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Sections
Climate-tech customer research should produce decision evidence. The fastest route is to identify the people involved in buying, approving, using and blocking the product, then learn what each of them needs to believe before the organisation moves.
Map the buying system
In complex B2B markets the user and the buyer are often different people, so the research has to map the whole buying system.
Six roles in a climate-tech purchase
- Problem owner
Suffers the current constraint.
- User
Works with the product or its output.
- Technical evaluator
Decides whether it works, such as a technical team.
- Economic buyer
Owns the budget or P&L, which may sit with finance.
- Champion
Wants the decision to move internally, such as a sustainability lead.
- Blocker or approver
Can slow the decision or stop it. Procurement may control the process, and legal or risk may be able to stop the deal.
One person may hold several roles. The aim is to understand how the decision gets made.
The Quick Path interview
Ask each important stakeholder these nine questions.
- What are you trying to achieve?
- What happens today instead?
- What does that cost in time, money, risk or missed opportunity?
- What have you already tried?
- What would make a new approach credible?
- What would make you reject it?
- Who else has to agree?
- What evidence would you need?
- What happens after you say yes?
Ask about the last real decision
Hypothetical questions such as “Would you buy this?” get polite answers. Ask about the last time the organisation solved a similar problem. Find out who started it, how the budget was approved, what objections came up and how long it took. Past behaviour is an imperfect guide, and it usually tells you more than enthusiasm in a research interview.
Separate evidence from interpretation
Keep a simple research table with five columns.
- Exact customer observation or quote.
- Context and role.
- Your interpretation.
- Confidence level.
- What would falsify the interpretation.
The table stops a single memorable conversation from becoming “the market says”.
Turn research into message changes
Research should change the material buyers see.
From finding to change
- Buyers consistently describe the problem as operational risk while your website leads with sustainabilityChange the hierarchy.
- Technical evaluators need validation data before they discuss priceMake the evidence easier to find.
- Champions struggle to explain the case internallyBuild a one-page summary they can forward.
Research before and after a rebrand
If the team disagrees on the priority buyer because the evidence is weak, customer research should usually come before a large identity project. Brand strategy helps frame the questions. The answers come from customers.
Keep researching after launch. Track how the language changes as the company moves from early adopters to larger institutions. Procurement at scale may need a different story from the one that worked for a founder-led pilot.
A useful persona is a decision brief
For each priority stakeholder, capture eight things.
- Role in the decision.
- Desired outcome.
- Current workaround.
- Main risk.
- Required evidence.
- Likely objection.
- Internal language they use.
- Next action you need from them.
The team can act on every line.
Tell us what needs to move.
Bring the brief if it is clear. If it is unclear, tell us where the work is stuck.
Bring us the problem
