5 Tips for Using Market Research to Understand B2B Customers

Marketing is an evolving tool that is becoming an essential part of running a successful business. Marketers today try to cut through all of the digital noise to reach the best customers. There are so many businesses pitching the same offers and making the same claims that it’s becoming harder to have your voice heard. So, to be heard, you have to be speaking to the right person. Building a buyer’s persona is where it all begins.

Having a buyer persona will help you visualize your audience, making it easier to streamline your communication. That means you will need to do the proper research. Here are a few methods you can use to gather the necessary information to build your buyer persona.

• Start with your contacts database to see if you can spot any trends in your customers.
• Use your online forms to gather relevant information. Rather than just having them fill in a name on a form, ask for a couple of other items like company size.
• Ask your sales team to provide feedback on their leads to see if there are any categories you can assign them.

Now that you understand the basics of creating a buyer’s persona let’s dive into some of the specific challenges that market research will help your business overcome.

 
Tip #1: Learn About Your Customers’ Challenges & Pain Points
Businesses that have been in the same industry for a long time understand the pain point – or at least they should. So, marketing strategies should always start with what your business follows about the industry. Then we use research to fill in the gaps. That’s the step that so many companies fail to accomplish, and they end up with campaigns that fall flat on their face.

Pain points are identified through research – more specifically, qualitative research. Developing surveys is one of the most common methods that businesses use to find their customers pain points, but data mining is probably the most powerful. When you start to notice trends where different customers are having the same problem, then you’ve identified a niche you should fill.

Example
You notice a trend where your customers spend too much time with a specific process that can now be automated. So, they are trying to develop ways to become more efficient with this process.

Tip #2: Get Insights into Improving Your Products or Services
New and existing products must be developed in a way that meets the needs of your customers. Sometimes that means including the right features, but there are times when the improvement can be made by merely changing the packaging. The research will save you time, money, and make sure that your products are still meeting the ever-changing needs of your audience.

 
It all starts with gathering feedback for as many sales as you can. Offer an incentive to customers for filling out a brief survey.

Example
Your company rolls a brand-new product off the shelf. Even though you’re sure that it solves a specific problem, its sales numbers are not as high as your competition. Market research shows that their product has a particular feature that yours does not. Even though this feature does not directly solve the pain point, it adds incentive to their purchase.

Tip #3: Find Out What Content Your Target Market Wants
Content is the key to unlocking the fullest potential for any marketing strategy in today’s world. The right material will convert prospects into loyal customers. However, the wrong content will drive those same prospects away. In today’s marketing world, content is king.

There is no room for mistakes here, so it’s essential that you do your homework. Research provides you with the information needed to create content that sells.

Research your competition. Find out what works for their audience and then offer a fresh perspective. Never copy their content though. Just look at the topics that their audience loves and then create something even better. Make your content stand out!

 
Example
Consumers are bombarded by marketing ads everywhere they look. This desensitizes them to anything essential, so we have to make sure that our content stands out. Create an experience for them – something that they have not seen before. This is not necessarily new content. It’s content they crave presented in a way that gives them a better experience.

Tip #4: Get Feedback for Your B2B Marketing Strategy
We all want to create a marketing strategy that has a high ROI. Market research will provide you with the right information to make this goal much more attainable. It provides a platform for your audience to leave feedback on your marketing.

Gathering the right data allows you to make the most of your budget. It helps you identify better marketing opportunities.

Example
If you are looking to expand into a new area, you would need to research a new location to adapt your marketing strategy to that specific location. Researching government census data would be an excellent way to start.

Tip #5: Research Enables Testing
Whether you are trying to connect with a new customer base, developing a new marketing strategy, or planning a new product, testing is an important step. Metrics allow businesses to visualize concepts and campaigns through testing. This will save money and ensure that each launch is a success.

 
Example
Your business decides to launch a new product, so you decide to test the market to determine whether there is a demand. While researching, you find that your product is in, but the concept is missing one vital piece. So, you just saved yourself from having to make post-launch modifications, which can be quite costly.

Market Research is Vital to Getting More Customers
Learning to develop B2B sales the right way is always going to go to include market research. It just makes sense. So, it’s essential that you acquire the right mindset as you approach lead generation in 2019 and beyond.