As I prepare for the WBENC procurement conference in New Orleans (with thousands of women business owners and corporate buyers), it’s the perfect time to examine current corporate buyer trends. After 20 years as a corporate buyer myself before founding The Repositioning Expert, I can tell you the landscape has fundamentally shifted. The biggest change? Digital-first decision making has completely replaced gut-instinct purchasing. Sixty-seven percent of the buying journey now happens online before any vendor contact, and 75% of buyers prefer purchasing online or meeting via Zoom rather than in-person. My advice? Provide robust digital content or you won’t even be considered in their buying journey. Master Zoom meetings and online closing because that’s where deals happen now.

Mobile and LinkedIn Domination

Here’s a game-changing statistic: over 50% of B2B ads in 2025 are on mobile devices, and 84% of corporate buyers use LinkedIn for research and information gathering. On the vendor side, three out of four leads come from LinkedIn. Yet there are surprisingly few people creating engaging content on the platform, especially live video content like this. I repurpose every Tuesday Tea Time topic into my LinkedIn newsletter “The Marketing Minute,” plus all my other social channels. The key is engaging with people who engage with your content – I call it “genuine fawning” where you support people you’ve actually met at industry events, creating authentic relationships rather than hiring offshore workers to mindlessly like posts.

Complex Buyer Teams and Personalization

The average B2B purchase now involves seven-plus decision makers for companies with 100-500 employees, and 10+ buyers for million-dollar purchases. Instead of sending blind quotes when requested, ask for a co-creation meeting with all stakeholders. Lead a session that addresses everyone’s concerns and vision while building the scope of work together. This sets you apart from competitors who just send paperwork, and you can overcome objections in real-time. The good news? Multiple decision makers mean multiple entry points – if one goes quiet, you can engage with others on the buying team.

Trust Through Social Proof

Personalization isn’t optional anymore – 80% of buyers are more likely to purchase after consuming personalized content, and 72% expect it from vendors. Research their specific industry pain points, understand the cost and consequences of not solving these problems, and present relevant case studies. For ultimate personalization, consider account-based marketing tactics like the vendor who created a comic book featuring a CEO as a superhero to win a meeting! Finally, since 57-70% of buyers are halfway through their journey before contacting sales reps, your content must build trust and demonstrate results. I maintain video testimonials, weave case studies into newsletters, and sometimes have past clients present at my executive roundtables. With 57% of buyers expecting ROI in three months, they need proof you can deliver quick results – because they’re looking to shortcut their own trial-and-error process.

Want to reposition your messaging to grow your leads? Follow me on Twitter, friend me on Facebook, watch my Podcast o YouTube or connect with me on LinkedIn –and let’s talk.