Business to Business (B2B) Research and B2B Product or Service Research

Business to Business (B2B) Research includes all research where the product or service is being used in a business environment. A common element is the customers or respondents involved are buying or influencing the purchasing of goods or services, not with their own money but with the money of organisations for who they work.

B2B Research can be strategic or tactical and can cover a wide range of topics such as:

		Competitor Intelligence
		Product and Service Research: Competitive Product Intelligence
		Product and Service Research: Voice of the Customer for New Product Development
		Product and Service Research: Performance assessment and tracking
		How are purchasing decisions made and the criteria
		Marketing communications
		Branding and corporate reputation
		Segmentation
		Market Sizing and assessment
		. ......................

Business to Business (B2B) and Business to Consumer (B2C) Research

While there are similarities with B2C research there are some big differences which can affect the methodology, for example:

Sample and sample size differences
The 'universe' in B2B research is restricted. Small samples sizes are common. Respondents are more difficult to identify, have limited time and many different respondents within an organisation may be required because of complex decision making processes

Attitudes of respondents.
Typically B2B and B2U companies have much fewer direct customers. These customers are people within other business organisations and may have a constrained focus in terms of their understanding of competitive offerings.

Content differences
Research can be highly technical and specialised and more difficult to understand for those more familiar with B2C research.
Sector knowledge and familiarity with technical terms are particularly important.

B2B research can therefore be more demanding and not so amenable to 'standard' B2C research techniques.
There are fewer "off the shelf" solutions and many companies struggle to carry out the research "in-house"
This requires creativity and an approach 'tailored' to the type of research being undertaken.

B2B Product or Service Research

We focus on B2B Product or Service Research which can include Primary and Secondary research in the following areas:

Competitor Research (click for more details)
Voice of the Customer: new product development (click for more details)
Voice of the Customer: Product performance assessment
Competitive offerings (click for more details)
Market segmentation
Market sizing

When deciding which respondents to involve in primary external research, we have found it helpful to consider different types of customers who may be involved in B2B and B2U value networks, these can include:

End Business 'Technical Buyer'

End Business 'Economic Buyer'

Business User (for B2U situations)

Route to Market 'Technical Buyer'

Route to Market 'Economic Buyer'

End Business Internal Influencer

External Influencer for End Business and Routes to Market

In a particular situation not all of these may be appropriate, however, consideration of these different types helps to define the methods and tools for gaining their insights. We are experienced in adapting and applying the methods and tools for a client's specific situation using a variety of implementation programmes and a database of tools.

We can provide practical help in a number of areas:

		Creating an approach 'tailored' to the type of research being undertaken
		Planning and gathering the information
		Developing Questionnaires, Topic Guides and Surveys
		Determining the sampling framework and who should be interviewed (respondents)
		Respondent profiling
		Planning the project as a one off of as a repeatable process by transferring tools and methodologies. (See Implementation programmes below.)

We can also assist in analysing the data and Interpreting the results if required.

Implementation programmes

B2B Product or Service research programmes can be of 3 main types:

1. Methods and tools improvement programme.
In this type of programme we can help you tailor and implement best practices, methods and tools best suited to your company, business unit, market, application and industry. We also provide training and skills transfer if required.

2. B2B Product and Service Research programme.
In this tope of programme we implement a programme for Research and transfer results and recommendations to you. This may include: Secondary external sources and/or primary external research with differing types of customers. This could be part of a Value Proposition definition or In Market improvement.

3. B2B Product or Service Research programme incorporating methods and tools improvement.
In this type of programme we implement a programme for research; tailor and implement best practices, methods and tools best suited to the research programme and transfer the improved process, methods and tools as well as results and recommendations to you. We also provide training and skills transfer if required.

These programmes can be used at various stages of the product or market life cycle and adjusted to provide an appropriate mix of research results and process improvement

Typical Product or Service Research Programme Deliverables and Steps

Each of the main types of programme is tailored to the client's situation, but typically comprises the following deliverables:

Plan for conducting B2B Research

Development of Questionnaires, Surveys etc. Developent of methodology,

profiling, sampling and selection of respondents

Data collection

Detailed Results from Primary and Secondary Research

Observations, comparisons and recommendations relating to current Value Propositions

Observations and recommendations relating to potential future Value Propositions

A typical programme comprises:

Definition of B2B Research requirement

Agreement of programme deliverables

Tailoring of methods and tools

Understanding of applicable current Value Propositions based on physical and non-physical products and service offerings (as appropriate)

Secondary 'desk net' research

Primary Research with the appropriate mix of different types of customers.

Consolidation, weighting and analysis

Summary of results and comparisons

Toolkits:
Our approach installs an advanced set of tools to help achieve improvements and results. We assemble these tools into a toolkit for a client's specific situation. Examples of tools include:

Toolkits:
Our approach uses an appropriate set of tools to help achieve the required results. We assemble these tools into a toolkit for a client's specific situation. Examples of tools used include:

Value Network
Value Proposition
Experiential Value Network
Project Plan
User Profiles
Contextual Enquiry - Gemba Topic Guide
Questionnaires
Surveys
1:1 Interviews - Topic Guide
1:n Interviews - Topic Guide
Desk Net Research - Topic Guide

Software Packages and Templates
Possibilities include:

S8Q:

Free Proposal
We can provide a free proposal, including programme outline with costing, to meet your requirements please contact us.

To read a free TtM case study based on some of our tools and techniques click here

For more information, click on the links below:

Product Marketing and Management
Product Strategy and Product Portfolio Strategy: framework and tools
Product Definition (PD) and pragmatic Quality Function Deployment (pQFD)
Voice of Customer (VoC) and Market Research
New Product Introduction (NPI) or New Product Development (NPD)
In Life or In Market Management of Current Products
Product Value Proposition and Value Propositions Portfolio
Product Development, Marketing and Management Software Applications
Product Management and Product Manager Training