![Most Helpful Information Source For Small Business Owners' Major Purchase Decisions, September 2014 [CHART]](http://www.emarketer.com/images/chart_gifs/181001-182000/181278.gif "Chart - Most Helpful Information Source For Small Business Owners' Major Purchase Decisions")
Vendors can try and win over small-business owners (SBOs) all they want, but oftentimes, their fate lies in the hands of those companies’ peers. In a September 2014 study by The Alternative Board, nearly half of SBOs worldwide said that when making a major purchasing decision about a new product or service, other business owners using the product or service were the most helpful human source. This was the highest response rate, with employees trailing a distant second.
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Customer testimonials were also preferred over customer case studies. Fully 53% of respondents said testimonials gave them more confidence than case studies (47%) in a product or service they were thinking of purchasing. And SBOs want to read actual product and service feedback—not just see numbers. Fully 93% said reviews and analysis would increase their confidence when making a major business purchase decision, while the remaining 7% chose rankings and scores. Read the rest at eMarketer.
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