I’m currently taking an Advanced Jobs To Be Done course, and one of the recent videos about B2B specifics hit me at just the right time. It confirmed something I’d experienced and thought of but couldn’t articulate before.
In B2B, the product itself often takes a back seat. What really matters are the relationships—networking within the industry, the sales team’s connections, and a deep understanding of and connection with the decision-makers in target companies. This realization wasn’t immediate for me, but looking back on my experience in B2B, it makes sense why the end user often isn’t the focus. Unlike in B2C, end users in B2B usually don’t have much say. They’re handed a product chosen by decision-makers and are expected to use it (whether they like it or not, whether it solves the problem or not).
The decisions these key stakeholders make are often driven more by personal needs than by the product’s ability to solve business problems. For example, imagine a company invests time and money testing a product, only to find it fails to meet expectations. Instead of admitting the failure and facing criticism and trying to find a better option, decision-makers may feel compelled to push forward and sign the contract to avoid blame. The sunk cost becomes their justification, and as a result, the most competitive or user-friendly products don’t always win.
What truly motivates decision-makers? Often, it’s emotional jobs like risk avoidance—minimizing the chance of being blamed for a poor choice. Business needs like KPIs and metrics provide the framework, but personal incentives are the driving force behind the decisions.
Take Boeing as an example. Until recently, they stuck with Skype—not because it was the best tool out there but (probably?) because switching platforms was expensive, disruptive, and required forming new relationships and workflows.
This understanding has reshaped how I view product management in B2B. Customer development here is less about uncovering user needs or jobs to be done and more about navigating relationships with decision-makers. It’s a process that demands significant time and effort, making it a natural fit for integrating sales efforts early on (so maybe when you do research you might as well try to push for sale).
That said, even in B2B, a strong platform matters in the long run. Relationships may get you through the door, but the product has to deliver value to keep you there.
For someone like me who’s passionate about growing as a product manager, this insight has been a bit of a crossroads. While B2B offers unique challenges, I’ve realized that to sharpen my skills and truly evolve, I need to explore B2C projects (or even B2B2C, like Stripe). Stripe is an excellent example of where the end user plays a critical role. I use Stripe as a business to handle payments for my customers, but I’m also a user myself, configuring the system. A smooth experience is essential for both me and my customers.
Interestingly, B2B companies with active founders often have an edge—founders tend to focus on real metrics and team needs, not just personal risk aversion.
Behavioral economics suggests that decision-makers in organizations often prioritize minimizing personal risk and avoiding blame over strictly optimizing for business goals. This dynamic shapes many B2B decisions, as personal incentives frequently influence choices more than objective metrics.
I used to think success in B2B was all about the product. Now, I understand how relationships and human motivations shape decisions and I am glad I’ve learned this—it’s a perspective that will definitely help me in future opportunities.
