What does B2B marketing and selling have to do with checkers and chess?

For decades, marketers focused on the quantity of individual leads (marketing-qualified leads, or MQLs) that they could pass through to sales — akin to how players in checkers push identical pieces across a board. More recently, with the shift to buying groups, checkers evolved into chess, where the pieces have many different roles and powers. This has been a good thing — companies that have leveled up their game to focus on buying groups are seeing better results, particularly when they tailor their tactics for the different roles.

Now, as buying dynamics continue to evolve, marketing and selling is more analogous to playing multiple games of chess simultaneously. Why? Because along with the buying group within an organization, purchases are increasingly influenced by a host of factors outside of it. These include AI: This year, 95% of buyers expect to use generative AI to support their buying process, while AI agents are making headway in the more automatable aspects of buying. Then, there is the growing role of external influencers, including buyers’ peers, consultants, industry analysts, and journalists. In 2024, 35% of Millennial and Gen Z buyers (who make up more than two-thirds of all B2B buyers) indicated that 10 or more people from outside their organization were involved in their purchase decision. That figure will only grow.

B2B providers once again need to level up their game. Our just-released report, Buying Networks: Your Buyers’ New Reality, describes the complex web of relationships that providers must navigate and deliver value to in order to play the game effectively. (If you’re in Phoenix for B2B Summit North America, you’ll get to see Barry Vasudevan delve into buying networks on the mainstage just a few hours from now.)

While Forrester clients can access the report for a detailed description of how today’s buying networks operate and advice for transforming your strategies to adapt, a few key takeaways include:

  • Recognize that you don’t control the rules. Succeeding with today’s buyers requires adapting to their way of playing. That means going the extra mile to understand their needs, motivations, and preferences and swapping out outdated tactics such as gating content and sending mass emails for tech and tools that help you deliver intuitive, contextualized experiences. It takes reorienting your revenue processes to focus on delivering value, starting with the conversations that are most relevant to your business today.
  • Aim to influence the influencers. Know who is shaping your buyers’ perceptions and focus your brand and PR efforts on building relationships with them. Use thought leadership programs and sponsored events to help create a chorus of voices that builds a positive consensus with buying groups. Don’t just treat influencers as targets, though — focus on providing value that extends throughout the buying network.
  • Equip buyer AI agents with accurate information. Treat buyer agents visiting your website as important extensions of the buying group. Provide them with the information they need to help inform buying decisions. Since these agents will also scour the broader web, work to increase your visibility through media coverage, high-profile conferences, and other credibility-enhancing vehicles.
  • Create partner advocates. For providers that go to market through partners, developing a formal partner advocacy program is a great way to expand the value they provide to prospects and customers. For example, customers maintaining solutions that expand beyond a provider-only offering portfolio benefit from access to partners’ unique expertise when they participate in user groups, forums, and other customer community initiatives.

Each of these actions takes time to implement. What’s important is that your company plays an active role within the buying ecosystem, orchestrating interactions and experiences based on the roles, needs, and preferences of the other participants. Especially at a time of intense market turbulence, neglecting these rules is a surefire way to lose the game. We encourage Forrester clients to read the report to learn more.