Who asked you?

It’s a familiar story in the B2B tech world: a bunch of clever techies brainstorm the next big product or service.

They look at data, spot trends, and then ….. it's built, polished, invested in and sent out to the market.

Taa daaa!

But the one thing missing at the table was the people who matter most, the ones who are going to buy and use the product. They are rarely part of the conversation until it’s too late.

Compared with B2C where even the smallest companies focus on customer feedback, surveys, and research before they fully commit many B2B businesses build solutions based on assumptions, a bit of market research, and maybe a hint of guesswork. By when the product finally hits the market, the customer only gets involved once it’s already been “finalised.”

A friendly investor once said something I found incredibly shocking: “We expect at least 80% of the products we invest in not to deliver a return, the ones that do take care of the shortfall”.

---

Improving the odds

When B2B tech companies focus too much on their solutions and not enough on understanding the real needs of their customers they may have a great product, but if it's not tested with the people it’s meant to help, how can you be sure it’ll solve anything?

Especially when long sales cycles and complicated decision-making processes are the norm, taking a cue from B2C and listening to your customers could be a game-changer. Imagine positioning your product based on real insights into how it fits into your customers’ daily operations. Imagine solving the problems they’re dealing with and not the ones you imagine they are dealing with.

It’s not easy. It takes effort, humility, and a willingness to change. But isn’t that the point? If you only listen to yourself, you’re going to stay one step behind, no matter how good your product is.