Part of a manager's job is to gather the right information to make the best decisions. We have a large number of systems and sources of information around transactional data, operational data, efficiency data and even forecasts of the same thanks to new big data technologies. But what about the information associated with the relationship? What about B2B Customer Research? And by customers we mean all customers; active, potential and of course the customers of our customers, so important in B2B or B2B2C environments.
It is curious how the vast majority of B2B or Industrial companies make very important investment decisions in relation to markets, hiring, discounts, software, etc. with virtually no information or with tremendously biased information coming from their own sales network or historical impressions.
Market research is one thing, and B2B customer research is another, as customers are often the ones who bring our product to market.
Knowing what someone feels and thinks about the relative importance of a B2B or Industrial client has a very high weight when it comes to developing a valuable customer experience.
In an environment of such change and competition, differentiating yourself in the relationship through understanding and systematic listening to the client (active, potential or my client's client) to obtain insights is a good idea.
Methodologies such as Customer Experience have their own Voice of Customer (VOC) systems developed to capture almost in real time how your customer “feels” (yes, emotions) during each interaction. This is vital to constantly recalculate the experience, especially in B2B where relationships are very intense and attracting a new customer takes a lot of time, so small details or insights from research will make the difference.
At BtrueB we outsource the entire B2B Customer Research process for you. We have our own methodology and we do it from the design, development and of course the immersion in the culture of our clients. Today we would like to share with you some things we have learned.
