Decision maker
A person with authority to approve, fund, or formally block a purchase. Distinct from a champion who advocates without final power. See interviewing decision makers.
Reference
Glossary for qualitative B2B marketing research
Shared language keeps degrex’s knowledge graph coherent. These definitions are working terms for interviews, observation, friction, and positioning—not legal standards or survey math.
Champion
Internal advocate who drives evaluation but may lack budget authority. Their narrative often differs from the economic buyer’s risk frame.
Category gravity
The pull of a default system buyers use as comparison—frequently QuickBooks in SMB finance stacks. Gravity shapes switching friction and messaging constraints.
Touchpoint
Any moment a buyer encounters a claim, person, or artifact along a decision path. Mapped in touchpoint mapping.
Purchase friction
Unfinished cognitive, procedural, emotional, or switching work that delays commitment. Detailed in finding purchase friction.
Mechanism
A causal explanation for a behavior or hesitation—more useful than adjectives. Core unit of pattern synthesis.
Saturation
Judgment that new interviews in a scoped segment stop introducing new mechanisms. Not a statistical guarantee of representativeness.
Market signal
Public expression of category framing (pages, pricing notes, integration lists). Collected via observation.
Claim candidate
A positioning statement with audience, job, mechanism, and acknowledged risk—ready for stress tests. See positioning from evidence.
Field note
Structured debrief capturing quotes, tags, and hunches after research contact. Practice guide: research field notes.
Term comparison
| Term | Is | Is not |
|---|---|---|
| Qualitative sample | Source of mechanisms | Representative market proof |
| Insight | Falsifiable pattern with receipts | Inspirational adjective |
| ROI claim | Requires measured evidence | Default interview closing question |
| Persona | Optional communication aid | Substitute for role-labeled quotes |
Use this glossary while reading the hub from the homepage. When teams disagree on a word, update the definition before updating the homepage hero—shared language is infrastructure.