Customer Experience Research

B2B Customer Experience Research: Because The Whole Company Needs Voice of the Customer Data

Authored byAva Anderson

Let’s face it, most departments, in most organizations, aren’t super familiar with what their buyers perceive, expect, and want. Why? Because, other than sales, most teams aren’t in regular, direct contact with customers. Even sellers miss a big piece of the puzzle, because they aren’t hearing from would-be prospects that have never heard of them or were turned off early in the buyer’s journey before becoming a lead.

Well-executed B2B customer experience research provides a holistic understanding of the voice of the customer (VOC). That is, current, potential, and competitors’ customers. This understanding is necessary to dodge common pitfalls in sales, marketing, product, and business leadership.

Stronger Sales Messaging

Don’t put sellers in the position of feeling they have to write their own messaging because they know what they’re being given doesn’t land.

Customer experience projects like buyer persona research provide the foundation for great sales messaging because you’ll learn what keeps your buyers up at night. If sales can speak directly to those visceral concerns, they’re in business. B2B customer experience research will also give you data on why buyers went with a rival, so you can preemptively rebut competitor sales messaging.

Maybe you’re already using VOC data to inform your sales messaging. How you shape and deliver that message still matters, and message testing research can make a huge impact. From our own message testing projects, we typically see approximately 30% improvement in how our clients’ customers view their messaging after the process of testing, revising, and retesting a message.

Optimized Marketing Funnel

57% of the purchasing decision is complete before customers ever reach out to sales. That’s a lot of pressure on your marketing materials. VOC data can help make sure they’re up to the task.

Activate Awareness

Do you know how customers become aware of your brand? Do you know where customers look to generate initial awareness of solutions in your space? If you answered “no” to either of those questions, you’ve got a problem. You could be focusing on cultivating analyst chatter while customers are looking at top ten lists on industry blogs. B2B customer experience research on the buyer’s journey can help you focus your efforts where they matter most.

Convert with Content

Less than 50% of content marketers have actual customer conversations. That’s a problem, since 88% of the top B2B content marketers report prioritizing audience needs as the key to their success.

Don’t waste content where customers aren’t looking or on topics they don’t care about. Don’t waste resources creating content directed at the wrong buyers. Understand your personas, their jobs-to-be-done, and their buyer’s journey to ensure your content is working for you.

Souped-Up Social Strategy

Which channels do your buyers care about? Do they want an #askmeanything on Twitter, or do they prefer thought leadership on LinkedIn? Do they want whitepapers, checklists, infographics, or video? Customer experience research can help you understand where buyers are looking when and what they want to see.

Graceful Growth

Successful B2B businesses get started targeting one kind of customer. It’s necessary to have that narrow focus to cultivate expertise and build targeted solutions that earn respect. But this can lead to problems when you try to expand, because VOC knowledge ends up so heavily impacted by your first big customer that you may struggle effectively targeting new personas. B2B customer experience research can help ensure you’re meeting the needs of new and changing buyer personas.

Move the Needle with Customer Insights

Sales can’t be the only department hearing directly from customers. From marketing to product development, company leadership to partner relationship managers, everyone needs access to VOC insights.

So, what in your business needs to be disrupted by the voice of the customer? B2B customer experience research can give you answers.


Cascade Insights’ custom market research helps companies get the voice of the customer data they need to succeed in the B2B tech sector. 

Special thanks to CEO Sean Campbell and President & CTO Scott Swigart for advising on this piece.

Home » Customer Satisfaction Research » B2B Customer Experience Research: Because The Whole Company Needs Voice of the Customer Data
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