Evertise
14 Sep 2022, 17:54 GMT+10
Knowing the difference between business to business (B2B) and business to customer (B2C) market research will make developing a successful marketing strategy easier.
It's a competitive world. And knowing as much as you can about your customer segments has never been more important than it is today. So when you are conducting your B2B market research, it is important that you focus on collecting and studying the correct information about your business customers.
In this article, we are going to take a quick look at the difference between B2B market research and B2C market research, and how understanding their differences can help you make sound marketing choices.
Before you set out on a market research programme, it's important to determine what your target audience is. This makes it easier to send the most appropriate messages and information to the correct set of customers.
Breaking your client lists down into segments is one of the cornerstones of marketing. And two of the most basic segments are business customers and consumer customers.
These two audiences require very different approaches. Ordinary consumers will be more interested in satisfying their particular needs by purchasing a product or service.
Business customers, on the other hand, will be more concerned with their return on investment (ROI) and how future trends will affect their ability to on-sell a particular product or service. So your B2B market research will need to focus more on the parameters that are more important for the long term.
Business to business market research focuses on the decisions that the buyers and operations managers of a particular business have to make. For example, a business client will want you to provide data backing up your marketing strategy rather than the 'what's in it for me' desire of an ordinary customer. With this in mind, your B2B market research will need to find out such things as:
Business-to-consumer market research will seek to find out more about each individual customer. This type of market research will look at such things as:
Your B2C market research can target your customers with on-the-spot surveys, focus groups and post-purchase questionnaires. This information is easy to collect but can result in piles of unwanted and useless data.
B2B market research, however, is much more focussed. You will be dealing with professional people who know how their company functions and how their customers behave.
B2B market research companies will utilize qualitative research to engage directly with business managers to find out what their specific requirements are. This will involve face-to-face meetings but may also include an analysis of the markets that a business sells to down the line.
Essentially, you will be finding out what it is that your potential business client requires and how you can supply this to them.
There is also an important element of quantitative research in B2B market research. This will generate information about:
This information can be used to back up your proposals for supplying a B2B customer with exactly the right product or service.
At pmgco, we know exactly how to undertake B2B market research and the correct ways with which to approach your business clients. We can design a comprehensive B2B market research strategy for your company that will enable you to collect the most useful information you can about your clients. We'll then analyze the resulting data and apply this knowledge to create an effective marketing campaign that your B2B customers won't be able to resist!
Get a daily dose of Austin Globe news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Austin Globe.
More InformationWASHINGTON, D.C.: A federal rule designed to make it easier for Americans to cancel subscriptions has been blocked by a U.S. appeals...
BASTROP, Texas: In a surprising turn at Elon Musk's X platform, CEO Linda Yaccarino announced she is stepping down, just months after...
NEW YORK CITY, New York: Former British prime minister Rishi Sunak will return to Goldman Sachs in an advisory role, the Wall Street...
LONDON, U.K.: Physically backed gold exchange-traded funds recorded their most significant semi-annual inflow since the first half...
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands: Some 32 percent of global semiconductor production could face climate change-related copper supply disruptions...
NEW YORK, New York - U.S. stocks rebounded Tuesday with all the major indices gaining ground. Markets in the UK, Europe and Canada...
WASHINGTON, D.C.: After months of warnings from former federal officials and weather experts, the deadly flash floods that struck the...
WASHINGTON, D.C.: Elon Musk's entry into the political arena is drawing pushback from top U.S. officials and investors, as his decision...
(Photo credit: Matt Blewett-Imagn Images) Two teams coming off grueling midweek U.S. Open Cup matches face off Saturday when the...
(250711) -- WASHINGTON, July 11, 2025 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump waves to the press before departing for Texas at the...
(Photo credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images) New York Yankees left-hander Carlos Rodon was named to the American League All-Star team...
(Photo credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images) Australia's Cameron Smith and England's Lee Westwood were in a five-way tie for the lead...