that the way they’re searching has changed. The same percentage of people may be using search, but they’re spending more time with it. On average, B2B researchers do 12 searches prior to engaging on a specific brand’s site. Average Searches Conducted Prior to Engagement Engagement Queries 2 4 6 8 10 12 Source: Google/Millward Brown Digital, B2B Path to Purchase Study, 2014. How are they getting to you? It’s an interesting mix—and a telling one—of branded and category searches. About 71% start on a generic query, so they’re looking for product first, not for you. Based on data from our Customer Journey tool, we can see that, for large and medium enterprises, generic paid search factors in strongly toward the beginning part of the business/industrial path to purchase. “What we thought was kind of the traditional purchasing methodology through relationships is actually happening online,” says Richardson. “The point of contact with sales comes a lot later, so we have to be well prepared to present our value story to our customers or potential customers much earlier and articulate it in a much simpler manner.” It's not enough just to bid on your brand terms. Influence and decision making are happening earlier on in the purchasing path, even prior to brand awareness. Identify where you can be part of the conversation early on and throughout their searching. thinkwithgoogle.com 5