B2B market research

B2B market research (abbreviation from business to business ) also called capital goods market research - is a systematic and partly continuous observation, analysis , diagnosis and forecasting of the situation and development of the corporate environment (micro and macro environment) of capital goods companies, especially their procurement management and theirs , as a partial aspect of industrial market research Sales markets , current and potential customers and competitors.

They are used to collect data on goods and services in the entire B2B sector (i.e. any business relationship between two or more companies) and thus go beyond mere industrial market research that relates solely to the industrial sector. For example, consultations in corporate health management are B2B services that are not examined by industrial market research in the narrower sense. The observation is supplemented by B2C market research (also known as consumer goods market research ).

Differentiation from consumer goods market research

B2B market research differs from B2C market research ( consumer goods market research ) in a few key points:

Several people are involved in the purchase decision (different hierarchical levels / departments), so that the decision-making process is more complex. If only one of these decision-makers is asked, his or her individual perspective must be taken into account when evaluating the results.
B2B customers usually know their product better and spend more time making a purchase decision. As a result, a B2B survey is more like an expert survey.
The number of potential buyers of a B2B product (and thus the population) is significantly lower, so that it may be necessary to adapt the analysis methodology. At the same time, however, the order volume per buyer is significantly larger.
Personal relationships are more important in the B2B sector.
When conducting surveys, B2B market researchers are often faced with the problem that the contact persons to be interviewed in the company are too busy to take part in a survey, even if there is a fundamental interest.

Interviewers in B2B market research must therefore have special communication skills in order to win over the respective contact person for a survey. In addition, it makes sense to familiarize the interviewers with the contents of the survey through training so that they can better respond to the respondents. In addition to a telephone survey, B2B market research also offers other survey instruments, such as B. the Delphi method (expert survey) or the implementation of customer workshops in which the principal's most important customers can make contributions to improve customer relationships.

Special features of B2B market research

B2B market research usually has to make do with low case numbers (small sample). A topic that is important for the respondent or his company is important for a high response rate. When selecting a suitable contact person, attention should be paid to any existing buying centers .

Telephone surveys or online surveys are suitable as a survey method. A compact questionnaire makes it easier to achieve a decent response rate and high-quality answers. Since the interviewee is an expert, preparatory questions leading to the actual topic can be largely dispensed with. In the case of questions that are difficult to answer, the respondent can be motivated to make guesses or estimates.

Feedback by evaluating the results for the respondent creates a good basis for future surveys and rewards the respondent's efforts. The usual incentives in the B2C sector with cash or non-cash prizes should generally be avoided.

Market data

According to the working group of German market and social research institutes, around 10% of total sales in Germany in 2007 were achieved in the B2B sector (capital goods industry). This corresponds to a sum of around 200 million euros.

literature

Paul Hague, Nick Hague and Matt Harrison: Business-to-Business Marketing (undated)

Individual evidence

↑ This distinction is based on a similar delimitation by Hague, et al. (undated) on B2B marketing.

[1] This distinction is based on a similar delimitation by Hague, et al. (undated) on B2B marketing.