INCREASED POWER OF PEERS Another pronounced shift in B2B buying behavior that is likely influenced by risk aversion is an increased reliance on peer reviews and ratings. A common practice in B2C purchases, B2B buyers are now commonly seeking opinions and input from other users on things like deployment time, time to value, ROI and ease of use. In total, 67% of B2B buyers agreed that they relied more on peer recommendations when making a final purchasing decision. Once you were at the point of evaluating a set list of solution providers, please rate the importance of these variables: Peer reviews 67% Pricin g 75% Deployment time/ease of use 80% Case studies/testimonials 41% Analyst rankings 34% Demonstrated experience with/knowledge of our industry 63% Connections to executives in your company 31% Buyer committee approval 48% Features/functionality 81% Solved a pain point 81% Sales team demonstrated knowledge of our company and insights into our problems 59% 2017 B2B Buyer’s Survey Report • 9