If you have been following my posts you will know that I’ve been contemplating the impact of the millennial cohort as B2B buyers.

In those previous posts I was postulating on the millennials’ behaviors as B2B buyers based on their traits and behaviors as documented by organizations such as the The Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project, Barkley, Service Management Group and the Boston Consulting Group.

I spoke of millennials being digital natives and tech savvy, I talked about them as group shoppers that seek peer affirmation and advice on potential vendors and products and most recently I shared that millennials lead all other age groups in the use of mobile devices to satisfy their need for real time information.

A recent study of B2B buyers in the UK and Europe published by Base One brings some confirmation to my postulating. In several instances the survey, entitled “Buyersphere, The annual survey of changing buyer behavior,” specifically calls out the behaviors of the millennials compared to other age groups. Most relevant to my previous posts is that 20-something B2B buyers are twice as likely to use social media to gather information or seek advice regarding the products and services they are considering, compared to the 31-40-year-olds and four times as likely as the 51-plus-year-olds. The study also indicates that millennials consider social media as their form of word of mouth.

Another interesting finding in the survey and worth the attention of B2B marketers is that millennial respondents lead all other groups in creating and publishing their own professional content. I would imagine that means that they are commenting on their experiences with the products and the companies that are under consideration. They are doing this in their own blog posts and by commenting on others’ blogs, forums and LinkedIn.

As B2B marketers continue to wrestle with the ROI of social media, this survey indicates that it is being used by millennial B2B buyers to gather information, seek advice and comment upon the B2B buying decisions that they are making. Is your social media presence delivering the collaborative experience they seek?

It remains to be seen if these buyers’ social media habits will persist as additional responsibilities demand more of their time. As a B2B marketer, are you dealing with more millennial B2B buyers on your social media channels? Or, are you marketing and selling to millennials in other ways? If so, we’d love to hear more about your experiences with millennial B2B buyers, please share them here.