WHITE PAPER
Breaking the Funnel:
How Culture Shapes B2B Buying in Southeast Asia and Japan
29 pages of research, survey findings, and practical insights for B2B marketers operating across Asia.
Most B2B marketers rely on a linear funnel model: awareness → consideration → purchase.
The model itself is not the problem. Rather, the limitation lies in the assumption that buyers move through it in a predictable, sequential way.
Across Southeast Asia and Japan, buying behaviour is often shaped less by funnel stages and more by culture, trust, and the way organisations make decisions.
1. Southeast Asia Is Not One Market
Southeast Asia is often treated as a singular, holistic market. In practice, this assumption carries risk.
The region contains significant differences in culture, language, business norms, digital behaviours, purchasing power, and decision-making styles.
37.9%
of Southeast Asia-based B2B marketers wish global headquarters better understood the time and cost needed for effective localisation.
24.1%
want leadership to better understand the diversity of buying behaviours across the region.