June 2013 -- With content marketing on the rise, the CMO Council conducted a study of B2B content seekers’ information gathering attitudes, such as what they are seeking from B2B content and the characteristics most valued.

The study found B2B buyers are “turned off by self-serving, irrelevant, over-hyped and overly technical content. They’re migrating to peer-based communities and new sources of trusted, relevant and credible content and conversation.”

Findings:

Characteristics Most Valued in B2B Content:

• Breadth and depth of information (47%)
• Ease of access, understanding, and readability (44%)
• Originality of thinking and ideas (39%)

Characteristics most disliked in B2B content:

• Too many requirements for download (50%)
• Blatantly promotional and self-serving (43%)
• Non-substantive and uninformed (34%)

B2B content most valued and trusted:

• Professional association research reports/whitepapers (67%)
• Industry group research reports/whitepapers (50%)
• Customer case studies (48%)
• Analyst reports and whitepapers (44%)
• Independent product reviews (40%)
• Only 9% said they trust vendor content

B2B content sources that are most valuable in shaping purchase decisions:

• Professional associations and online communities (47%)
• Industry organizations and groups (46%)
• Online trade publications (41%)
• Seminars and workshops (41%)
• Trade shows (35%)

Additional findings:

• The majority of B2B content consumers say that online content has a major (27%) or moderate (60%) impact on their vendor selection.
• Email is the most common method used for sharing online content.
• Although PCs are the most popular devices used for accessing content (68%), a significant of respondents use smartphones (41%) and tablets (30%) to access content.

About: The data is based on a recent survey of more than 400 B2B content seekers around the world, conducted by the CMO Council’s Content ROI Center and distributed by NetLine Corporation’s global content syndication network. Some 41 percent of respondents came from companies with more than $100 million in revenues, and half held titles of director and above. Two-thirds said they had influence on key purchasing decisions or final purchase-making authority.

Source:  CMO Council, Print in the Mix