Welcome to the world of business-to-business (B2B) market research. Before we understand B2B market research, let’s first understand “B2B.”

Businesses have always been dependent on other companies for their operations. For example, an automobile company needs a tire company to provide them with tires for their car. These types of interactions between businesses are called B2B.

Now that you know what B2B means let’s start exploring what B2B market research is. Market research gathers relevant information and data about a particular market or industry through primary and secondary sources. However, if you want to apply this process to a B2B type of business, it is known as B2B market research.

What is B2B Marketing Research?

B2B market research is a subcategory of marketing research. In contrast to B2C (business to consumer) research, it involves the transactions between companies and not between companies and consumers.

In other words, one company sells a service or product to another. Most consumer products involve many b2b transactions, so they are vital. The study is between c-level people and decision-makers, which may be more expensive to target.

An example of b2b market research maybe a company like Nike or Adidas that needs to purchase materials for clothing from a supplier. They might want to know who their competitors are buying from, what the quality of the materials is, who is the most cost-effective supplier, and more. This information would help them decide before investing in a supplier and their materials.

How Do B2B Markets Differ From Consumer Markets?

Consumer and business-to-business markets differ in many ways. Business buyers purchase different types of products and services than consumers, and the purchase process for each varies. B2B products are usually more expensive, which means that their profit margin is more significant – but they also require more research and deliberation before purchase.

For example, if you wanted to buy an Android phone, you could walk down your street looking for shops selling them and compare prices yourself. You will base your decision on price, brand name, camera quality etc. 

It would be much more complex to buy a high-end CRM software solution for your business. It would involve technical experts from both sides (your company and the software company) and executives for inspection.

Why Do Businesses Conduct B2B Market Research?

There are numerous reasons why companies conduct B2B market research. The most common are:

  1. Market segmentation: Businesses do B2B market research to understand their target audience better and develop value propositions that effectively address their needs. They include developing buyer personas or profiles, customer or market segments, and competitor/marketplace maps. These guides create products and marketing campaigns that are more relevant to their target audience.
  2. Understand buying process: B2B market research also helps companies understand the mechanics behind a sale. The factors include who influences it, who makes the decision, how they find providers and the factors they consider in making their choices (e.g., price).
  3. Developing the brand: The first step in any market research exercise is to understand the perception of the company’s brand. Information like retention rate and brand perception can be used to develop marketing communications and messaging and inform future business strategies.
  4. Tracking perceptions over time: Once a company has conducted its initial market research, it will want to track how key metrics change over time. These include brand equity, awareness, and consideration—performance in crucial criteria, such as price or ease of doing business.
  5. Develop products and services: Businesses conduct B2B market research to develop products, services and content that solve specific problems for their target customers. They use it to build products and services, generate new ideas and opportunities, test product and service ideas, develop go-to-market strategies, optimize pricing, etc. 
  6. To Develop content and thought leadership: Businesses also use market research to develop content and thought leadership. It can help create a content strategy, identify key topics to engage their audience and establish research-based content. 

Final Thought

Now that you know how valuable B2B marketing research is to your company, why not work with a company that knows how to get it done. With Grapdata’s B2B marketing research team, you can be sure to get the most effective and trustworthy research available. Contact us today for your effective b2b research.