Buyer Behaviour Regional Research:

Scandinavia Buyer Research Reveals

Advocates are More Prominent in SMEs
SCANDINAVIA BUYER PERSONALITY RESEARCH
May 2015
Bob Johnson, IDG Connect
Kim Wallace, Wallace & Washburn

SURVEY METHODOLOGY

SCANDINAVIA BUYER PERSONALITY RESEARCH

IDG Connect surveyed 213 IT professionals in Scandinavian countries; Denmark, Norway and Sweden. Over 170 of
the respondents were from the non-tech industry while the further 36 respondents were from the tech industry.
Respondents were asked a multiple choice question to discover which buyer type they adopt when participating in a
buying team.
From this, the respondents answer was categorised into one of the three buyer behaviours:
Collaborator: Collaborators seek comfortable team consensus when it comes to a purchase decision. They
welcome members opinions, including the pros and cons, considering these to be as valuable as facts and
figures. They consider Features & Benefits comparison charts to be very useful.
Challenger: Challengers consider themselves the experts in the group and will not hesitate to challenge points
to arrive at the best decision. Challengers respect expertise, competence, know-how and the views of
industry authorities.
Advocate: Advocate are vested in the potential impact the teams decision will have on company and personal
reputations as well as enhanced visibility. Advocates are action-oriented, working to promote their favoured
vendor(s) forward. They tend to be impressed with big name clients and famous founders.
This research is part of a global survey that was conducted by telephone to 3420 IT and Business Professionals.

The survey was conducted across Benelux, DACH, EMEA, Latin America, MEFA, Middle East, Nordics, Scandinavia
regions.
Buyer Behaviour Regional Research | 1

SCANDINAVIA BUYER PERSONALITY RESEARCH

58%

58% OF SCANDINAVIAN
IT PROFESSIONALS ARE
COLLABORATORS
28%

14%

COLLABORATOR
Buyer Behaviour Regional Research | 2

ADVOCATE

CHALLENGER

BY COMPANY SIZE
LESS THAN 500 EMPLOYEES

500+ EMPLOYEES

29%

27%
61%

SCANDINAVIA BUYER PERSONALITY RESEARCH

54%
12%

1 - 499

500 +

17%
GRAND TOTAL

ADVOCATE

CHALLENGER

Buyer Behaviour Regional Research | 3

COLLABORATOR

ADVOCATE

CHALLENGER

COLLABORATOR

GRAND TOTAL

31

14

70

115

27%

12%

61%

28

17

53

29%

17%

54%

59

31

123

98

213

BY JOB TITLE
DIRECTOR & ABOVE

SCANDINAVIA BUYER PERSONALITY RESEARCH

MANAGER & BELOW

ADVOCATE

CHALLENGER COLLABORATOR GRAND TOTAL

DIRECTOR +

20

31

MANAGER BELOW

51

28

103

182

GRAND TOTAL

59

31

123

213

29%

26%

ADVOCATE CHALLENGER COLLABORATOR GRAND TOTAL

64%

10%

ADVOCATE

CHALLENGER

Buyer Behaviour Regional Research | 4

56%
15%

COLLABORATOR

BUSINESS DIRECTOR +

IT DIRECTOR +

18

27

IT MANAGEMENT

41

23

78

142

OTHER

10

25

40

GRAND TOTAL

59

31

123

213

INSIGHTS & IDEAS

SCANDINAVIA BUYER PERSONALITY RESEARCH

In Scandinavia vendors must consider that the smaller the organisation the greater the likelihood they will run
into action oriented advocates. Keep in mind these individuals like to hear about big name clients. They
care about perception and image as well so when you encounter them in person always look your best.
Pay special attention to those that are at a director level and above as they will more than likely be advocates.
It provides a strong sense that buying decisions are more centralised, as the higher level executives involved
tend to be advocates, who get their favourite to the shortlist 100% of the time and have their favourite be the
winning vendor 26 percent more often than the vendors favoured by challengers or collaborators.
Bob Johnson, IDG Connect
Bob_Johnson@idgconnect.com
Kim Wallace, Wallace & Washburn
kwallace@wallacewashburn.com

Buyer Behaviour Regional Research | 5

IDG Connect is the demand generation division of International Data Group (IDG), the worlds largest technology media
company. Established in 2005, it utilises access to 38 million business decision makers details to unite technology
marketers with relevant targets from any country in the world. Committed to engaging a disparate global IT audience with
truly localised messaging, IDG Connect also publishes market specific thought leadership papers on behalf of its clients,
and produces research for B2B marketers worldwide. www.idgconnectmarketers.com

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