Buyersphere

Buyersphere™ is a business-to-business term used to describe the use of the internet for sharing information on purchasing decisions. More specifically, it is defined as “the total universe of online content that influences buyer behaviour”.
Origins
Coined in 2009 , the term Buyersphere is a play on the word ‘biosphere’. It follows the trend created by other internet-based terms as blogosphere.
The Buyersphere is a relevant concept because the practice of consulting previous purchasers was previously limited to a buyer’s immediate personal network. Now, with the boom in social media, buyers are able to draw on a vast resource of opinion from other independent commentators and fellow purchasers. Brand owners, who previously provided the majority of influential information used in the buying process, are now relegated to a distant second place, since they are unable to exert little control over what is said in the Buyersphere. The direct influence of the brand owner is typically dwarfed by the content made available by others, a development that has made many brands reassess the way they communicate with their customers.
Terminology
Brands and the Buyersphere
Despite the lack of control that brand owners have in the Buyersphere, there are steps that they can take to improve the chances of their brand prospering. These include:
• Brand definition. If a brand is clearly, honestly and effectively defined, it is more likely that comment and opinion in the Buyersphere will reflect the brand owners’ intended positioning. Brands that are weakly defined are more likely to create conflicting messages.
• Online reputation monitoring. The web is too big to be monitored, but careful and diligent searching, along with use of tools like Google Alerts can help companies not only to find out what buyers are saying but also to respond on behalf of the brand, a tactic that can frequently correct negative brand opinions. This correction of opinion can spread just as quickly as the original negative comment.
• Online brand experience. While brands have little control over what is said about them, and how prospective buyers act (or inspire others to act), they can provide an online brand experience that will help raise their presence in the Buyersphere. Frequently, such a brand experience will feature not just content, but also tools, such as forums, wikis, file-sharing, etc that encourage buyers to share information on their site. Effectively they are creating their own zone within the Buyersphere where, whilst they might not control opinion, they can at least monitor it more closely.
Buyersphere statistics
According to Forrester Research , one in three business buyers creates his or her own web content. The same survey shows that 69% of business buyers consume this content, using it to form their own brand opinions, which in turn affects not only their purchasing behaviour but the opinions that they are likely to pass on in turn.

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