Enterprise Buyers Aren’t Calling. They’re Checking Your Site.
B2B sales used to start with a meeting and a slide deck. Now they start online, long before the first contact.
Today’s enterprise buyers expect complete clarity upfront: transparent pricing, implementation details, all visible up front on your website. They want to evaluate solutions on their own time and shortlist vendors who make that possible.
Forrester expects that by the end of 2025, half of all million-dollar B2B purchases will happen through digital self-serve channels [1].
Buyers Aren’t Call. Here’s What They Expect.
Gartner projects that 80% of B2B interactions will occur digitally by 2025, while 44% of millennial buyers prefer no salesperson involvement [2]. Even before 2024, McKinsey found that 27% of buyers were comfortable spending over $500,000 entirely online [3].
Today, 89% of B2B buyers use generative AI as a primary research tool [4]. Vendor selection often begins with ChatGPT or other GenAI agents, not a website visit. If your product details are hidden behind forms, you are no longer in the race.
Modern buyers expect open access to:
Pricing frameworks
Implementation timelines
ROI models
Security and compliance information
They are not seeking a conversation first. They are verifying credibility, accuracy, and transparency before ever deciding to engage.
How to Adapt
At AdWave, we are working with our B2B client portfolio to rebuild their digital presence around AI discoverability and buyer self-education. The goal is to help clients be found, understood, and trusted before the first contact. It comes down to understanding the buying criteria for their products and ensuring that it is public, easily accessible and indexable by search engines and AI alike. Key areas of focus include:
Publish enterprise-grade detail. Move specifications, pricing, and implementation guidance onto public pages.
Structure for AI readability. Use schema markup and technical hierarchy so AI tools can interpret content correctly.
Simplify comprehension. Replace promotional text with factual summaries and validated metrics.
Convert friction into enablement. Redesign landing pages to include decision-enablement elements such as ROI tools, and benchmarks.
The Consequence of Waiting
Transparency is no longer optional.
Within the next 12 to 24 months, businesses that fail to publish clear, machine-readable information will vanish from every shortlist that matters.
This isn’t a minor change. 2025 marks the start of a self-serve default for high-value sales.
Organizations that act now will lead. Those that wait will no longer be in the race.
References:
Forrester (2024), B2B Marketing & Sales Predictions 2025: More Than Half Of Large B2B Purchases Will Be Processed Through Digital Self-Serve Channels. https://www.forrester.com/press-newsroom/forrester-predictions-2025-b2b-marketing-sales/
Gartner (2020), Gartner Says 80% of B2B Sales Interactions Between Suppliers and Buyers Will Occur in Digital Channels by 2025. https://www.gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2020-09-15-gartner-says-80-of-b2b-sales-interactions-between-suppliers-and-buyers-will-occur-in-digital-channels-by-2025
McKinsey & Co. (2020), These Eight Charts Show How COVID-19 Has Changed B2B Sales Forever. https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/growth-marketing-and-sales/our-insights/these-eight-charts-show-how-covid-19-has-changed-b2b-sales-forever
Forrester (2024), B2B Buyer Adoption Of Generative AI (Data Overview). https://www.forrester.com/report/b2b-buyer-adoption-of-generative-ai/RES181769