In this article, Bryter Associate Director, Robert Downer reflects on his years of experience in the B2B research space and how it can supercharge business growth.
I’ve been a B2B researcher for a nice round 8 years now, most recently with Bryter, where I've been able to specialise in business growth. In that time, I’ve had hundreds of conversations with business decision-makers: people across C-suite, heads of procurement, product owners, senior marketers to name a few roles. If there’s one thing that strikes me time and time again, it’s just how smart, thoughtful, and forward-thinking these people really are.
If you'd have asked me at the start of my career, I found that B2B buyers were often painted as robotic spreadsheet lovers (I do love a spreadsheet), but as I build up my experience I found that they are usually the most strategic, business customer-centric thinkers in the room — and B2B market research, at its best, empowers them to do even more.
In this article, I’ll reflect on my experience in the B2B market research field, in the hope that I can share some of my knowledge and inspire others in this surprisingly interesting space.
I believe that it’s a strange privilege, working in B2B research. Most people still don’t really know what it is, even in the business world. Many assume it’s about counting spreadsheets, measuring product feedback, or fielding dry satisfaction surveys. At Bryter, I’ve come to see B2B research for what it really is: a strategic instrument that can transform how businesses compete, evolve and most importantly grow (what's not to love?).
Essential B2B market research helps businesses understand other businesses — pretty simple, really. But, it's what those businesses want to find out, which is where things get complicated and where it can take the research on any number of adventures. From attending business summits to see how we can better cater to the high-end C-suite experience, or travelling to business estates to understand the needs of SMB retailers in the online space, it's surprisingly enjoyable work.
It’s a craft built on pattern-spotting, asking the right questions, seeing the underlying currents beneath business decisions, and turning complex market dynamics into something actionable. Crucially, it’s about helping clients understand what their business customers — real, imperfect, insightful humans inside organisations — actually care about. Once we understand this, we can add real value and unlock growth.
Importantly, the magic happens, not in the data itself (either qual or quant), but in what you do with it — we'll talk more about that magic in a moment, but first let's discuss B2B decision making.
In theory, B2B decisions are built around rationality; after all, their customers are professional buyers, trained to make informed, logical decisions. So you’d think those all businesses would be laser-focused on all important insight — on knowing exactly how those decisions are made, what motivates them, and what barriers stand in the way.
But the truth is, even in well-established firms, much of this is still guesswork — sometimes it can work, but it's difficult to rely on guesswork for too long. There is probably no need to point to the graveyard of brands that failed to embrace insight here.
What has constantly surprised me is that I’ve worked with companies spending millions on sales and marketing strategies without validating assumptions about what buyers actually want. They invest in messaging in the hope it will land. They develop features based on internal debates rather than external realities — which can add further complication to the process, as we often need to first overhaul these existing assumptions. This is when research becomes not just useful — but critical to the long-term health of a business.
Because what research offers, when done right, isn’t just data. It’s clarity. It’s a mirror. It shows businesses where their assumptions are solid — and where they’re costing.
At Bryter, we’re not interested in surface-level B2B research. Anyone can ask if a product is well-received, or if someone would “recommend it to a colleague.” Those are fine inputs, but they rarely get to the truth, the real value is more... you guessed it: complicated and complex.
The real value comes from framing sharper questions — ones that cut through politeness, organisational politics, or post-rationalised answers. What made customers really switch suppliers? What makes a product get shortlisted but never bought? What moments build trust — and which erode it?
The ability to dig into these complex layers is where our expertise and craft come in. Not just in research design, but in the subtle art of getting people to open up: understanding buyer psychology, the pressures they’re under, the trade-offs they’re juggling. It’s not always obvious, and rarely said aloud. But with the right approach, a skilled and experienced researcher can uncover the difference between a “maybe” and a “yes” — and help clients change how they show up in the market as a result.
Good research doesn’t live in a silo. When I lead a project, my aim isn’t just to deliver insights for the marketing team and walk away. I want those insights to reach sales, product, business, customer success, and leadership. Because they all benefit from seeing the same picture.
The best research helps a business connect the dots between what business customers say they want, what they actually need, and what they experience once they’re on board. It’s the thread that runs from acquisition through retention and expansion.
Too often, companies treat these things separately. They run one project for sales enablement, another for UX feedback, another for churn analysis. But the truth is, most of these questions are connected, and research, when scoped well, can answer across that spectrum.
Ok, back to the previously mentioned magic (what we do with the data). I’ve seen first-hand how B2B research can influence critical decisions. A carefully structured segmentation can reshape a go-to-market strategy. A detailed journey map can reveal friction points that are costing the business. A positioning study can help an underdog brand leapfrog more established competitors by speaking to the right businesses in the right way.
The real shift happens when research stops being a background task and becomes part of how a company thinks. When it’s not just about validating what you already believe, but challenging it, that’s when businesses get sharper, more focused and ultimately, more successful.
It’s why we always aim to deliver more than insights. What we give our clients is strategic direction. And that’s not a static output, it’s a foundation they can build on, going beyond the initial questions asked.
So, B2B research is complicated and complex, with tough questions that rarely lead to neat conclusions. B2B markets have long sales cycles, multiple stakeholders, obscure acronyms (they stick eventually). But as a researcher, I see that complexity as one of the biggest opportunities.
The fact that decisions are made by teams rather than individuals means there’s more to analyse, more nuance to unpack (which is where the fun is). Different personas across the business will look at problems in different ways: IT care about security, finance about ROI, end-users about usability. Understanding these layered dynamics allows us to build much more targeted strategies.
It also helps avoid one-size-fits-all solutions, which rarely work in B2B. The richness of the insight is directly proportional to how seriously you take the complexity. Embrace it, and you get clarity that others miss.
As you can tell from my musings, this work never gets dull. Every project is a new industry, a new audience, a new puzzle. Whether I’m mapping the buyer journey for a facilities management supplier or identifying unmet needs in a healthtech platform, the thrill is the same: making the hidden visible. Turning uncertainty into strategy.
While tools and tactics will change, the core of good B2B research remains remarkably consistent. Ask better questions. Listen hard. Interpret well. Connect the insight to action. Do that consistently, and you don’t just gather data — you help shape better businesses.
This is how we at Bryter provide real value for our clients, and personally it's a great challange each time.
Effective B2B research goes far beyond collecting data — it’s about asking sharper questions, interpreting complexity, and turning insight into strategic direction. Over the years, I’ve seen how B2B buyers are far more thoughtful and customer-focused than the stereotypes suggest, and how research, when done well, can challenge assumptions, reveal hidden truths, and drive meaningful business growth. The best outcomes happen when businesses stop guessing and start listening — embracing the nuance of B2B decision-making, leveraging insight across teams, and using research not as a report, but as a foundation for smarter, more intentional strategies.
To read more about how market research services key sector like healthcare and pharmaceuticals, technology, gaming and B2B markets read our article Bryter - Applications of B2B Market Research
Get in touch with one of the insights team if you want to learn more about different approaches to market research and to understand which methodology may be most appropriate for your insight needs