Self-serve buyers increasingly demand transparency

Today’s enterprise technology buyers demand more transparency than ever. This is confirmed by buyers’ three favorite resources as listed in the 2022 B2B Buying Disconnect report from enterprise review site TrustRadius.

The latest research – published today – highlights a shift in buyers’ top five most-consulted resources during a vendor evaluation process. This is the first major change since the annually updated report launched in 2017. In the sixth edition of the seminal resource for B2B marketers, Communities and Forums have displaced vendor sales reps in the top five – based on a sample size of 2,185 buyers.

The number one thing software vendors should stop doing, according to buyers, is cold calling. Buyers say this is the number one thing that makes them less likely to choose a vendor – followed by gripes about no software pricing on the web and unclear messaging. We’ve all been there – landed on a company’s web page, then spent a few minutes figuring out what solutions they provide.

TrustRadius also highlights how the need to contact sales for a demo or free trial is also high on the “most-disliked” list – which is strong advice for vendors still getting to grips with the rise of the self-service buyer.

Of course, you’d expect a reviews site to say this, but TrustRadius notes a further increase – to “virtually 100%” of buyers who want to self-serve, up from 87% in 2021.

This is an abridged version of Destrier’s take – available exclusively to our clients. If you’d like to know more, get in touch!