Whilst there has been a dramatic growth in consumer’s use of the internet for purchasing, it is not always clear to the small business how important the internet is for B2B transactions. However, recent research provides an eye opening picture of the situation. A sample of businesses where asked what methods they would use to research their next B2B purchase. Of those asked, 93% indicated that they would do their research on-line. Interestingly, of these asked 64% of them stated that they would use a search engine initially to carry out the research and 95% actually said they would use a search engine at some point during the purchase process. When asked what was the outcome of their B2B search, only 8% of those asked did not find what they were looking for. 27% purchased on line, 37% researched on line but purchased off-line and 28% were still researching. That suggests 2/3rds of those researching on line are ending up making a purchase as a result of their research. For small businesses, the ability to use the internet for their business purchases is enhanced by a number of factors: 1. Small businesses are generally short on time. Using the internet to carry out research and to find business products and services is something that can be done at any time of the day or night. 2. Business to business on-line can often work out cheaper. Lower costs generally from trading on-line means that there are often commercial advantages from buying in this way. There is also the scope for generally “cutting out the middle man” whether it be in this country or buying from abroad.
Content by: Made Simple Group
Join our community today
