According to the Abacus Indicator from Broomfield, CO-based direct marketing services provider Abacus, there were significant differences in purchasing behavior across categories in the business-to-business sector last year.
“In this heterogeneous market, it is next to impossible for any b-to-b marketer to be all things to all people,” says Stacey Hawes, vice president of b-to-b services for Abacus. “By taking a look at what types of contacts are making the most purchases in a given category, b-to-b marketers can specifically target the most-active purchasers and significantly increase the productivity of their marketing campaigns.”
Breaking it down by category:
* Computer purchasing is the highest average order in business and legal services, followed by education. Computer spending per contact is highest for government and finance/insurance.
* Commercial and industrial products are most likely to be purchased by government and retail/restaurant buyers. Government spends the most per contact in commercial and industrial.
* HR product/training/seminars are most likely to be purchased by government buyers (five times the business average) and health workers.
* Business and legal service and finance/insurance contacts are the most likely to buy gifts and food. Government and education buyers are the least likely to buy gifts and food. Finance/insurance buyers spend the most per contact in this category.
* Cards and stationery are most likely to be purchased by buyers in the finance/insurance and health sectors.
* Ad specialty products have the highest penetration in the education market. Government and education spend the most per contact in ad specialty.