UK marketing agency, Base One Group, commissioned a new research study in association with B2B Marketing Magazine. The study had a diverse industry profile including manufacturing, business services, financial services, public administration and healthcare. It was heavily weighted toward the purchasers of IT equipment and services in those industries.

When B2B purchasers were seeking potential new suppliers, Twitter and blogs were considered  more influential sources of supplier information than any other channel, including word of mouth, seminars and industry press.

However, the most popular sources of information remain web searches and supplier websites. In fact, when asked how their information gathering behavior had changed, procurement professionals cited the greatest increased use of web searches (up 64%) and supplier websites (up 61%). Social networking sites Facebook and Twitter experienced 6% and 10% net increases respectively, and LinkedIn saw growth of 19%. Online videos/webinars/podcasts were also a strong source of information with an increase in usage of 36% – that coming off a small base, though.