Share of Search for B2B marketing

We often get the question if Share of Search works for B2B Marketing - the short answer is Yes.

However we understand that you are looking for a more elaborate answer.

Decoding a brand’s role in the purchase decision

There are more similarities in B2B vs B2C than most people think. The big difference lays in the importance of the purchase where more people will be involved that can be the procurement of an agency, buying equipment or signing a big contract. But if you think about it the same goes for buying a house a car planning a wedding etc. In private life it’s called family in business its called politics.

So what role does a brand have in the purchase decision? Let’s simplify by putting the brand role in a purchase as a formula: a brand s function: create Awareness + interest = purchase.

Or as Peter Weinberg and the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute puts it

“Brand perceptions are not particularly important, and perceptions are difficult (if not impossible) for marketers to change. Most brands are perceived exactly the same, and most variations can be explained by brand size. Don't worry about WHAT buyers think of you. Worry about WHEN buyers think of you --- ideally in a variety of buying situations”

So if the role of the brand is to create awareness and interest in the right situation Search data is a perfect source for analysis.

Using Search and Share of Search for analytics and understand B2B marketing

If we agree that interest and awareness are the most important roles for a brand in a purchase decision, search data is there for you to understand if you are succeeding.

Do you know anyone that doesn’t search “google it” when they are doing research? Those signals can be analyzed to understand what themes, questions people are searching for, the brands they are searching on and what month/timing they are searching.

So by analyzing your brands Share of Search in comparison to your chosen competitors you will get an answer if you are successful in creating awareness and interest.

I hope this article was useful. For further reading on Share of Search continue reading our blog

/Rodrigo, CEO and Co-founder My Telescope