethatbuyerscrave.Rightnow,theydon’tfeelthey’regettingitasoftenastheyshouldbe

…%Of

B2B

buyers

and

influencers

agreeing

that:“I

would

like

business

suppliers

to

spend

more

time

seeking

to

understand

meand

how

it

can

solve

day-to-day

problems

I

face

at

work”(Q47)SP2:2022SP3:2023

SP4:2024Source:B2B

Superpowers

Index2022-2024|Countries

included:

UK,

DE,

FR,

US,

CA,JP,SG,AU,

CN69%67%71%dentsuSatisfactionacrosstheB2Bcustomer

journeyislow%having

positive

experiences

acrossdifferentaspectsofthepurchase

journey(9-10scores

out

of10,W2N16)dentsu

Source:

B2B

Superpowers

Index

2022-2024|

Countries

included:

UK,

DE,

FR,

US,

CA,JP,

SG,AU,

CN

24SCORES

HAVEN’T

IMPROVED

SINCE

THEIR

DECLINE

IN2023B2Bbrandsstruggletofullysatisfy

thedesireforcustomisationOnlyaround2in5businesswerehighlysatisfiedwiththebrandtheychoseintermsofdoingagood

jobfor

tailoringtheirofferingtofittheirneeds...andthesescoreshaveshownnosignofimprovingsince2022.%Delighted(9/10out

of10)For“Diagnosing

requirements

and

tailoring

offerings

to

our

needs”dentsu

Source:

B2B

Superpowers

Index2022-2024|

Countries

included:

UK,

DE,

FR,

US,

CA,

JP,

SG,AU,

CN

2543%

39%

39%SP2:2022

SP3:2023SP4:2024SEEKER

INFLUENCER

EVALUATOR

ENDORSER

CHAMPIONMoresenior*%Delighted(9+/10)For"Diagnosing

requirementsand

tailoring

offerings

to

our

needs"**MeasuredbyaveragedifferenceinrankofimportancefromtheoverallpictureforSuperpowersattributesB2BbrandsdobetteratservingtheneedsofthemoreseniorDMsinvolvedintheprocessbut

canendupfailingtosatisfykeygatekeepers,suchasSeekersandInfluencersTheseless-well-servedrolesalsohavedecision-driverprioritiesthatareparticularlydistinctfrom

theoverallpicture.Underthesecircumstances,amoretailoredapproachisneeded.ThisappearstobelinkedwithB2Bbrandsnotengagingsufficiently

withthedistinctneedsofkeymembersofthebuyinggroupMediocre

Low

Very

low

Low

Mediocre

MediocreMedium

Very

high

High

High

High

MediumDegreeofdifferenceinkeyneeds(decisiondrivers)tooverallpicture**Levelofsatisfactionwithhowcustomised/tailoredexperiencesarewithB2Bbrands* Source:B2B

Superpowers

Index2022-2024|Countries

included:

UK,

DE,

FR,

US,

CA,JP,SG,AU,

CN

26MorejuniorMorejuniorMoreseniorCATALYST☆Thosebrandsdeliveringrelevant,account-basedexperiencesareseeingclearbenefitsbutstillstruggletoscaleWecanuseourSuperpowersIndexdatatoidentifypurchaseexperiencesthatbearthehallmarksof

whatwecallan

‘AccountBasedExperience’.Thisiswheretherehasbeenextensiveuseoftargetedmedia,where

marketingapproacheshavebeenpersonalizedandwherearangeofcontenttypeshavebeenengagedwith.WheretherearestrongsignsofABXapproacheshavingbeentaken,arangeoftangiblecommercialbenefitstobrandsareevident

…However,only

around5%of

all

purchase

experiencescurrentlybear

thesehallmarks.ABX

remainsanascenttrendbutasAItechnologiesand

datapracticesmature,we

believewinningbrandswill

bethosethateffectively

scaleaccount-based

approachesthatrespond to

customer

needs.387100

362dentsu

27Avg.ContractValue/Year(indexed)7338

ExperienceswithABM/ABXh