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5 min

What is B2C market research and how does it differ from B2B

A guide explaining the differences between B2C market research and its B2B counterpart

GrapeData
Mar 6, 2023
B2B market research
B2C market research

Introduction

B2C market research is a way to understand your target market. It's different from B2B market research in that it focuses on the needs and wants of individual consumers. For example, if someone is creating a new clothing line for women in their 20s, they would be best served by talking to 20-year-old women about what they want in a new line of clothing. While B2C and B2B share some similarities (both are customer-focused), there are many differences between them as well.

Market research is an important part of any business plan, but it can be difficult to decide where to start. For many companies, the first question is: should I do market research for a B2C or B2B product or service? In this article, we'll explain what these terms mean and how they apply to your business.

What is B2C Market Research?

B2C market research is a way to gather information about a business' customer base. This type of research can be done in many different ways. However, the main focus is on analysing what customers want and need. B2C market research differs from B2B (business-to-business). B2C  focuses specifically on the consumer, rather than the company itself or other companies that might be involved in buying services from you.

It's important for businesses to do this type of research. This is so they know what products are popular among consumers, how much people are willing to pay for them, and whether there's room for improvement.

It's also important to gather information about how to market the product. This can help a business decide where to advertise, what types of ads are most effective, and how much money should be spent on each type. B2C marketing research involves several different types of data collection methods based on what is most appropriate for the situation.

Differences between B2C and B2B market research

The differences between B2C and B2B market research are primarily in the approach. B2C, as a category, is more qualitative in nature. So, it's less concerned with hard data and more focused on understanding the consumer's needs. B2B is much more quantitative. It focuses on gathering specific information about the business or industry that will help you make decisions about your product or service offering.

In addition to these different approaches, there are some other notable distinctions between these two types of research:

  • Focus: Because it's aimed at consumers (who may not have any idea what they want), B2C tends to be exploratory in nature. You're trying to get an idea of what kinds of products or services might appeal to your customers. In contrast, because companies are concerned primarily with their bottom line profits rather than their customer satisfaction levels per se (though those factors do matter), B2B tends toward confirmatory research. This is where you already have an idea about what you want (or need) from your customers or suppliers. Now, you just need confirmation that this is indeed feasible before moving forward with any decisions like purchasing new equipment or hiring new staff members.
  • Cost: Because B2C focuses on understanding the needs of consumers, this type of research tends to be more expensive than B2B. For example, if you're launching a new product or service, you need to devote considerable resources to developing this offering before testing it in the marketplace. This will help you confirm that people really want what you have developed.

In addition, let's say that your business is based in a foreign country where there are language barriers and cultural differences between your own country and theirs (and this is a common scenario). In this case, you will need to devote even more resources toward ensuring that your message is getting across accurately and clearly. Finally, because consumers are not as concerned with the bottom line when compared to businesses, they tend to be more willing to participate in research activities like focus groups or interviews where they can share their opinions on products and services.

This makes B2C research much more expensive than B2B.

Time: This is another area where the differences between B2B and B2C become glaringly obvious. Let's say that you are conducting a market research project to launch a B2C product. As a business, you need to have your products ready for market as quickly as possible so that you can start earning revenue from them. If you're not making money on something, it's not helping your bottom line! In contrast, consumers are not as concerned with time frames because they are not spending their own money on the project. This means that you can take your time researching and developing a product or service and still get it to market quickly. The same cannot be said for B2B projects, where every day counts.

Tools: This is another area where B2C research differs from B2B. You might think that the tools used for both types of projects are pretty much the same. However, that's not necessarily true. For example, focus groups tend to be more prevalent in B2C research because they allow consumers to get together and discuss things like new products or services in a safe environment. In contrast, focus groups are not so common when doing B2B research. One reason is that businesses tend to prefer one-on-one interviews with experts who can provide more detailed insights into their experiences with similar products or services.

B2C is the business-to-consumer market and B2B is the business-to-business market. Both are important for a company, but they differ in several ways. B2C research tends to be more exploratory and qualitative than B2B research, which tends to be more quantitative and actionable. For example, a consumer survey might ask customers what they like about your product or service; whereas an employee satisfaction survey would ask employees how you can improve their experience at work. The complexity of B2B products often means that there are many different factors at play when creating them. This makes it harder for companies who want to understand their customers' needs before launching new products or services.

Some more thoughts on B2C and B2B market research

The first step in understanding the differences between B2C and B2B market research is to know what your customers want from you. In order to do this, it's important that you understand what each group's pain points are. In addition, you should get an idea of their budget and buying process. Plus, here are some questions to consider when understanding the needs of your customers.

  • What are the pain points of your customers?
  • How much money do they have to spend on a solution?
  • How will they use the product once it's been purchased (i.e., what features do they need)?

These questions are important because they'll inform how much time and effort should be put into developing a solution for them.

The amount you have to spend on market research depends on how much research you need. If your business is just starting out and has no customers yet, then it's important for you to do some basic market research. Through this research, you can find out what kind of product or service would be most appealing to your target audience. This type of initial research is usually pretty cheap. This is because it only involves talking with potential customers and asking them some basic questions about what they want from a company like yours.

However, once you've established a customer base and are looking at ways to improve upon existing products or services, then you may need to put in additional resources. In this case, companies might hire professional firms that specialise in conducting surveys online. Curious to know how to choose the best survey provider for accurate data?  We've got just the right post for you. Check out our recent blog on the topic.

A company conducts B2B research when they want to make a decision about what products or services are needed by consumers. For example, in a B2B market, companies that make high-end products or services for other companies might be interested in finding out about the different markets their customers are in. They'd also like to know which demographic groups they should target and how they can reach them most effectively.

In contrast with B2C (business-to-consumer) markets:

  • The research question tends to be focused on one industry rather than multiple industries
  • There may be fewer participants involved because there are fewer subsegments within each industry

The demographics of the participants tend to be more specific. For example, a company may want to know how women between the ages of 25-45 from a particular region feel about a particular product or service.

The importance of B2C market research

B2C market research is an important part of any business. It helps you better understand your target market, who they are, and what they want. It can also help you understand your competitors and their strategies. This is so that you can make sure that yours is better than theirs.

When it comes to business planning, B2C market research will help you determine if there's a need for the product or service that you're planning on offering in the first place. If there's not enough demand for something new then it might not be worth starting up that particular business idea at all.

Business-to-consumer (B2C) research is the process of gathering information about your target market. It's important to know who your potential customers are and what they want. In this way, you can offer them something that they'll enjoy using. This will help increase sales and improve brand loyalty.

B2C market research is conducted when a company wants to make a decision about what products or services are needed by consumers. The goal of this type of research is to understand how people think about the brand. It is also to determine whether they would purchase the product if it were available. For example, if you're thinking about starting your own business selling pet food online, then using B2C market research would be helpful. This is because it will provide information on who your target audience is (people with pets) and what they want from their pets' food.

How to Use B2C Market Research

If you're in the B2C space, market research is one of the best ways to understand your target market. You can use it to learn about their needs and wants as well as their pain points.

To start, ask yourself: "Who are my customers?" If you already have a product or service that serves them well, great! Make sure that it continues to do so by staying on top of their needs and wants through ongoing customer feedback sessions or surveys. This will help ensure that any new products or features meet customer approval before launching them.

If not, consider conducting some initial research by surveying potential customers directly through online questionnaires or focus groups; then use this information when developing new products or services down the line.

Talk to your customers, employees, and suppliers; talk with competitors and industry experts; ask partners how they view the market, or ask vendors what their clients are looking for.

Both B2B and B2C companies use market research. It helps you understand your target audience and make decisions based on their needs. It also helps you find out what products or services they want most. In this way, you can provide them with these things in the future.

Conclusion

B2B and B2C market research are two different approaches to gathering information about a target market. Both types of research have applications in many industries. However, they are very different in terms of the type of information that's gathered and how it's used.

The key to good B2C market research is understanding your target market. You can do this by using qualitative and quantitative methods. However, the best way to get a good understanding of your target market is to actually talk with them. This will help you determine what they want from your product or service and how best to reach them.

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