Although word of mouth (WOM) recommendations are still the biggest influence on purchase decisions between small and medium enterprises (SME) owners, online forums and blogs play an important role in the process, also and a more influential than advertisements or queries with suppliers, a new poll of ivy in the world.

Asked to rate the importance of various factors in purchasing decisions of technology, the SME owners and buyers surveyed cited recommendations from friends and colleagues that (a score of 3.71 on a scale of 1 to 5) the most influential, followed by blogs and online forums (3.52) and test periods of optional products / services (3.38).

factors affecting purchases ivy Top Influencers SMB Customers

Among SMBs, consultations with salespeople (2.40) and advertising (2.26) are less influential to the purchase decision.

Below, additional findings from a survey of 1,000 SMBs worldwide, employing fewer than 500 people.

Top Triggers for Future Purchases

When considering future purchases, sales relationships, marketing messages, and green products are less important than reviews from trusted sources and enhanced features and quality.

Asked to rate the degree of influence that various factors would have on future decisions to purchase a product/service for their company, SMBs report the following top 3 triggers on a scale of 1 to 7:

    Stronger feature than current solution: 6.38
    Level of quality promised greater than current solution: 6:31
    A detailed review from a trusted source illustrating pros and cons of product/service: 6.0

Surprisingly, stated ROI is only moderately influential to SMB buyers (4.80), while strong sales relationships and marketing messages are even less important, 4.70 and 3.67, respectively.

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Top Information Sources

When in the discovery phase of buying, SMB owners and purchasers tend to rely most on Web forums that detail other users’ experience and comments, rating that channel a 5.10 (on a scale of 1 to 7), followed by recommendations from friends and family (4.90) and review websites (4.87).