Field Research is Vital for Industrial Marketers with Paul Hepperla

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In this interview, Joseph Lewin from CADENAS PARTsolutions speaks with Paul Hepperla. Paul is Vice President, Solutions Strategy, Cold Chain at Emerson. He has over 28 years of experience in everything from marketing, to sales, to strategy and business development.

Is field research important for developing an industrial marketing strategy?
The short answer is yes, field research is vital for establishing an industrial marketing strategy.

Failing to understand immediate customers’ needs and what is going on more broadly in the industry is a big mistake. It limits innovation, hinders problem-solving, and reduces the value of end products.

Customers typically talk about their specifications, but there is always more to the picture than what a specifying engineer will disclose. Having a finger on the pulse of the industry is an excellent way to educate your audience on their customers’ needs.

Research can take several different roles. Traditional research has its place, but it doesn’t go far enough in uncovering deep industry insights. The kind of insights that drive customer-centric decision-making.

The bottom line is that the most effective form of research is getting in front of real-life customers and prospects. Talking with real customers is the best way to uncover hidden insights and find unique solutions that differentiate your products and brand.

This type of research aligns the value a component brings to customers rather than focusing solely on your commodity components’ mundane, copyable features and benefits.

Everything gets easier when there is alignment between the value a component delivers and the desires and needs of a customer.

If the focus is only on customers, it limits anything outside the typical marketing tool bag like price, availability, distribution, etc. Whereas focusing more on the end solution by asking questions like:

What problem is my product actually solving?
What are other challenges my product can solve?
Is there another product my product and integrate with?
Field research provides an opportunity to learn the challenges the industry is missing and look for ways to be a solution provider vs. a provider of commodity parts.