Forrester finds buying dissatisfaction
Forrester released new research showing 87% of Millennial and Gen Z buyers report dissatisfaction in at least one area of their B2B buying experience. The hosts noted this sets the stage for the priorities discussion. Many B2B companies retrofit existing processes rather than designing new experiences. When customers encounter problems online, companies route them to call centers instead of providing intelligent chatbots. These outdated approaches frustrate younger buyers.
They take the existing process and try to extrapolate from it. What ends up happening is a lot of those business processes just do not work.
Andy Hoar, Master B2B
How the research was conducted
Master B2B conducted ten roundtables across the United States this fall, from Los Angeles to New York and everywhere in between. Several hundred practitioners participated, representing manufacturers, distributors, and brands. Each roundtable included a survey asking participants to rank their priorities for 2025 from a list of ten to twelve options. The results were remarkably consistent across markets.
Analytics and reporting leads
Analytics and reporting ranked as the number one priority across all roundtables. The hosts interpret this as a focus on developing customer insights, not just viewing dashboards. Companies want to understand what behavior customers demonstrate, identify cross-sell and upsell opportunities, and optimize for profit. This is about harnessing data to drive decisions rather than simply generating reports.
ROI pressure intensifies
ROI of digital investments ranked second. Master B2B research found 83% of executives plan to spend more on digital, but 65% said ROI expectations have sped up compared to three years ago. Adobe found 38% of B2B companies struggle to secure adequate budget for ecommerce, with ROI demonstration as the main hurdle. The hosts noted digital teams are held to a higher standard than offline marketing. Trade shows and giveaways are not measured with the same precision, creating a double standard.
Customer experience is non-negotiable
Customer experience improvements ranked third. McKinsey data shows 81% of B2B buyers will consider switching if product availability is not shown, 80% if prices are not available online, 80% if mobile ordering is difficult, and 73% if experiences are inconsistent across channels. 75% of B2B buyers are now Millennials or Gen Z, and 62% of younger buyers said they will not use an app or website that is hard to navigate.
Younger buyers are not as knowledgeable as older buyers. They need to use digital tools to find what they are looking for, and if search does not work, they will go elsewhere.
Andy Hoar, Master B2B
Channel conflict drops to last place
Channel conflict ranked lowest among all priorities. The hosts offered two explanations: companies have either resolved their channel conflict issues after years of effort, or they have accepted that resolution is impossible and moved on. Either way, the issue no longer commands priority attention from practitioners. This contrasts with Amazon strategy discussions where channel conflict remains the primary reason manufacturers hesitate to sell on the platform.
Priorities are interconnected
The hosts concluded that the top three priorities reinforce each other. Analytics provide the data to demonstrate ROI. Understanding customer behavior through analytics enables better customer experiences. Improving customer experience drives revenue and reduces cost to serve, demonstrating ROI. Companies that excel at analytics tend to perform better on the other priorities as a result. This creates a virtuous cycle for organizations that invest in their data capabilities.