Google VP Calls On B2B To ‘Change The Game’

For years, the biggest players in B2B have called upon their peers to step up their game, adopt technology and promote innovation in the space. Finally, it appears that some of those calls have been heard; B2B eCommerce is on the rise, and new markets like enterprise SaaS signal a fresh wave of modern thinking among today’s buyers and suppliers.

But for one Google executive, it still isn’t enough. Google Vice President of U.S. sales and service, Jim Lecinski, gave the opening address Wednesday (May 27) at the Business Marketing Association’s annual event held in Chicago. The theme of that speech, according to reports, was that B2B marketers have to change the game of their business.

“If our buyer is changing, then we as B2B marketers need to change our game and pivot how we grow, change and sell our brands,” he told the audience.

His remarks highlighted recent research by Google on the topic, which found that nearly half (46 percent) of B2B procurement buyers are millennials, up from just 27 percent in 2012. “Are you considering this influential 18-34 audience as your primary target when you’re building B2B marketing campaigns?” he asked at the event.

Along with a younger generation of corporate buyers comes a new trend of how corporate procurement is done. For example, Google’s research revealed that procurers have doubled the number of searches they conduct when researching a product, up from six searches in 2012 to 12 in 2014. At the same time, B2B buyers have reduced the number of brands they consider when doing their procurement.

Lecinski pointed to a marketing strategy of making suppliers’ websites more accessible to the buyer when they do this searching. Another tactic, reports said, is to boost mobile marketing efforts, as 80 percent of media consumption today is done through a mobile device. What’s more, Google found that 42 percent of B2B searches alone are done on a mobile device.

“This means your first job is to be an excellent mobile marketer,” the Google executive said. “Make sure you have an outstanding mobile site experience for your B2B users.”

Lastly, in addition to focusing on supplier websites and mobile strategies, Lecinski added that suppliers and manufacturers must focus on digitizing their product portfolio.