B2B Market Research  Tags: business research research_strategies  

In order to see if there is room for you to enter the market you need to find out how big the market is currently, what void would your product fill, who is already selling in the market, how strong are the current players in the market, and what does the market/industry look like overall.

• Market size
• Market share
• Industry profile(s)
• Market trends

Sometimes there is no data on a specific market. This is often the case when a industry is fairly new - such is often the case with technology related markets. It can also be difficult or impossible to find much hard data where an industry is very specialized or very secretive.

In these cases sources such as trade journals, industry associations, tradeshows and articles may be your best bet for information.

Business to business (B2B) market research refers to research that is undertaken entirely within the business world: a business – the client – wishes to research its business customers, suppliers or other parties who are involved in the running of its business. B2B market research includes all research where the product or service is being used in a business environment. This sets this type of research apart from organizations’ dialogue with individual consumers (end users).

B2B research may be either domestic or international. It embraces many different techniques including desk research, brainstorming, qualitative and quantitative research – the whole research horizon.

The bulk of companies engaging in B2B market research are those operating in business markets, in particular representing IT and information provision, telecoms, transport, finance, manufacturing, energy (oil, gas), pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals/veterinary products and chemicals. Those in construction, and professional services (accountants, management consultants, law firms) also engage in it, though to a lesser extent. Traditionally, other sectors like engineering undertake relatively little market research – and for reasons of history have not been major research buyers.

Business & Company Resource Center: provides market share information from Market Share Reporter.

Business & Company Resource Center provides industry overviews from Encyclopedia of American Industries, and business rankings data from Business Rankings Annual.

Business Source Complete contains Datamonitor industry reports as well as trade journals that provide hard to find niche industry information.

Market Insight is your source for S&P industry reports on a variety of US industries. Reports are updated semi-annually and include trends and operations, ratios, statistics, key players, and more.

Mergent Online contains international industry reports telecommunications, banking, automotive industries, etc.