Marketing to buyers with long, complicated sales cycles requires strategic planning. Research data helps fuel this planning, informing marketers on how and where they should spend their efforts.

We’ve rounded up some of the key takeaways from 10 of the best research reports around. The top research targets highly technical audiences, and the list goes on with additional general B2B marketing research, thought leadership research, and AI research.

1. State of Marketing to Engineers

Annual research on how engineers and technical buyers consume information

Publisher: TREW Marketing & GlobalSpec

Best used for: Shaping your marketing plan with the channels and activities that matter most to technical buyers.

Key findings:

1. On average, technical buyers spend 60% of their buying process online, and 72% spend at least half of the process online before ever contacting a salesperson.

2. Vendor websites and online technical trade publications are the top information sources (73% of engineers use these).

3. 91% subscribe to at least one industry newsletter (69% subscribe to 3 or more), and 75% are open to relevant sponsored content in those newsletters.

4. YouTube, GitHub, and LinkedIn are rated the most valuable social platforms for work, far ahead of X/Twitter or Facebook.

Strengths: Incredibly useful for understanding deeply technical buyers and informing companies with long or complicated sales cycles.

Limitations: Findings apply best to marketing physical technologies or industrial/B2B tech, rather than IT buyers.

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2. Mind of the Engineer

Biannual “voice of the engineer” study

Publisher: AspenCore / EE Times

Best used for: Gauging electronics engineers’ technology adoption priorities and attitudes toward AI.

Key findings:

• Among professional electronics engineers, 55% identify the Internet of Things (IoT) as the top new technology adopted or planned, followed by 41% citing wireless connectivity protocols, and 40% sensing/mobility technologies.

• Overall, 55% of engineers say AI will make their jobs easier, with optimism highest among early‑career engineers (72%) and lowest among late‑career engineers (46%)

• Most engineers spend more time designing new products than maintaining existing ones, especially in EMEA and the Americas.

Strengths: Focused specifically on electronics and design engineers; provides granular data on technology adoption and career‑stage attitudes toward AI.

Limitations: Does not represent other engineering disciplines (mechanical, chemical, civil); public report emphasises technology adoption rather than marketing channel preferences.

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3. B2B Software Buyer Behavior Report

Annual survey of business software buyer

Publisher: G2

Best used for: Gauging software buyers’ attitudes toward AI, budgets, buying cycles and evaluation preferences.

Key findings:

• 52% of buyers plan to increase tech spending in the next year and 56% have purchased AI platforms recently.

• 49% of buyers consider only 1–3 products before deciding (up from 33%).

• 31% trust peer‑review sites more than vendor information.

Strengths: Deep insights into software/IT buyers’ motivations, trust, security requirements and AI adoption; highly relevant to SaaS marketers.

Limitations: Focuses exclusively on software and IT buyers; not applicable to physical products or non‑IT industries.

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4. Foundry Role & Influence of the Technology Decision‑Maker 

Research on IT buying committees and content preferences

Publisher: Foundry (IDG)Research on IT buying committees and content preferences

Best used for: Understanding enterprise IT decision‑making and the types of content IT buyers value during complex purchases.

Key findings:

• 65% of IT decision‑makers say the technology purchasing process is becoming more complex (up YOY from 61%).
• 68% say buy‑in is easier if stakeholders already know the vendor’s brand; 72% consider vendor reputation a top decision factor; 63% trust peer recommendations; 74% are more likely to consume content from brands they already trust.
• 95% of IT decision‑makers use technology‑related videos for business insights/

Strengths: Directly targets enterprise IT buyers; highlights the need for vendor‑provided resources and credible content; emphasizes video as a format.

Limitations: Focuses on IT and security purchasing; may not generalize to non‑IT engineers or industrial sectors.

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5. The B2B Buyer Experience Report

Annual survey of global B2B buyers

Publisher: 6sense

Best used for: Understanding how far B2B buyers advance before vendors are contacted and why omnichannel engagement is essential.

Key findings:

• Buyers are contacting sellers earlier than the prior year. The point of first contact shifted from 69% of the journey to 61% — a difference of roughly six to seven weeks.
• 81% of buyers have already picked a preferred vendor before they ever talk to a sales rep.
• 85% of buyers establish their requirements before contacting sales.

Strengths: Clear quantification of how early decisions are made and how buyers split their research across phases; useful for any marketer needing to influence the “anonymous” research stage.

Limitations: Broad B2B focus – not limited to technical buyers; the report is marketing‑side analysis and does not provide detailed buyer personas.

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6. The State of Business Buying 2024

Forrester’s flagship look at buying friction and buyer expectations

Publisher: Forrester

Best used for: Identifying sources of purchase friction and the impact of AI and buying committees on enterprise purchases.

Key findings:

• 92% of buyers start their journey with at least one vendor already in mind, and 41% already have a single preferred vendor before formal evaluation.
• Even among first‑time buyers, nearly 48% begin the process with a favored supplier.
• Nearly 95% of buyers expect to use generative AI to support purchase decisions within the next 12 months.
• On average, 13 people are involved in a B2B purchase, and 89% of transactions span two or more departments.

Strengths: Underscores the severity of buying friction and the rising role of AI; emphasises the need for cross‑departmental alignment.

Limitations: High‑level results; granular data (industry, persona) is behind Forrester’s paywall; not specific to technical buyers.

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7. Five Fundamental Truths: How B2B Winners Keep Growin

Insights from the global B2B Pulse Survey

Publisher: McKinsey & Company

Best used for: Benchmarking omnichannel behaviour and understanding the impact of e‑commerce and generative AI on B2B sales.

Key findings:

• B2B customers now use around 10 channels to interact with suppliers, up from five in 2016.
• At any stage of the journey, roughly one‑third of buyers prefer in‑person, one‑third remote (phone/email), and one‑third self‑serve digital, a pattern consistent across regions and purchase sizes.
• Among companies offering an e‑commerce option, it now accounts for over one‑third of revenue, surpassing in‑person sales.
• 19% of B2B sales organizations already use generative‑AI tools, with another 23% testing them, and data‑driven teams using AI are 1.7× more likely to gain market share.

Strengths: Provides broad cross‑industry benchmarks for channel usage, self‑service preferences and AI adoption; useful for strategic planning.

Limitations: Not specific to engineers; results represent general B2B industries, so technical nuances may require additional insight.

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8. 2024 B2B Thought Leadership Impact Report

Annual study on thought leadership effectiveness

Publisher: Edelman & LinkedIn

Best used for: Assessing how high‑quality thought leadership influences B2B decision‑makers, especially those not in active buying mode.

Key findings:

• 95% of B2B clients are not actively in‑market at any given moment; thought leadership must appeal to buyers who aren’t ready to buy.
• More than half of decision‑makers say compelling, data‑backed thought leadership makes them more willing to consider or pay a premium to a lesser‑known vendor.
• Only 15% of respondents rate most thought leadership content as very good or excellent; 48% describe it as good.
• Exceptional thought leadership includes robust research or data (55%), deepens understanding of business challenges (44%), and provides concrete guidance or case studies (43%).

Strengths: Demonstrates the link between thought leadership quality and buyer willingness; offers specific attributes of effective content.

Limitations: Responses span broad industries, not just technical sectors; user opinions on quality may be subjective.

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9. Answer Engine: The State of B2B Thought Leadership in 2026

A study on how B2B marketers use thought leadership, research and influencers

Publisher: TopRank Marketing & Ascend2

Best used for: Designing thought‑leadership programs and understanding the role of research, influencers and AI‑powered discovery.

Key findings:

• 97% of marketers say thought leadership is critical to full‑funnel success, but only 43% extend it beyond acquisition into post‑sale engagement and retention.
• 93% of marketers who use research‑based thought leadership say it is effective at generating engagement and leads, and 48% call it very effective.
• 32% of professionals now find thought leadership via generative‑AI tools, while top channels include LinkedIn (54%), in‑person events (54%) and YouTube/video (51%).

Strengths: Provides actionable guidance on research‑driven thought leadership, influencer co‑creation and multi‑channel visibility; highlights emerging role of AI in discovery.

Limitations: Marketer‑centred (not buyer‑centred) view; sample limited to US/UK; broad B2B industries rather than technical fields.

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10. The Superpowers Index 2025 Edition – Marketing Report

Dentsu’s global benchmark study of B2B buying behaviour in the AI era

Publisher: Dentsu B2B

Best used for: Benchmarking AI’s role in B2B buying, understanding how trust and experience drive deal outcomes across global industries.

Key findings:

• 77% of B2B buying processes use AI, and heavy AI users account for about 40% of buyers.
• Trust is still the #1 driver of vendor choice; Dentsu notes that building trust now relies more on brand reputation, advocacy and employer brand (evidence from report foreword).
• 42% of buyers use influencers (analysts, experts, consultants) in major decisions (report summary).

Strengths: Extensive global sample across technology, financial services, professional services and manufacturing; shows how AI and experience combine to drive outcomes.

Limitations: Broad B2B coverage rather than technical‑specific; data cuts require access to the gated report; may not focus on North America/Europe alone.

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TREW is a marketing agency dedicated to reaching engineering and technical audiences through a range of marketing initiatives. Contact us today to learn more about the services we offer.