Just came across an excellent post by Matt West of Connected Marketer called A Glimpse Inside the Mind of the New B2B Buyer.  It’s based on a study done together with DemandGen Report into the new buying influences in B2B.

The data supports the trends we’re all seeing out there (buyer-driven purchase cycles, the role of content, social media and peer conversations) but it did surprise me how fast things are changing — some of the numbers are a lot higher than I’d have guessed, including:

New Influences in the Buying Process

• 78% of buyers started with informal info gathering
• 59% engaged with peers who addressed the challenge
• 48% followed industry conversations on topic
• 44% conducted anonymous research of a select group of vendors
• 41% followed discussions to learn more about topic
• 37% posted questions on social networking sites looking for suggestions/feedback
• More than 20% connected directly with potential solution providers via social networking channels

Even better: almost 95% of recent purchasers said the solution provider they chose “provided them with ample content to help navigate through each stage of the buying process.”

Cancel that six-figure ad budget. Start generating killer content and spreading it across the web.