# B2B Customer Research: How to Find and Recruit the Right Interview Participants **By [Dr. Kari Jääskeläinen](https://testbeforeyoubuild.com/about-kari-jaaskelainen/)** Published and updated 17 September 2026 Useful B2B customer research starts with the people whose experience, authority or constraints matter to the decision. Define those people precisely, build a defensible prospect list and recruit participants without confusing convenience, seniority or enthusiasm with relevance. ## The short answer Define the decision first. Translate it into participant criteria, separate buyer and user roles, identify more suitable prospects than the required interview total, approve the list before outreach and track who accepts so the final sample still reflects the intended market. ## Why participant recruitment matters An excellent interview with an irrelevant participant produces precise information about the wrong market. Recruitment is part of the research design—not an administrative step. B2B buying decisions may involve users, managers, budget holders, technical evaluators, procurement teams, compliance specialists and external partners. The correct participants depend on the assumption being tested. Customer discovery interviews normally use purposeful selection: participants are chosen because they have relevant experience, roles or circumstances. The aim is depth and decision relevance, not a statistically representative estimate of an entire market. ## Define the right B2B participants Set criteria for: - organisation: industry, size, geography, business model and operating environment; - role: user, manager, buyer, evaluator, procurement professional or partner; - experience: recent exposure to the problem, workflow, purchase or implementation; - situation: relevant trigger, constraint, current solution or consequence; - authority: knowledge of use, influence over requirements or budget responsibility; - exclusions: conflicts, missing experience or unsuitable markets. Separate users, buyers and decision-makers when their incentives differ. Use short factual screening questions to verify role, recent experience, current approach and involvement in the decision. ## Where to find participants - Company websites and team pages. - Professional networks. - Industry directories and associations. - Conference programmes and specialist events. - Partner and supplier ecosystems. - Existing customers and contacts. - Carefully controlled referrals and snowball recruitment. - Research panels or specialist recruiters. Use several sources when one source would overrepresent a particular network, company type or point of view. Keep a prospect register showing why each person qualifies and which customer group they represent. ## A practical recruitment process [Read the customer discovery interview questions, process and evidence guide](https://testbeforeyoubuild.com/customer-discovery-interviews/). 1. Define the decision and participant groups. 2. Set coverage goals for important roles or segments. 3. Create observable inclusion and exclusion criteria. 4. Build a prospect list larger than the interview target. 5. Review and approve the list before outreach. 6. Contact prospects in controlled waves. 7. Screen and schedule eligible participants. 8. Track contacted, qualified, scheduled, completed and replaced participants. 9. Document inaccessible groups or change the design deliberately. [Read how participant relevance and segment coverage affect the number of interviews needed](https://testbeforeyoubuild.com/how-many-customer-interviews/). ## Outreach principles A good invitation explains who is conducting the research, why the person appears relevant, what the discussion concerns, how long it takes, how information will be used and whether the interview will be recorded. Make clear that the invitation is for research rather than a disguised sales call. Personalisation should establish relevance, not simulate familiarity. Follow applicable privacy, direct-marketing and organisational rules. Avoid excessive follow-up and make declining easy. Compensation may be appropriate for specialist participants or substantial time commitments. An incentive compensates time; it does not convert an unqualified respondent into a useful participant. ## Protect sample quality - Do not fill the sample with the first people who reply. - Do not replace senior buyers with junior users when the question concerns budget authority. - Do not rely only on existing customers or the founder’s network. - Do not merge distinct roles simply to report a larger total. - Do not allow one organisation to dominate a market-wide study without a reason. - Do not hide inaccessible groups; report what their absence means. If intended buyers remain unreachable, that may itself be commercially relevant: the future sales process may face the same access problem. ## Frequently asked questions ### How do you find B2B customers to interview? Start with explicit criteria, identify relevant buyer and user roles, build a prospect list from several appropriate sources and screen each prospect against the agreed target definition. ### Who should take part? Participants should have relevant experience of the problem, workflow, purchase or adoption decision. Depending on the project, the sample may include users, buyers, evaluators, managers, procurement professionals or partners. ### Existing customers or new prospects? Both can be useful. Existing customers explain adoption and use; independent prospects show whether findings extend beyond current relationships. ### How many prospects are needed for 20 interviews? There is no universal conversion rate. In the standard service, Dr. Kari identifies approximately 30–40 suitable prospects for client approval before outreach, then recruits 20 participants. ### Should participants be paid? It depends on the audience, purpose, local norms and organisational rules. Any incentive should be disclosed and handled consistently. ### Why use an independent interviewer? Participants may be more candid with someone who is not selling the solution. An independent interviewer can apply consistent questions and probe contradictions without the same personal investment in a preferred outcome. ## Independent B2B customer research The standard project includes target definition, approximately 30–40 prospects for client approval, recruitment, 20 interviews, transcripts, evidence analysis, a written report, recommended changes and a BUILD, CHANGE or KILL recommendation. Fixed price: €2,900 + VAT. Typical timeline: approximately 2–4 weeks. Larger projects can be scoped separately. [Submit your idea](https://testbeforeyoubuild.com/#contact) or [see the validation service](https://testbeforeyoubuild.com/market-validation-services-pricing/). ## Sources 1. [Harvard Business School: Customer Discovery Basics](https://entrepreneurship.hbs.edu/Documents/Session%20Summary/HBSRock-Customer-Discovery-Final.pdf) 2. [Palinkas et al.: Purposeful sampling](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4012002/) 3. [DeJonckheere and Vaughn: Semistructured interviewing](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6910737/) 4. [U.S. National Science Foundation: NSF I-Corps](https://www.nsf.gov/funding/initiatives/i-corps)