The Problem
A 3rd-generation precision industrial devices company wanted to expand into new verticals, but lacked the direct customer insight needed to do so confidently.
With a planned investment in updated go-to-market materials on the horizon, they needed data to ensure their positioning, messaging, and sales efforts would land across both existing and new verticals.
The Approach
We designed an interview-based study to explore the company’s learning objectives:
– Fielded one-on-one interviews with both existing and potential customers, segmented across three distinct industry verticals, to understand whether evaluation and buying patterns varied.
– Probed on product needs, evaluation processes, and the stakeholders involved in the buying decision.
– Explored how customers approached learning about new products and vendors in the category.
The Results
» Identified consistent needs and expectations of vendors in this category, independent of vertical, allowing for the development of core positioning and value proposition tenants for use across marketing collateral.
» Uncovered the typical online and offline vendor evaluation process used across verticals, yielding concrete recommendations for digital and offline channel marketing activations.
» Evaluated how distributors evaluated category products and supported vendors in their portfolio, identifying a variety of co-marketing opportunities to strengthen this sales channel.
Did you know
Segmenting interview samples across distinct verticals or customer types lets researchers answer two questions at once: what do all of these buyers have in common, and where do they diverge? The first question informs universal messaging and positioning. The second tells you where personalization is worth the investment. Without both answers, go-to-market strategies are often either too broad to be compelling or too narrow to scale.
