B2B Buyer and Procurement Research; Spec-In MapKnow who writes the specification and what makes them choose you
Research into how B2B buyers specify, evaluate and select suppliers, including a Spec-In Map that traces the licensors, EPCs and consultants who influence the specification before the purchase order is raised.
Is this for you?
- You sell industrial products or materials and lose business before the tender because you were not specified in.
- You do not know who in the customer organisation actually decides, or what they weigh.
- Sales attributes losses to price when the real cause may be elsewhere.
- You want to know what would make a buyer switch from an incumbent supplier.
What you get
- 01
Buying-process and decision-unit mapping
The steps, the roles and the gates from need to purchase order.
- 02
Supplier selection criteria and weights
What buyers actually weigh, measured, not assumed.
- 03
Spec-In Map of influencers
The licensors, EPCs, consultants and standards bodies that shape the specification.
- 04
Switching triggers and barriers
What would make a buyer change supplier and what stops them.
Deliverables
- Buying-process and decision-unit map
- Criteria and weights analysis (Excel)
- Spec-In Map (PDF)
- Report with sales and marketing implications
How we work
- Step 01
Define the product, the customer segments and the decisions to map.
- Step 02
Interview buyers, specifiers, influencers and lost customers; quantify criteria through a structured survey where needed.
- Step 03
Build the decision-unit map and Spec-In Map; analyse criteria and switching.
- Step 04
Present implications to sales and marketing, with a workshop if required.
Why IMR for this
Engineers who can talk to process engineers and procurement heads in their language.
The Spec-In Map is a distinctive IMR method for industrial markets.
Access to industrial respondents through the IMR Industrial Expert Network.
Frequently asked questions
Which sectors is this suited to?
Chemicals, equipment, materials, components, industrial consumables and any product sold through specification.
How many interviews are typical?
Enough to cover each role in the decision unit across your key segments; agreed at scoping.
Can this feed a win/loss programme?
Yes; see Win/Loss and Voice of Customer.
