Sometimes it’s hard to see change as it happens incrementally, so I really dug into this question.
To me, the biggest lesson over the past decade is in how buyer behavior has changed, which is, in turn, completely changing the role for solution providers.
Thinking on this a little more, I also realized that marketing habits are so ingrained that many marketers still haven’t picked up on this!
When I ask marketers to tell me who their buyers rely on most for information during the purchase process, most of them say that it’s their customers’ peers. Some may say industry analysts or a web search. Very few actually come up with the correct answer: the solution providers themselves!
Years ago, yes, a buyer’s peers were the most relied upon and credible source of information during the purchase process. But that has changed.
Today, that exalted position belongs to the solution providers. Every year, and more recently twice a year, ITSMA conducts its How Executives Engage Research with more than 400 senior executive buyers of high consideration services and solutions at large enterprise companies.
Our most recent studies have consistently shown that solution providers are the most trusted source of information.