The Key Questions Driving B2B Market Research

The B2B Landscape, In a Nutshell

When people spot a flatbed semi-truck moving along the freeway, I’d wager that 99% of them simply see… well… a flatbed semi-truck moving along the freeway. As a practitioner of B2B market research, I cannot help but see that flatbed in an entirely different light. That flatbed represents the coordinated efforts of a vast array of companies, each with distinct areas of expertise and unique product offerings. And what’s more, every last one of those companies brings a different set of business questions to the table as they work with the trucking fleet to get its business off, and running. Let’s dig into the details here a bit more.

I like to divide the landscape of companies relevant to B2B research into four different categories: producers of materials; producers of critical components and parts; producers of capital equipment and mechanical coordination devices; and, finally, producers of human coordination tools. Let’s apply this to our flatbed example:

• Producers of materials: Think here of the sheet metal producers and molders who contribute to the external shell of the truck; or the foam producers whose custom-shaped forms may hide beneath the driver’s console or inside the cabin doors; or the heavy-duty paint suppliers who leave their mark on the truck’s exterior. 
• Producers of critical components and parts: Think here of the wide range of companies offering air filters specific to industrial vehicles; or cargo securement devices to use on the flatbed itself; or internal (and integral) mechanical components like the engine; or even the mudflaps behind the rear tires! 
• Producers of capital equipment and mechanical coordination devices: Think here of the example of mechanical coordination par excellence, the Electronic Computer Module (ECM) that comprehensively monitors and regulates the truck’s behavior. 
• Producers of human coordination tools: Think here of companies offering satellite-based fleet management systems that allow for instant communication between fleet managers and all individual assets as they move about the country. 

The Practice of B2B Market Research

It’s plain to see that B2B market research requires intimate familiarity with a range of company types and with the questions that typically stoke their concerns with the market. The tools and resources used to complete B2B market research are, ultimately, not so very different from those used in any other area of market research: qualitative tools like focus groups and interviews; quantitative tools like surveys and government dataset analyses. What really defines B2B are the questions that recur in this practice area. It’s easy to group those questions according to our four-part company typology above. 

Companies Making the Fundamental Building Blocks of B2B: Materials Producers

Producers of materials are often the companies that are most “out of sight, out of mind” for the average non-professional person: producers of finished materials including chemicals, fuels, foams, metals, and plastics. I’ve found that companies in this space often express greatest interest in the following questions:

• What is the current regulatory environment relevant to our business? Where is that environment heading in the future, and what should we do about it?
• What are the major untapped white spaces in our market and how can we develop meaningful business relationships to take advantage of those white spaces?
• What is the most up-to-date understanding of our competitive landscape, especially product advancements and process developments we need to stay ahead of?

Companies Making the Parts and Pieces that Drive B2B: Components Producers

Producers of critical components and parts supply products that execute an essential, isolated role within broader production and work processes. These may include: industrial valves, pipes and tubes, pipe fittings, vehicle components, rotary unions, structural elements of residential and commercial buildings, and semiconductors. Companies working in this area often ask:

• In highly commodified or minimally differentiated product spaces, what impact, if any, does brand have on encouraging use by professionals?
• In a space where marginal improvements often define the nature of competition between suppliers, what are the critical needs of clients that can be addressed through marginal improvements? What functional upgrades should be prioritized to ensure maximum market reach?
• What are the general use and specification habits of professionals who work with these products, and are they gravitating to other solutions that may not be on a supplier’s radar?

Companies Making the Equipment at the Heart B2B: Capital Equipment Producers

Producers of capital equipment and mechanical coordination devices describe such a wide range of specialized suppliers, it’s hard to keep a list of examples short! For the capital investment category, think of such diverse examples as mail sorting devices, logistics technology, food canning machines, plastics molding equipment, and a wide range of healthcare devices large and small (from MRI machines, to nano-spectrophotometers, to endoscopes, to prescription-dispensing carts). The process-coordination category includes various types of automation control systems/software and industrial computers, like Programmable Logic Controllers (PLC), Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition Systems (SCADA), and Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES). Some of the questions you’ll find here are:

• What marginal but meaningful improvements can a company make by introducing new forms of technology into its regular flows? Is the company even aware of key alternatives? How much would it be willing to spend on such improvements?
• Should a company invest in upgrading an essential component of its workflow/manufacturing line to resolve recurring problems and achieve greater efficiencies? Will it actually achieve tangible improvements, and, if so, will those be worth the investment?
• Have customers had positive or negative experiences with integrators hired to ensure that new equipment works seamlessly with their existing product line? Do they have strong preferences that integration services come directly from OEMs rather than third-party integrators?
• How do equipment and automation control customers find the service, repair, warranty, and upgrade options available from the original equipment manufacturer (OEM)? If service and repair is typically outsourced to affiliates or contractors, do those groups demonstrate sufficient expertise and responsiveness in addressing customer concerns with the equipment? 

Companies that Make B2B Communication Possible: Human Coordination Enablers

Producers of human coordination tools take us more purely into “the software” area of B2B research, involving companies that offer services to improve cooperation and interaction between teams and businesses. A huge variety of products and services appear in this space: SaaS-based billing and customer management platforms; programs to unite disparate teams across large-scale enterprises working toward strategic goals; and workflow organization interfaces. In this area, some common questions are:

• What must our company do to develop an all-in-one workflow organization tool for our clients, so they can stop working across disparate tools and simplify their processes? What are the key pain points and recurring inefficiencies that must be addressed for the new product to address real-world problems?
• What key performance metrics do our clients need to have assurance that their business is operating smoothly? How can our products provide them with that data in real time?
• How do team expectations differ within highly matrixed, international enterprises with teams that operate according to different assumptions and expectations? How can we help them achieve global integration?

This still just scratches the surface of what B2B market research covers, but everything ultimately boils down to harnessing human insights in the service of business growth.

Are these some of the questions that you’re asking yourself? Let’s have a chat. We can help. 

Written By:

Matthew Lauer

Matt has 15 years of professional research experience that spans government, academia, and market research organizations, serving clients operating in incredibly challenging business contexts at all stages of the value chain. He is an expert in survey design and passionate about developing business intelligence solutions that combine the best of fields and methods that fail to speak with each other all too often: survey research, history, and intelligence extrapolation.

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