Users and Choosers in B2B User Research
Deciding the software to purchase
Is harder than seems on the surface.
The employees who use it
May not get to choose it —
Ignoring this fact, a disservice!
Research on business-to-business (B2B) software may have two different types of end user: those who choose the software for their business (the “Choosers”) and those who are expected to use the software (the “Users”) in order to transact with the Chooser.
Why make the User-Chooser distinction?
Who you study matters.
The Chooser may be the one paying the bill, but if each end User is not satisfied and engaged with the software, then it’s not going to “stick” long-term, especially if the main purpose of the product is to facilitate collaboration.
Different motivations.
Good research has context. A major piece of context to consider is the user’s motivation for using your software.
For business-to-consumer (B2C) services, in contrast, the User is usually the Chooser. They sought out and chose an experience for their own purposes, and they have the autonomy to continue or discontinue use. They are probably engaging with the software or service because they want to. Think, choosing Google Chrome as your browser, Netflix for entertainment, Starbucks for coffee.
On the other hand, the B2B end user may have been perfectly content to never encounter the software at all. They’ve been using their own process for years. Unless they were the one advocating for their company to use your program, they may have no motivation to use it. Think, starting a new job with a company that uses Microsoft Teams, but you prefer to use Slack.
As user researchers, our job is to understand the needs of the Choosers and the Users. Our product can’t solve our customers’ business needs unless both types of end users are bought in.
Who are Buildertrend’s Choosers and Users?
Most often, our Choosers are the business owners who decided to invest in Buildertrend. They see the high-level needs of their organization and select the best products and services to meet those needs. Even if someone else is responsible for finding and vetting a solution, the Chooser is the one placing their trust in what it promises to deliver, with literal “buy in.”
Our Users, on the other hand, comprise the Choosers plus a much longer list, but at Buildertrend they generally fall into 3 categories:
- the Chooser’s coworkers and employees (i.e., field crew, office staff, project managers, designers, etc.)
- those who contract with the Choosers (i.e., subcontractors such as electricians, concrete, roofers, etc.)
- those who hire the Choosers (i.e., homeowners)
What motivates Buildertrend’s Users who aren’t Choosers?
Here’s how User knowledge shapes our research questions.
The Chooser’s coworkers and employees (i.e., field crew, office staff, project managers, designers, etc.) are Users who may be totally on-board with adopting Buildertrend…or not. It’s entirely possible that their only motivation is that the Chooser has mandated that they use Buildertrend. With that in mind, the onus is on us to provide a seamless onboarding experience with a quick time to value. How might we foreshadow the software’s full potential for their business, in addition to providing quick “wins” along the way?
Those who contract with the Choosers (i.e., subcontractors such as electricians, concrete, roofers, etc.) are Users who expect and demand the path of least resistance in their interactions with the product. They are motivated by their working relationship with the Chooser, and it’s that relationship that facilitates their introduction to Buildertrend. How might we deliver a better experience than the standard back-and-forth calls, texts, and email?
Those who hire the Choosers (i.e., homeowners) may have done so for the ability to access their project’s progress, or they may have been totally unaware of this capability. Either way, their motivation is clear: they’ve invested their hard-earned money into their home, and they want to stay involved and know that everything is on track. From picking out paint colors to knowing when crews are going to show up, how might we foster trust through transparency?
As a powerful, comprehensive tool, Buildertrend can seem daunting to start using. However, those same qualities mean that all types of Users, regardless of their initial reasons for using Buildertrend, eventually arrive at the same long-term motivation: a better way of building.
