Business Buyers Barometer
See your firm through your buyers' eyes.
A syndicated research study tracking how buyers of accountancy and advisory services make decisions – and what shapes their perceptions of firms. Running for over twenty years.
What Drives Buyers to Choose Their Professional Services Firm?
Each year, BBB surveys around 1,500 senior decision makers and C-level executives across the UK and US, split evenly between both markets, gathering their views through online surveys typically conducted in late summer.
The study examines a range of areas including how buyers prioritise different business challenges, their awareness and perception of different firms, and their experiences working with these firms as clients. In the UK, BBB focuses on twelve specific firms including the Big Four and major mid-tier practices, with a slightly different set of competitors tracked in the US market.
The research covers both large corporates with turnover above £500 million and mid-market businesses from £20 million upwards, ensuring a genuinely representative snapshot across different industries and regions. While some questions remain consistent year after year to track trends over time, the study also introduces new themes each year to keep the research fresh and relevant to current market developments.
Firms like Grant Thornton, KPMG and Forvis Mazars have subscribed to access the insights, which help them understand how they compare to competitors and what buyers are looking for from their advisors.
The Research
The Business Buyers Barometer provides insights across several key themes that help firms understand both the broader market context and their competitive position.
Shifting business priorities
BBB tracks how business priorities are shifting among buyers of professional services. The study measures what matters most to decision makers at any given time, whether that’s pursuing growth, improving efficiency, managing risk, driving transformation or handling crisis situations. This helps firms understand what’s keeping their potential clients awake at night and how those concerns are evolving year on year.
Spending intentions and behaviour
Subscribers gain visibility into whether buyers expect to increase or decrease their investment in external advice, and by roughly how much. This gives firms a sense of whether the market is expanding or contracting, helping them set realistic growth expectations.
Hot topics
Each year, the study explores specific themes in depth based on what’s relevant to the current market environment. These special topics allow subscribers to understand emerging trends and how buyers are responding to significant shifts in the profession. The research examines buyer sentiment and expectations around these developments, revealing potential opportunities or concerns that firms should address.
Brand health and competition
The study measures brand health across the major firms operating in the market. This includes tracking which firms buyers are aware of, how they perceive different firms, and which ones they would consider engaging. This competitive intelligence shows not just where your firm stands, but how the landscape is changing over time.
Benchmark Against Your Market
The research provides detailed benchmarking on client experience and satisfaction. Subscribers can see how different firms score on advocacy measures and various aspects of service delivery. The study also breaks down client experience into specific elements, allowing firms to understand both the fundamental expectations that all firms must meet and the areas where they might differentiate themselves from competitors.
Channels and engagement
BBB explores how buyers prefer to engage with professional service firms. This includes understanding where they go to find information when researching business topics, what formats and channels resonate with them, and how they like to interact with their advisors. These insights help firms align their marketing and client engagement approaches with what buyers actually want.