Blog Category: Business-to-Business (B2B)

Many B2B companies struggle to convince customers to be interviewed. Here are our four favorite approaches, which have been proven effective all around the world.
b2bgrowth.video/28 Video length [2:32]

Don’t skip Preference interviews, which reveal important, unsatisfied customer outcomes (with high Market Satisfaction Gaps)… the only ones you can get premium pricing to address.
b2bgrowth.video/27 Video length [2:33]

Great B2B interviewing requires new skills, e.g. AIM’s “What and Why” method and economic probing questions. Use these to gain impressive customer insights and engagement.
b2bgrowth.video/26 Video length [2:25]

B2B interviewing should be very different than B2C. These methods help you eliminate most errors of omission (using divergent interviews) and errors of commission (convergent interviews).
b2bgrowth.video/24 Video length [2:30]

Henry Ford’s famous quote discourages asking customers what they want. (“They’d say a faster horse.”) But this overlooks two key factors: 1) B2B vs. B2C, and 2) Outcomes vs. Solutions.
b2bgrowth.video/18 Video length [2:33]

The B2B Index is a free website tool that lets you calculate “how B2B” your markets are. You can download a booklet loaded with advice for “early-stage” and “late-stage” marketing.
b2bgrowth.video/15 Video length [2:27]

Companies that serve B2B markets have enormous engagement potential. Their customers have high knowledge, objectivity, interest, foresight… and there are relatively few of them.
b2bgrowth.video/14 Video length [2:42]

The “Red Queen Effect” has your business running as fast as it can just to stay even with competitors. You need to compete differently if you want rapid, profitable growth you can rely on year after year.
b2bgrowth.video/2  Video length [2:12]

The methods introduced in this series are based on solid research and AIM Institute’s experience training tens of thousands of B2B professionals. Here’s why these methods will be commonplace someday.
b2bgrowth.video/1  Video length [2:12]

When it comes to transformational R&D projects, clever project de-risking is only half the battle. The other half is gaining the confidence of the entire leadership team. Few teams do this well. Instead they assemble detailed PowerPoint presentations focused on the project’s good points. Within 3 or 4 slides, they confound everyone except their sponsor, the technology head.

More in article, How to de-risk projects and overcome management doubt

We call our bosses “leaders” out of respect for their organizational position. But have they learned how to drive B2B organic growth? In fairness, we provide training to the rank and file so they can develop new skills… but we expect our busy leaders will somehow “pick up” what’s needed. We’ve compiled 30 lessons for business leaders in the e- book, Leader’s Guide to B2B Organic Growth. You can even sign up to receive a 2-minute weekly video lesson for 30 weeks… an executive short-course in leading growth.

More in article, B2B Organic Growth: 8 top lessons for leaders

We see three areas where leaders can have a greater negative impact on innovation than positive: 1) organizational friction (travel bans, spending freezes, hiring delays, excessive re-orgs, etc.) that slow innovation to a crawl, 2) spreading too few resources over too many projects so that nothing moves briskly, and 3) short-changing the front-end of innovation, so that a clear picture of customer needs is lacking. Companies pay a heavy price for keeping such leaders in place.

More in article, Accelerate New Product Innovation

B2B companies can do 3 things with customer needs: guess, understand or model them. This article explores modeling and its 3 benefits: 1) It’s much cheaper and faster than starting with a prototype, 2) you’ll understand customers’ next-best alternatives better… so you can optimize product pricing, and 3) customers will be much more engaged. ... Read More

The Oxford Dictionary defines a factoid as an item of unreliable information that is repeated so often it becomes accepted as fact. Too often in product development, what we view as a fact is just a factoid. Its fine to have assumptions, but make sure they don’t dress up as facts. What you think you know is more dangerous than what you know you think.

View video, De-risking Transformational Projects