Understanding Buyer Behavior to Optimize SAP Solutions

Consumer preferences throughout the SAP landscape are constantly evolving. Organizations must keep pace with shifting market forces and evolving technological options. The consistent change means that both SAP users and solutions providers must stay on top of what the latest overall consumer sentiment is – vendors need to ensure that their offerings are being well received by the market, while consumers must keep pace with their competition so they can continue to succeed in a crowded business environment.

These sentiments are always in flux, and companies operating in their specific market areas may not be able to get a full picture of how buyers are thinking and prioritizing their budgets. To help companies better understand the buyer trends they need to stay on top of, Radancy highlighted some of the key findings from the recent Buyer Behavior Report.

Buyer Behavior

AI is a driving force – Organizations now understand that AI is no longer a far-off hope or even a bonus offering that is nice to have; it is a necessity. Companies cannot keep up with the increasing volume of work without it, and this is driving an increase in software spending. The report found over half of buyers invested in AI platforms in the last few months. Many businesses are just now realizing that AI can help in virtually every major workflow area, including talent acquisition. Offerings like the Radancy Talent Acquisition Cloud leverage advanced technology to streamline essential workflows and drive better decision-making.

Service in buying and installation – The Buyer Behavior report found that buyers are opting to go the self-service route. The report said 83% of respondents prefer self-service in the discovery phase, and that just 42% leverage a third-party implementer once they buy. Buyer reviews are proving to be a powerful tool companies can use to find software, and companies are confident that they can leverage the solutions themselves once it is purchased.

Expectations are higher than ever – As buyers spend more, they expect greater ROI. Buying cycles are growing longer, and nearly half of buyers are considering three or fewer products, compared to just a third of buyers the year before. This may be why most buyers now expect to see positive ROI within three months.

What This Means for SAPinsiders

Never settle for the status quo. With AI and other advanced capabilities, companies now have higher expectations for what their software should be able to do. Buyers should feel emboldened to ask for better and faster ROI.

Stay true to the basics. While companies may be excited to leverage the latest technologies and capabilities, they should never lose sight of what made them successful in the first place. While AI and automation are exciting, organizations must keep their people at the top of their mind. Ensuring that talented, qualified workers join the organization and remain there for the long-term is essential to establishing a positive company culture.

Minimize costs through in-house talent. Buyer preferences show that companies want to find and deploy software solutions themselves. This is why many organizations opt to leverage the Radancy Talent Acquisition Cloud – it has shown to reduce third party spend by 75% while simplifying HR tech stacks and reducing talent acquisition costs.