A hot trend in B2B marketing is to identify all of the stakeholders or decision makers and market to the entire group with relevant campaigns. Forrester estimates that for B2B purchases, a buying group can have as many as 13 people, each playing a specific role in the decision-making process.
For B2B marketers just getting started with buying groups, the first step is to identify the different stakeholder roles, from champion to procurement to technical implementation lead. Each stakeholder profile will then map to specific titles and roles at target companies, producing audience segments. But, before B2B marketers check the box and move on to “step two”— it’s important to note that the first step isn’t really a step at all, but an ongoing process that needs to be continuously managed and updated.
The reason is that audience segments can quickly get outdated. And when targeting a buying group, the network effect can amplify outdated audience segments quickly. Buying groups also mean different things in different companies, and B2B marketers need to pick up on those nuances and fine tune their approach to become more effective with each target account.
The Ever-Changing Buying Group
Companies are like organisms. There’s M&A, restructuring, and shifts in strategy that can affect buying groups. At the individual level, people change due to promotions, internal transfers, job changes, maternity leave, reorgs, layoffs, contractors etc. We see consistent and meaningful contact and role changes occurring within months, not quarters or years, in active segments. On average the data degrades 2–5% per month. It doesn’t fail all at once, rather it erodes in layers with role relevance and buying group alignment deteriorating long before emails stop working—making continuous validation and refreshing essential.
Volatility is especially prevalent in high growth industries like tech, marketing and ops. 25-40% of buying group members can change within 6 months which leads to champions disappearing, buyers getting promoted or leaving. Decision-making authority starts shifting silently, so continuing to target the former decision maker leaves a gap in the current role owner.
Job title and employer change most frequently, and those shifts cascade into persona accuracy, buying group integrity, and activation performance—making continuous validation more important than record volume. Understanding that these job-related attributes change even when a contact stays at the same company is vital. Tracking internal movement is almost more important than company changes. As responsibilities shift, buying and decision making changes.
Managing the Buying Group System
Static buying group assumptions drive waste— assuming 6–12 month stability leads to mistargeted spend, missed influencers, and stalled deals. Roles persist, but people, influence, and intent change continuously.
To succeed, buying groups should be treated as living systems. Marketers should continuously monitor data and insights to understand patterns that can ensure they are updating and improving buying groups at the proper cadence.
- Buying group volatility: How frequently does the typical buying group composition change? (e.g., every 30, 60, or 90 days)
- Role stability: How often do individual titles/roles shift within buying groups?
- Core buying group composition: What are the most common titles consistently involved? What are the surprise titles?
- Industry variations: How does buying group size differ across industries (manufacturing vs. tech vs. finance, etc.)?
- Geographic patterns: Do buying group sizes vary by country/region?
Keeping tabs on these patterns can help marketers create a plan to update and refresh buying groups often enough to get ahead of changes.
Marketers should also continuously improve the accuracy of buying groups for top target accounts, because each organization is different. At one company, the CFO’s office holds the final decisions, while at another, a separate procurement group makes the final call. Each nuance about buying groups at a specific organization makes marketing and sales more accurate and more relevant.
Supporting The Buying Group Reality
Maintaining an accurate picture of each stakeholder requires access to high quality data that’s frequently updated, and the more types of data marketers have access to, the more accurate their understanding.
Even with accurate demographic and firmographic data, there can still be change within the buying group that affects marketing as a purchase process progresses. The influence paths for the role owner can shift mid-cycle due to budget owners changing, legal/procurement getting pulled in late, security suddenly becoming a blocker, or the exec sponsor disengaging. Buying groups expand and contract as deals mature.
This is where added insights such as intent data can be valuable. Intent is dynamic, not durable, so interest spikes and shifts by persona and topic need to be continually monitored as signals from last-quarter may be unreliable.
Focusing on buying groups can deliver great results, so putting a system in place is well worth the effort. Getting to know the nuances of a target account not only produces better marketing results, it enhances the connections that the sales team can make, creating stronger ties and shorter buying cycles.
Karie Burt, Chief Data and Privacy Officer, is a seasoned expert with over 20 years in B2B growth using data-driven solutions. Specializing in global data privacy, GDPR, and digital marketing strategies, particularly in Asia, she optimizes international data procurement and compliance. Karie advises on European Data Protection laws and cultural nuances for non-U.S. markets. Recognized by GRC World as a leading Woman in Privacy (2022), she champions responsible B2B marketing while respecting privacy rights. A member of the IAPP, her leadership extends to M&A activities. Karie enjoys international travel and her two unruly rescue dogs.
