B2B market research and strategy · Forest Knolls, California

B2B market research that turns customer conversations into market share.

We step in as partners with your leadership to find, uncover and clarify growth opportunities in products, pricing, positioning, messaging, branding and channels.

Call 415-328-7927Request a proposal

Two kinds of business decision

Thin decisions and robust decisions

Thin: A, or no go.

Robust: A, B or C.

A thin decision puts one action on the table and asks: do it, or not. Fine when the risk is low. The trap is the market share growth you pass by because nobody built a stronger move.

A robust decision spends the time to understand buyer behavior and customer preferences deeply, so leadership chooses between two or more real options. That is the work we do.

The decision pathway

  1. Scan for opportunities: market, channels, technology, process
  2. Convert them into A, B, C options
  3. Refine with new intelligence
  4. Filter, then choose
Decision mapping and the 8 Key Questions

How an engagement runs

Listen first. Then a conversation, not a questionnaire.

When you invite Power Decisions to uncover your growth opportunities, the work follows the 360 research and concept generation process.

Two wooden chairs angled toward each other across a small table by a tall window

Engagement plan

We start by listening

Thomas Brown tailors an engagement plan to your goals, assumptions and situation, and nothing moves until you approve it. Your judgement counts: the first job is to identify your management preferences and the drivers unique to your business.

A voice recorder and an open notebook beside a cup of coffee on a wooden table

Kinetic Depth Interviews

Peer-level conversations with your buyers

Most engagements include one-to-one Kinetic Depth Interviews, face to face or remote. A well-crafted interview plan replaces the questionnaire, so the interviewer can ask the second and third question, the ones that surface hidden decision criteria and the objections buyers never put in a survey.

A brass wax-seal stamp beside a fresh plum wax seal on heavy cream paper

Executive brief

Options you can actually choose between

Themes, quotes and customer narratives become a tightly constructed executive brief, not a data dump: useful information about products, segments, pricing and brand positioning, framed as clear recommendations for your leadership.

What we research

Nine studies, one question: where is your growth hiding?

Each study is designed around the decision in front of you. Most begin with one-to-one interviews; some add online forums, competitive intelligence or a quantitative phase.

All nine, including brand equity, channels and new product concepts

Published project examples

The decisions we were trusted with.

Scores of B2B studies for small and large organizations, from engineered wood to memory chips to commercial GPS. These six are the ones the firm publishes by name.

Read the success stories

  1. Printer & DMD disk memory

    Hewlett Packard

    Product design and pricing decisions. Respondent-adaptive online surveys and conjoint pricing sensitivity analysis found the optimum price-performance mix for each product line.

  2. Engineered wood

    Weyerhaeuser / TrusJoist

    A brand name and positioning decision for a new high-tech engineered-wood product. Working directly with the CEO, the study generated, evaluated and recommended the final branding and positioning direction.

  1. High availability servers

    Micron Technology

    Market position and opportunities for the PC subsidiary. One-to-one depth interviews, then a larger quantitative phone and phone-to-web study.

  2. OSB & waferboard

    Boise Cascade

    A nationwide market strategy study of adoption rates and prospects for a new building materials product, guiding entry into OSB and waferboard.

  3. DSP processors, worldwide

    Texas Instruments

    Appointment-phone interviews with senior executives at target customers worldwide, delivered as a best-of-class profile to guide entry into the DSP market.

  4. Commercial vehicle GPS

    Teletrac

    Three studies: brand image, price sensitivity and repeat purchase preference by one-to-one interview, then an online forum on one target competitor.

Before the first call

Questions B2B leaders ask first.

Anything not answered here, ask Thomas directly at 415-328-7927 or Tom@powerdecisions.com.

A dynamic one-to-one, peer-level interview that goes beyond a traditional depth interview. It follows a well-crafted interview plan rather than a questionnaire, so it plays out like a conversation and turns up far-ranging, unexpected intelligence and ideas. Most engagements include them, face to face or remote.

With the 360 research and concept generation process. Thomas Brown first tailors an engagement plan to your goals, assumptions and situation. Once you approve it, the work begins, using some or all of the research methods: Kinetic Depth Interviews, online forums, competitive intelligence and, when needed, a quantitative component.

Decision-makers, technical influencers, B2B buyers and skeptical prospects, the hard-to-reach audiences a checkbox survey misses. A study might be five high-level CIOs or thirty frontline users across global teams.

A tightly constructed executive brief, not a data dump. Themes, quotes and customer narratives are translated into strategic implications and clear recommendations for product development, messaging, pricing or market entry.

A thin decision puts one action on the table: do it, or not. A robust decision rests on two or more real options, A or B or C, built from a deep understanding of buyer behavior and customer preferences. Robust decisions are where market share growth tends to hide.

Call 415-328-7927 or email Tom@powerdecisions.com. Typically Thomas can offer some immediate, valuable ideas on that first call, then propose an engagement plan.

Discover Opportunities.

Discovery starts here

Bring the decision. Leave with ideas on the first call.

Tell Thomas Brown what you are weighing: a launch, a price change, a new position, a channel. Typically he can offer some immediate, valuable ideas, then propose an engagement plan built around it.

Call 415-328-7927Request a proposal