I thought I’d share what I’ve been up to lately and get your input – I’ve been doing some informal research with entrepreneurs about the corporate buyer decision process. In other words, what’s important to corporate buyers when making purchase decisions.
Here’s a summary of the results so far. It’s not a statistically valid sample, but more of a reality check for any entrepreneur selling product to corporate buyers.
What Corporate Buyers Value Most
The scale above rank orders the major purchase criteria an organizational buyer considers. The scale organizes by relative importance, ten being most important. Notice what ranks on the top 2/3 of the ladder – notice where the product ranks. Interesting to also note what makes it in to the ranking at all.
Now try this…. Think about your own customers – Build your own scale of relative importance based upon customer input and then rank order these on a grid. Next, (and be honest now), score your company on how you deliver on each of these rankings. An important lesson – corporate buyers expect and evaluate you on many factors beyond product. Is your company putting enough emphasis on the other factors? Great products alone won't score a win for you. Start thinking about your real business value.
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