Forrester: B2B Organizations Must Evolve To Encompass AI Agents And External Influencers To Align With How Modern Buyers Want To Buy

B2B organizations and go-to-market teams have fallen out of step with today’s buyers, who are younger, rely more on generative AI and AI agents to research products and services, and increasingly turn to third parties and influencers to make their purchase decisions. These behavioral shifts are upending norms and entrenched practices according to new research, Buying Networks: Your Buyers’ New Reality, unveiled at Forrester’s B2B Summit North America, which kicked off today. Additionally, B2B leaders are under increasing pressure to drive growth and improve profitability, all while navigating a challenging economic and geopolitical environment. To thrive amid this volatility, B2B organizations must transform their revenue processes to reflect a deeper understanding of the complex dynamics of purchasing decisions.

Many of today’s business purchases are made by buyers relying on their buying networks, which consist of a diverse group of constituents. These include not only the buying group members who are part of the organization making the purchase but also the external parties they connect with for information, advice, and support, such as providers, customers, influencers, partners, and AI agents. B2B buyers and sellers must understand the relationships within these buying networks and provide value to these varied constituents to grow and thrive.

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Forrester’s latest research recommends that firms analyze not only specific buyer behaviors and preferences but also those of their broader networks, engaging meaningfully in the conversations that matter most to their business today. To help reduce today’s buying mayhem, providers should consider the following best practices:

• Establish connections between buying groups and external influencers. B2B buyers actively search for external experts who have key insights or speak from firsthand experience. Providers can influence these influencers through thought leadership programs to build a positive consensus with buying groups.

• Ensure that buyer AI agents deliver accurate information to buying groups. Providers must treat buyer agents visiting their websites as important extensions of the buying group, providing them with the information that addresses their assigned tasks.

• Employ provider AI agents to optimize the value provided to self-service buyers. Provider AI agents should be capable of engaging in conversations, answering follow-up questions, and retaining the context from multiple conversations to support buyers and customers across purchase scenarios, delivery channels, and languages.

• Create partner advocates who extend the organization’s reach and influence. For providers that go to market through partners, developing a formal partner advocacy program is an ideal way to expand the value they provide to prospects and customers, both direct and indirect.

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“Making sense of how today’s buyers buy and meeting their increasing expectations to create sustainable growth requires a complete rethinking of the revenue process,” said Srividya Sridharan, event research chair, vice president, and group research director at Forrester. “As buyers expand the number of third parties and AI agents they consult in their buying process, providers must adapt by recognizing all the key sources involved. Buying networks can help providers and organizations discover, visualize, and understand the entire context of their buyer’s journey — both visible and invisible. B2B providers that embrace buying networks to help buyers buy will build greater trust with them and improve long-term, sustainable growth.”