When considering the growth strategy of your business, there are several circumstances in which it becomes necessary to evaluate and compare market opportunities. You might be planning the launch of a new product or service – either in a new market, or one that you are already familiar with through your existing business activity. Alternatively, you might be seeking expansion through the introduction of an existing product or service into a new market.

Whatever your goals, there is much to consider when evaluating market opportunities – and several ways in which market research can help you to develop a winning strategy. In this article, we will outline some of the key considerations when it comes to market evaluation, and our top tips for making informed, strategic decisions.

Further Reading

How Market Research Can Help Guide Your Market Entry Strategy

Read more

The Size of the Market

One of the first questions you might be asking yourself is: ‘how large is this market for the product / service we are offering?’. Knowing the size of the market can help you to understand whether the market is large enough and profitable enough to be worth exploring further. Additionally, it is important to consider growth rates, i.e. whether the market is moving in the right direction and at a pace that is appealing to you.

Market research – a combination of primary research and desk research – can help to answer this question. Market size is typically understood as the total value or volume of a given market, in a given year, at a given point in the supply chain – so, in order to understand the market size, this work needs to begin with defining what you’re looking for:

• What market size are you interested in? The Serviceable Available Market (based on your current competencies and channels), or the Total Available Market (considering also your underlying potential?)

• Which stage of the supply chain are you sizing? For example, which types of company will you be selling to?

• What specific product(s) / service(s) are you sizing the market for?

With definitions set, there are several ways in which the market size can be calculated. The best market size estimates triangulate from several of these calculations to obtain the most robust possible estimate. You can consider the following as part of this:

• ‘Demand side’: Conducting interviews with a representative sample of end users of the product / service to find out what they spend, then aggregating this data up for the whole market by using data such as the total number of companies that exist

• ‘Supply side’: Assessing the revenue of competitors, and adding it up to obtain an estimate of the existing market value

• ‘Top down’: Identifying the size of a bigger market within which your market is contained, and using this to estimate your own market size by defining your relative position

• It is also important to consider how your own internal data may add to this picture, e.g. in cases where the product / solution you are investigating is already launched in another market

Further Reading

Using the Push-Pull Model to Successfully Bring New Products to Market

Read more

The Structure of the Market

Having established the size of the market, the next task is to understand the structure of the market. Two elements that are essential to consider when evaluating market opportunities are the existing competitive landscape, the context within which the market operates, and routes to market.

Where possible, it is desirable to understand the competitive landscape in three elements:

• Market share – what proportion of the market is currently held by each competitor? How has this changed over time – which competitors appear to be growing?

• Market context – a situation analysis to understand the opportunities and threats in the markets you are interested in

• Market perceptions – how are the different brands perceived? What are their strengths and weaknesses? What qualities or attributes do each of your competitors stand for?

While desk research is a valuable resource in understanding market share, it cannot take you as far in understanding how brands are truly perceived in the market. To do this, we recommend conducting a market survey with end users and / or potential buyers, to ask for their unbiased view of the key brands they are aware of in this market – including, where applicable, your own.

There are several tools and frameworks we can use to help you understand the existing competitive landscape: how brands are perceived and, crucially, what this means for your own brand strategy upon entering the market:

• Brand mapping: Identifying which brands in the market ‘own’ certain characteristics, and which qualities lie ‘unclaimed’

• Three circles model: Displaying the intersection of customer needs, your own strengths, and competitor strengths to help understand where your organization would sit among competitors

• Porter’s five forces: Helps an organization to assess whether the market is attractive to enter, and where the key challenges might lie

Tools like SWOT and PESTLE analysis can help you to understand the context within which the market operates:

• SWOT: An analysis of Strengths and Weaknesses of your own organization, alongside Opportunities and Threats arising from the wider market

• PESTLE: Analyzing the Political, Economic, Societal, Technological, Legal and Environmental context and trends within the market to help further understand opportunities and threats that your organization might face

Finally, when evaluating a market, it is also important to understand how the market operates, including the typical route to market. For example:

• Is the product you are considering typically sold through distributors, or is it purchased directly?

• Would this be considered a strategic purchase or more of a routine / transactional purchase? In either case – who would be responsible for making the purchase decision? We have conducted numerous ‘path to purchase’ research projects which answer this exact question across a range of industries and geographies.

Further Reading

Assessing Market Attractiveness with the Directional Policy Matrix

Read more

Buyer Needs and Preferences

Having developed an idea of the size and structure of the market, the third requirement is in understanding how to appeal to buyers in that market. We can already gain a sense of this through research into brand perceptions, but a dedicated piece of research can give you valuable insight into the challenges faced by your target audience, as well as their needs and expectations. These projects might include:

• Customer needs research – to identify ‘beneath the surface’ customer insights

• Buyer persona research and development – to bring your target audiences to life and inform your strategy

• Path-to-purchase research – to understand the most influential factors driving your buyers’ decision making and identify which touchpoints are most critical to success

How to Compare Between Potential Markets of Interest

It is evident that when evaluating a market opportunity – the size of the market, the structure of the market, and buyer needs – you will be faced with a wealth of data! A key skill of any researcher lies in making sense of such data and applying it to business strategy. In our own research projects, we are often faced with the challenge of distilling such data into a clear story of key learnings or recommendations. To get to this point, you can consider:

• Which market is most appealing?

• Why is this the case? Is it, for example, to do with size, suitability, current brand position?

• How should your organization approach this market, whether with an existing product / service or a new one?

Once we’ve compiled all of our data for market assessment projects, we frequently use the Directional Policy Matrix framework to assess overall market attractiveness for our clients. This tool can direct strategy based on the attractiveness of a market and the capability of the organization to fulfil the opportunity. It is most useful when an organization has several countries, products, or segments to investigate – allowing you to compare the relative appeal of multiple markets you may be considering.

Further Reading

Competitive Landscape Analysis with Porter’s Five Forces Framework

Read more

In Summary:

When evaluating market opportunities, there are several key research objectives that your organization will need to fulfil in order to make an informed, strategic decision. Market research is an invaluable tool at each stage of this process, combined with your existing knowledge and experience. Whatever you feel the ‘gaps’ in your knowledge to be, we have conducted research projects throughout this entire process and would be delighted to help you complete that final piece of the jigsaw puzzle and help towards your eventual winning strategy.

To discuss how our tailored insights programs can help solve your specific business challenges, get in touch and one of the team will be happy to help.

The post What to Consider When Evaluating Market Opportunities appeared first on B2B International.

A business without ambition will not survive long in the market. Just like in sports, we need to set new goals, and doing things the same way repeatedly will not only not lead to growth but will probably lead to a deterioration in business performance in the long run. Businesses need to constantly rethink their strategies and take advantage of the opportunities the market offers.

Entering a new market is one way to give your company a chance to grow (and this includes entering a new geographic market, a new industry, product or service area). However, it usually involves some risk, and the more interesting the opportunity, the greater the risk.

Early market research can protect a company and its key decision-makers from making wrong decisions in this area, which can later result in financial losses, loss of other opportunities, demotivation of employees and damage to image.

A well-designed market opportunity study can help decide whether and to what extent an opportunity is relevant and attractive to a company. This includes examining both the external environment and internal factors.

External factors:

• potential of the opportunity
• growth expectations / indications
• strength of competition
• mode of operation in the market

Internal factors:

• Adequacy and attractiveness of the offer to the market
• Perception of our competence in a particular area/market
• Perception of market entry by internal stakeholders

Further Reading

Competitive Landscape Analysis with Porter’s Five Forces Framework

Read Blog

Market research can help answer not only the question of whether to enter the market, but also compare different opportunities based on different criteria and inform the market entry strategy. Depending on the goal, the market, and the available budget, there are different methods that can be used to study market opportunities.

Desk Research

This is the classic way to learn more about the market and often the best way to get started. At B2B International, we consider many sources, such as official statistics, industry association reports, competitor websites, financial documents and social media, and relevant content such as articles in the industry press and company blogs.

Interviews with market experts

These interviews offer a cost-effective and time-effective way to obtain an understanding of the opportunity as market experts can offer a broad overview of the market and an understanding of the various market participants. Experts can be members of industry associations, distributors, wholesalers, scientists, or other relevant audiences with a broad understanding of the sector.

Interviews with customers and prospects

This is the best and most reliable way to get to the “heart of the market” and truly understand usage and behavior patterns, triggers and motives, future plans, perceptions, etc. Interviews with customers and prospects can be conducted through a specialized online B2B panel, over the phone, or through online sessions, depending on the target, market, and feasibility.

Ethnographic research

Depending on the sector, some information can be obtained through market observation, but only if it is publicly available and not subject to confidentiality protection. Observations can also be conducted if relevant subjects agree to it.

Further Reading

Assessing Market Attractiveness with the Directional Policy Matrix

Read Blog

To discuss how our tailored insights programs can help solve your specific business challenges, get in touch and one of the team will be happy to help.

The post How Market Research Can Help Guide Your Market Entry Strategy appeared first on B2B International.

The push-pull model is a framework that is best used when organizations are looking to introduce a new product or solution to the market but are unsure of the enablers and barriers that customers see when thinking about switching solutions. The framework allows us to explore a variety of reasons why customers might want to stick with their current solution or move to use a new product or solution. Through its use, the push-pull model can inform organizations of what is going to enable or block a switch to the new solution, and hence can help to develop strategy to overcome any barriers to the use of the new solution or product.

Understanding the Elements of the Push-Pull Model

There are four different elements to the push-pull model. Two of these elements would encourage a switch to a new solution:

‘Push’: The ‘push’ element of the model is used to identify what would ‘push’ a customer from using their existing solution. In this box, we would include the problems that customers identify with their current solution.

‘Pull’: The ‘pull’ element of the model is used to demonstrate the key benefits of the new solution, that would encourage a switch from the existing solution. In this box, we could highlight where any of the benefits are specific to different customer groups.

Some of the details that sit within each box may overlap, for example, if a problem with the customer’s existing solution is that it is not sustainable, yet the new solution is sustainable, we might see sustainability as both a push from the existing solution, and a pull towards the new solution.

The other two elements of the model are used to highlight factors which would block the switch to a new solution:

‘Inertia’: This element of the model is used to demonstrate the threats which customers identify regarding switching to a new solution (i.e., that would block them from considering a switch). Inertia is often a core reason for continuing to use an existing solution, so we should identify the habits that customers are in in this box, too.

‘Anxiety’: In addition to customers being in the habit of using their existing solution, and the threat of moving away from this solution, there is also anxiety about the new solution that could block the switch. In this element of the model, we should highlight the worries that customers have about the new solution, that might prevent them from switching solution.

Further Reading

Assessing Market Attractiveness with the Directional Policy Matrix

Read Blog

Driving Action Using the Push-Pull Model

Once we have established all of the ‘push’, ‘pull’, ‘inertia’ and ‘anxiety’ elements, we can start to use the model to drive action, in order for customers to be more inclined to switch to the new solution. A good way to do this, is to action each box in the push-pull model, so that all bases are covered to encourage a switch to the new solution. An example of how this might look is below.

‘Push’: Communicate the benefits of the new solution which overcome pitfalls in the existing solution. More detailed ‘push’ recommendations might look like:

• Highlight features of the new solution which improve on sustainability performance
• Demonstrate how technical support is improved with the new solution

‘Pull’: Demonstrate the research that has helped to develop the new solution and exemplify the key benefits of the new solution, reflecting the reasons why customers may switch. More detailed ‘pull’ recommendations might look like:

• Outline the return on investment of the new solution, if rising costs are a push factor
• Invest in research to clearly demonstrate the advantages of the new solution

‘Inertia’: Offer support to customers, so that they can see why switching solutions is important. More detailed ‘inertia’ recommendations might look like:

• Develop an example roadmap for the future using the new solution, so that customers can clearly see the direct benefits of switching solutions
• Lobby government to influence change for the future

‘Anxiety’: Demonstrate features of the new solution which can overcome anxieties about switching. More detailed ‘anxiety’ recommendations might look like:

• Highlight research that has been done on the efficacy of the solution
• Demonstrate experience in the field and capabilities of support teams

To discuss how our tailored insights programs can help solve your specific business challenges, get in touch and one of the team will be happy to help.

The post Using the Push-Pull Model to Successfully Bring New Products to Market appeared first on B2B International.

The Directional Policy Matrix (DPM) is a business tool that can be used to highlight products, services or segments which are attractive to a company (market attractiveness), where the company has a strong competitive position, and also the market size. The purpose of the model is hence to direct strategy based on the attractiveness of a market and the capability of the organization to fulfil the opportunity. It is most useful when an organization has several countries, products, or segments to investigate.

Market Attractiveness

We can use the DPM to assess the attractiveness of markets, products, or segments for an organization. Market attractiveness can be assessed through a variety of factors, depending on the use case of the DPM. We can use attractiveness indicators such as growth prospects, profitability or even suitability to the organization (which may be driven by factors such as previous profitability, for example). Adapting the ‘attractiveness’ indicator to the organization’s strategic priorities means that we can develop a DPM that gives the organization the most relevant measure to drive action.

Ability To Serve the Market

When using the DPM, it is important to understand the capability of the organization to serve each segment, country, or product. The competitive position is usually calculated based on the accessibility of the market or on competitive advantage relative to competitors.

Accessibility Of the Market

The accessibility of the market may be determined based on factors such as existing routes to market, infrastructure, or knowledge of the market. Each of these factors could mean that the considered market is more accessible, and hence may provide ‘low hanging fruit’ for the organization to take advantage of.

Competitive Advantage

We would want to consider how well competitors perform in the market in order to assess the best strategic direction or opportunity for an organization. If there are several very strong existing competitors in a market, it may make the opportunity less attractive for the organization, as it may be more difficult to establish in a saturated market.

Further Reading

Competitive Landscape Analysis with Porter’s Five Forces Framework

Read Blog

Market Size

We can include the market size as a measure in the DPM. This gives the organization a steer on which segments, products or countries provide the biggest market opportunity. Market size can be based on a few different variables, such as the financial value of the market or number of products sold, for example.

Driving Strategy

Based on the findings of the DPM, we can place markets, segments, or products into four different categories, in order to drive strategy and action:

• Areas to invest / ‘go all in’: Markets, segments or product categories which are highly attractive and a very strong fit with the organization.

• Cash generation / ‘cash cow’: Markets, segments or product categories which are a very strong fit with the organization, but which may be less attractive (e.g., in terms of market size). These, however, provide a good opportunity for cash generation for the organization.

• ‘Double or quits’: Markets, segments, or product categories where the organization’s current ability to serve is low, but market attractiveness is very high. These markets, segments or product categories will require a lot of investment for the organization to serve but could provide a big opportunity.

• Evaluate / disinvest: Markets, segments or product categories which are a low fit for the organization and are also low in attractiveness.

Categorizing markets, segments, or product categories into these four segments can indicate the best way for organizations to move forward with their strategy, highlighting key opportunities, but also where they may need to withdraw or disinvest.

Can I Use The DPM In Qualitative Research?

Whilst the traditional DPM is very much suited to quantitative research, its principles can also be translated for qualitative research. It is especially useful to highlight company strengths and weaknesses, whilst also looking at market attractiveness. We may look at comments relating to future opportunities to establish market attractiveness. Plotting these factors on the same chart allows us to draw clear conclusions on where the opportunity lies for the organization, and which products or services are less attractive. This can help to direct strategy and focus for organizations, even without conducting quantitative research.

To discuss how our tailored insights programs can help solve your specific business challenges, get in touch and one of the team will be happy to help.

The post Assessing Market Attractiveness with the Directional Policy Matrix appeared first on B2B International.

Porter’s Five Forces is a framework that we often use to assess the competitive landscape in which our clients currently operate or intend to enter. This framework was designed by Michael Porter of Harvard University, who felt that a more traditional SWOT analysis was not always sufficient in assessing the competitive landscape, and how attractive (or otherwise) it might be.

Why is competitive landscape analysis important?

One of the key applications for this framework is when one of our clients is interested in entering a new market. It is essential to conduct some ‘due diligence’ to help better understand the market and develop a strategy. Using the Five Forces framework can help an organization to assess whether the market is attractive to enter, and where the key challenges might lie.

This framework is also a useful complement to a brand health assessment. It provides valuable context to the market landscape, when assessing awareness and perceptions of different brands in the market.

What is the Five Forces framework?

Porter identified five forces that are present – to varying extents – in all operating environments. Where all of the forces are very strong, this indicates a competitive landscape that is highly challenging – and perhaps unattractive for a new business to enter. Where all are very weak, this represents significant opportunity for a new business.

In most cases, the picture is more nuanced – some forces in a market might be strong, while others are relatively weak. In these instances, we can use the Five Forces framework to understand particular areas of challenge and opportunity, to help our clients develop strategies for market entry or penetration.

What are the ‘Five Forces’?

There are two vertical forces: bargaining power of suppliers, and bargaining power of buyers…

↓ Bargaining power of suppliers

This force indicates the level of power suppliers hold over businesses in the market. Where a supplier holds more power, businesses rely more heavily on them.

An example of suppliers holding strong bargaining power might be due to their holding a monopolistic position in the market. In this instance, they can charge higher prices, which might threaten the stability of any businesses using them as a supplier.

Other considerations to assess the bargaining power of suppliers might be:

• Do suppliers hold patents, or use special, proprietary technology?
• Are suppliers vertically integrated with any of your competitors?
• How many suppliers does your business have; how large are they?

↑ Bargaining power of buyers

This force indicates the power that buyers, or customers, hold over businesses. Some considerations to help assess the bargaining power of buyers might be:

• How price-sensitive is the market?
• How easy is it for customers to switch to new suppliers?
• How many customers does your business have; how large are they?

There are two horizontal forces: threat of new entrants, and threat of substitutes…

→ Threat of new entrants

This force looks at how easy or difficult it is for new competitors to enter the market. If there are high barriers to entry, this force is weaker. If it is easy for new competitors to enter the market, this force becomes stronger. Some key questions to consider might include:

• How strong is your business’ existing reputation in this space; how important is this to customers, and how difficult would it be for a new entrant to build a comparable reputation?
• How difficult and/or expensive is it for a new business to enter this market?
• Are there any unique skills or technologies that a business would require to be successful in this market?
• How cost-sensitive are customers; is it likely that a new competitor could enter the market with lower prices?

← Threat of substitutes

This force relates to the availability of an alternative product or service. If a business is a producer of orange juice, a new entrant would be another company that makes orange juice – whereas a substitute might be a company that makes apple juice. If more customers are switching to apple juice instead of orange juice, this would be a significant competitive force. Some additional considerations:

• How easy or difficult is it for customers to switch to an alternative product or service?
• How cost-sensitive are customers; is it likely that a substitute might be available at lower prices?
• Is it a possibility that customers might choose to undertake the service you offer, internally?

Finally, in the middle of the framework, we look at the current level of competitive rivalry. This is depicted in the middle of the framework, because it is based upon activity within the competitive set – rather than being imposed from other directions.

• Competitive rivalry

There are several elements to consider here, while bearing in mind that all competitors will be exposed to the four forces we have already outlined:

• How many competitors are there?
• How does the market share split between competitors?
• How loyal are customers?
• How big are the profit margins?

Further Reading

How to Apply the Three Circles Framework in Strategic B2B Research

View Blog

What other frameworks might be used during competitive landscape analysis?

• SWOT analysis offers a broader assessment of the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats that might impact a business. Strengths and Weaknesses are internal factors, while Opportunities and Threats are external. Many of the topics we have discussed within the Five Forces might fall into Opportunities or Threats – for example, a high level of competitive rivalry would be considered a threat.
• PESTLE analysis can help us to assess the more macro factors (Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal, Environmental) that might impact the ease of operating in a market and the resultant business strategy.
• It is also important to remember that competitive markets do evolve over time. Therefore, it is wise to re-visit the Five Forces framework over time, to ensure that the business strategy is as strong as possible.

To discuss how our tailored insights programs can help solve your specific business challenges, get in touch and one of the team will be happy to help.

The post Competitive Landscape Analysis with Porter’s Five Forces Framework appeared first on B2B International.

As markets become more competitive and buyers demand even more from brands, we know your 2024 plans will need to work harder than ever to deliver experiences that differentiate your brand from the competition and keep pace with shifting buyer expectations.

We’ve identified 5 prerequisites for delivering stand-out, value-driven brand experiences, thanks to our work with hundreds of leading B2B brands to deliver strategic insights programs that drive business growth.

If you notice any critical gaps in your understanding, reach out to one of our team to discuss your 2024 research requirements.

1. The customer experience

Do you have a deep understanding of the personas you serve, the path-to-purchase, and what ultimately drives satisfaction and loyalty?

How insights can help: Drive customer centricity through a detailed understanding and measurement of the customer journey and experience.

Learn more about our customer research >

2. The brand experience

Are your marketing communications resonating with your audience and your brand promise addressing key value drivers?

How insights can help: Build brand equity through a detailed understanding and measurement of brand health, from awareness, to positioning, to experience.

Learn more about our brand research >

3. The content experience

Do you know how to cut through the noise and deliver content your customers desire?

How insights can help: Deliver an engaging message through unique insights, based on primary research, which deliver differentiated thought leadership reports and content.

Learn more about our thought leadership research >

4. The product experience:

Does your organization have a product roadmap with clear innovation opportunities for new and enhanced solutions?

How insights can help: Develop a successful and profitable offer through value proposition development, concept testing, and pricing optimization.

Learn more about our product research >

5. The go-to-market experience

Are you clear on the nature of the opportunity for your brand or offering and confident you have the optimal go-to-market plan?

How insights can help: Assess the opportunity through a robust and actionable segmentation of the market and a deep understanding and measurement of target customers’ behaviors, needs, attitudes, and preferences.

Learn more about our market opportunity research >

To learn more about what it takes to create competitive advantage and drive customer loyalty in B2B markets today, check out our Superpowers Index research.

To discuss how our tailored insights programs or end-to-end solutions covering insights, creative, and media can help solve your specific business challenges, get in touch and one of the team will be happy to help.

The post 5 Prerequisites for Delivering Stand-Out, Value-Driven Brand Experiences in 2024 appeared first on B2B International.

It looks like 2023 will be a year of recession across most major economies, with some predicting it could take as long as 2024 to see recovery. Many businesses will struggle in the year ahead, with painful choices needed to be made. But as history of previous recessions has shown us, businesses that continue to invest in their brand are most likely to see the strongest growth once the economic storm has passed. Insight will play a critical role for businesses looking to navigate the changing environment and to capitalize during the recovery period.

During recessionary times market research will continue to guide companies through key business challenges:

1. Remaining customer-centric

Businesses across industry verticals are likely to face challenges over the next 12-24 months which will disrupt their ways of working; demand may dip, supply chains may become disrupted, the pressure to do more with less may increase. It’s vital for B2B companies to get a solid understanding of the changing landscape their customers find themselves in and understand what they can do to be a supportive partner in these times.

The importance of customer centricity was also highlighted in our recent podcast episode with Cisco’s Tejal Patel, who said “however much technology moves on, understanding the customer and their needs is going to be the number one thing that every marketer needs to look at.” Customer experience (CX) research programs will ensure B2B brands can stay in tune with their customers’ evolving needs and expectations, providing the best guidance to shape strategies to deliver superpowered experiences through the recession and beyond.

Further Reading

The New Shape of Superpowered B2B Customer Experiences

Download Now

2. Keeping on top of evolving market opportunities

Recessionary periods often lead to disruption in certain markets, as buyers look for more efficient or agile solutions. The knock-on effect of the recession may also see economic pressures vary across geographies. During this time there will undoubtedly be opportunities for many B2B businesses to capitalize on and some businesses will look to develop revenue streams in new markets to offset the impact of contraction in the economy but identifying and assessing these is not always straightforward. Specialist market opportunities research can clarify the path ahead to support confident go-no-go decisions.

3. Developing compelling products and propositions

While the opportunity for product development or investment in a certain market may be clear, B2B brands will still need to develop a truly compelling offer that resonates with its target audience. In some cases, this will require developing a value proposition for a completely new audience, but in other cases the impact of the recession may have shifted existing customers’ needs and expectations and brands will need to adapt their offer to remain attractive to its core base. Continuing to consider what makes you special during these times will be vital for B2B brands to build propositions that will attract and retain customers. Product development and value proposition research will continue to be a go-to for B2B companies looking to keep on top of this during the recession.

Further Reading

The Value Proposition Canvas Framework Explained

Read Now

4. Building and maintaining a healthy brand

Investing in the brand during a recession is critical to ensure B2B companies are front and center in customers’ minds for whenever they are ready to spend, whether that’s during or post-recession. Businesses that fail to acknowledge this, see the recession as pure threat, and cut back on all brand building to save costs, face a very real risk of becoming forgotten about once the green shoots of recover appear.

Tracking brand health will remain important during the recession, particularly to keep an eye on how satisfied customers are, whether the brand is being associated with the attributes that matter and how well-known the brand is within the target audience. At the same time, it will be important for B2B companies to ensure they are hitting the right tone during the recession. Brand research can guide businesses to take actions to remain relevant and relatable to customers as their needs and expectations evolve.

Further Reading

3 Critical Steps to Drive Brand Growth Through Insights

Read Now

5. Building an authoritative reputation in the market

B2B customers will face a swathe of uncertainty and anxiety over the next year. They will be looking for partners who care about these concerns and who can offer new perspectives to help them through this time. Thought leadership will remain a powerful tool for B2B businesses to offer a relatable, authoritative point of view during the recession. Effective use of insight to drive impactful content, will help B2B brands link their understanding of customers’ evolving needs with a fresh perspective to keep audiences engaged and informed. We know from our own research that investing in this type of insight activity can go a long way to reinforcing one of the key B2B CX Superpower pillars of ‘understanding’ – ‘a brand that gets my organization’s needs’.

At B2B International we remain strong advocates of the power of insight to drive meaningful actions within B2B businesses. During times of great uncertainty, the benefits of such approaches may be needed more than ever. To discuss your business needs and objectives and determine how our research can help, reach out to one of our research experts.

The post How Market Research Can Help B2B Brands Tackle Key Business Challenges During a Recession appeared first on B2B International.

The post How to Use the Three Circles Framework to Develop Winning Value Propositions appeared first on B2B International.

Series Introduction: ‘Your Guide to the Future’

Here at B2B International, we’re always thinking of the latest innovations and emerging ‘megatrends’ shaping our clients’ industries and markets.

So, for every month in 2019 we decided to delve a little deeper into each of these trends and produce a mini-guide looking at what it is, how big it will be and the opportunity it presents for b2b companies.

This month’s topic is cybersecurity. Enjoy!

What is it?

Cybersecurity / IT security is the protection of internet-connected systems (including hardware, software and data) from cyberattacks, theft, damage, disruption or misdirection of the service they provide.

How big will it be?

As the world becomes increasingly digitized and connected and the sophistication of potential cybersecurity threats increases, businesses are under constant pressure to upgrade their IT security systems. With cyber-attacks forecast to be one of the biggest business risks of the next decade, the global cybersecurity market is expected to grow from a value of $US153 billion in 2018 to just under $US232 billion by 2022 (Source: Statista).

What’s the opportunity?

With spending on cybersecurity systems expected to skyrocket over the next few years, the business opportunity for cybersecurity specialists will be extraordinary. Experts suggest that hackers will focus less on attacking servers and workstations, as they have previously done, and more on IoT related ecosystems and applications. Protecting these emerging infrastructures will bring substantial NPD opportunity in the cybersecurity sector.

B2B businesses in every market need to make sure to constantly develop their security systems. In order to remain competitive within the market and as an employer, B2B companies need to increasingly digitize, but digitization can only happen with the right IT security measures in place.

Further Reading

Check out the full list of topics in our megatrends series:

Read more

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