What research helps identify segments, their needs, and decide your build/buy/partner strategy? And how do you share those insights?

I recommend doing a mix of both quantitative and qualitative market research to augment your customer data analysis. For quantitative, you can run market research surveys targeting your core segments to understand needs, buying behaviors, etc. I recommend augmenting that with qualitative interviews of your core buyer personas. You can use different interview panels to find people that fit your core ICP.

All of these insights can be used to create buyer personas, there are several different templates out there. The best ones are the simple ones that drill down into things like needs, challenges, buying triggers, and behaviors.

As part of vertical segments, I also recommend analyzing the tech ecosystem and competitive landscape, there are tools out there that will curate that data for you. This should help you better understand who you’re competing with, and what gaps you can potentially fill. Understanding the tech ecosystem should also help you understand which products might be complimentary to yours, where you can tell a “better together” story, for co-marketing opportunities!

Here are some options that I've used:

Customer & Market Research

• Customer Interviews & Jobs-to-Be-Done (JTBD) Research

  • Conduct interviews with customers, prospects, and lost deals to uncover their key pain points and goals.

  • Use the JTBD framework to understand why they seek a solution:

    • It starts with "When I [situation], I want to [goal], so I can [desired outcome]."

  • Example: A revenue leader might say, "When I need to forecast my quarterly revenue, I want to aggregate pipeline data from multiple sources, so I can predict if my team will hit quota without relying on manual spreadsheets."

• Win/Loss & Competitive Analysis

  • Review sales deal data to analyze which segments competitors win in and why.

  • Identify common objections and competitor strengths.

• Industry Reports & Analyst Insights

  • Use Gartner, Forrester, IDC, and CB Insights to validate market demand and segment growth potential.

  • Assess budget allocation trends and adoption curves.

• Firmographic & Technographic Data

  • Analyze customer CRM data, LinkedIn, Clearbit, and ZoomInfo to map out:

    • Company size, industry, and geographic concentration.

    • Common tech stacks and integration needs.

Product Usage & Data-Driven Insights

• Product Telemetry & Feature Adoption (if you can)

  • Analyze in-app usage data to identify what customers use, ignore, or workaround.

  • Example: If 40% of users export data to spreadsheets, it signals a gap in built-in reporting—a potential build, buy, or partner opportunity.

• Support Tickets & NPS Feedback

  • Identify recurring customer complaints that indicate missing capabilities.

• Sales & Partner Feedback Loop

  • Use sales and partner teams to collect real-time feedback from deals on customer needs.

2. Deciding Whether to Build, Buy, or Partner

Once you understand the segment needs, apply a decision-making framework:

Build (Develop In-House) If:

• It’s a core differentiator that strengthens competitive advantage.

• Your team has the talent and resources to build it efficiently.

• The segment’s need is urgent, and time-to-market is critical.

Example: If forecasting accuracy is a key value driver for your platform, building an AI-powered forecasting engine makes sense.

Buy (Acquire a Solution) If:

• The feature is not core to your value proposition but is still critical to customers.

• A competitor already dominates the space, making it hard to build from scratch.

• The market is mature, and buying accelerates your time to market.

Example: If customers demand advanced security features but it’s not your core focus, acquiring a security company can quickly fill the gap. (naturally)

Partner (Integrate or Co-Sell) If:

• Customers already use and trust another solution for this need. Co-marketing and joint sales motions give immediate credibility and market access.

• You need speed to market without heavy R&D investment.

• It augments your value proposition without diluting your core roadmap.

• When core functionality is similar across vendors, a strong partner network can add unique value beyond product features.

Example: If customers rely on Snowflake for data storage, a deep integration instead of building your own storage solution may be the best move.

3. Sharing & Operationalizing Insights

To ensure insights drive action across teams:

Stakeholder Reports & Briefings

• Present findings in structured briefs for Product, Sales, and GTM teams (e.g., segment needs, competitive gaps, market trends).

• Use data-backed recommendations with clear ROI implications for each decision path (build, buy, or partner).

Live Strategy Discussions & Collaboration

• Hold quarterly GTM & product strategy meetings to refine priorities based on research.

• Maintain a shared dashboard or intelligence hub (e.g., Notion, Confluence, Klue) to keep insights accessible.

Sales Enablement & Execution

• Translate findings into battlecards, sales playbooks, and messaging frameworks aligned to segment opportunities.

• Adjust marketing narratives and demand-gen focus based on validated customer pain points.