Demographic Categories for B2B Sales:

 Company Size (by revenue or sales)

 Physical structure/geography (number of active regions and sites)
 Number of employees
 Standard Industry Code (SIC)
 Fiscal Year
 Growth model for the company (organic or acquisitive)
 Management style (centralized or decentralized)
 Company's position within their industry (leader or follower)

Psychographics for B2B Sales:

 Procurement patterns
 Spending patterns
 Hiring patterns
 Investments
 Public information

By understanding your target customer's psychographics, you are clarifying your customer’s needs. Their
motivation to buy is directly related to a specific problem or frustration they are experiencing. When you
have clearly identified the needs your product satisfies, or pain it solves, you have also identified your
target customer’s motivation for purchasing your product/service.

One last thing worth mentioning: when getting to know the target customer you will be addressing, keep
in mind there are distinctions between B2B and B2C targets. In general:

B2B vs. B2C Segmentation Differences

One last thing worth mentioning: when getting to know the target customer you will be addressing, keep
in mind there are distinctions between B2B and B2C targets. In general:

 B2B has a more complex decision making process

 B2B has a more complex procurement process
 B2B buyers buy what they need and B2C buyers buy what they want
 B2B offerings are usually more complex
 B2B purchases involve different departments/divisions

Your research should be organized based on who, specifically, will use and pay for your product, what
your product will be used for, the benefits of your product, what market characteristics help or hinder the
adoption of your product, the size of the market, and how competition can threaten you. Your information
should be well-organized and you should spend a considerable amount of time talking to your customers.

Customer Exploration surveys will help you:

 Discover unmet needs

  Discover how customers use your product today
 Discover where your product fits in the customers’ ecosystem
 Discover how users/customers think
 Validate your assumptions and/or remove your bias
 Articulate the difference between intent and reality
 Gain direction and data rather than just opinions, speculation, and assumptions
 Hone your design by informing it with a customer focus

Conducting Solution Interviews

Use people you have already talked to as well as including some new customers. Your script will be
similar to a problem interview, but focus on your proposed solution:

 Welcome: Explain what you are doing research on (product/service) and outline the interview
process.
 Collect Demographics: Make sure your interviewee is in your target group and tell them about
your company and your product.
 Problem Ranking: Summarize their top 3 problems and list any other problems. Ask them how
they would rank those other problems.
 Demo: For each of their stated problems, show how your idea provides a solution, take their
questions and move on to the next problem. Then, ask which solutions they liked best, which they
didn’t like and if there was anything they felt was missing.
 Test Pricing: Test a guesstimated price and observe their immediate reaction to this price. If they
affirm they would pay, note how they responded: a quick affirmation means the price is too low
while a brief hesitation means the price is right. If they say they would not pay, ask what price
they would pay, and recognize that the price they give you is usually less than the real price they
would pay.
 Wrapping up/Documentation: Ask if they would like to receive a trial version of your product and
ask them for referrals. Document your interview results immediately.