The Element of Risk in B2B Marketing - Chiefmarketer

Think the road to a B2B sale is straight and narrow? B2B buying experiences seem unpredictable because the number of decision makers involved make the buying behavior seem non-linear, said Christopher Penn, vice president, Shift Communications, speaking at the recent MarTech conference in San Francisco. There's also the fact that B2B buyers are risk averse, thanks to the high stakes involved in many decisions. "If risk is involved, humans get emotional, and that's where predictability goes off the rails," said Penn. "Humans are driven by a mixture of risk and reward--reward drive us forward, and risk drive us back." Everyone has a different risk profile, he continued.