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Market research supplement
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Go to www.b2bm.biz
Knowing me, knowing you
The digital revolution is having a fundamental impact on all aspect of B2B marketing, and
market research is far from immune. But as Brett Matthews discovers, despite all these changes,
traditional research techniques are far from redundant
H
ow well do you understand Inaccessible audiences “In B2B we tend to stick to the
your customers and their Andrew Dalglish is a director with Circle traditional methods of focus groups,
requirements? Are you Research. He says, “Online and digital in-depth interviews and the telephone.
sure you are providing communications have impacted on the This ensures we never compromise the
them with the right B2B marketing arena generally and many value of the information we offer clients.”
products and services? Are your people might have expected a similar
products and services priced impact on research. This is certainly the DIY disasters
competitively enough? Is yours a case in consumer research where online Market research in B2B is a complex
brand that your customers have faith in approaches can be a quick and cost- arena requiring a particular, softly-softly
and would be prepared to stick with effective method of collecting the large approach and in most cases, specialist
through difficult times? volumes of information on which support. Nevertheless, the ease with
Shrewder business owners up will consumer studies rely. which digital communications enable
be asking themselves these and many “In B2B research however, we are business owners to communicate with
other soul-searching questions right talking about an audience – business customers, suppliers and associates has
now – and with good reason. Testing decision makers – that is harder to access led many to cut corners and conduct their
times, so we are told, are just around electronically. Their email addresses are own ‘research’ – often with mixed results.
the corner. Winning new customers not always readily available, they don’t Claire Labrum, chair of Business
in the current trading environment always take kindly to unsolicited Information Group, a trade body
certainly isn’t easy. But that doesn’t approaches and their emails might be representing specialist B2B research
mean businesses can’t be doing picked up by a PA who acts as a professionals, welcomes the fact the web
everything in their power to ensure gatekeeper. So, whilst there is a role for has made some research processes more
their current clients are well and online research in B2B, especially if a pre- accessible, but also sounds a note of
truly on-side. existing relationship exists, there is often caution. “On the one hand online has been
Which brings us in a roundabout no substitute for picking up the phone, a positive thing because it is enabling
way to the issue of market research, a given the importance of building a more businesses to use online research
facet of the business development rapport to persuade individuals to resources,” she says. “However, the main
process that often falls under the participate in research.” issue is that many people think it is easy
marketing umbrella. If you want to Claire Roy, head of research at Kingpin to carry out a piece of online research
ensure your marketing budget is Intelligence, agrees. “We have seen many among businesses – it isn’t.
punching its weight, hitting its targets organisations, especially in consumer “Research tends to be driven by
nd generally being spent in a measured research, turning towards quantitative marketing or sales. The methods and
and cost-effective manner, then a degree research that can be done online,” she questions they use may end up being
of market research is widely recognised says. “At Kingpin, because of the inappropriate and flawed, leading to
as an absolute must. specialist nature of our research, misleading results. People need to
The advent of the digital age 95 per cent of what we do is over the recognise that asking objective questions
however, is seeing the nature of this phone. This provides a greater depth of and looking at the answers to those
specialised discipline undergo plenty of understanding of the client’s target questions in an objective way is a skill.”
radical changes. With the Internet audience and ensures we can collate more Anecdotal evidence from The Market
making communicating with vast valuable information. Research Society (MRS) supports such a
numbers of people that much easier,
specialist operations have – inevitably –
sprung up, offering online polls,
surveys and other ways to gauge
public opinion. As far as consumer
“The Internet has made carrying out your
research is concerned, the thousands
of surveys that frequent cyberspace
own research more tempting. People often
at any one ime offer ample evidence
have the impression they can do it on the
that online would appear to be the
way forward.
cheap, but they need to remember that a
But what about market research
piece of research that is poorly-constructed
in the B2B arena where the target
audience is generally considered, in will lead to amateur results”
research terms at least, a far tougher
nut to crack?
David Barr, director-general, Market Research Society
B2BM SEPTEMBER 08 – www.b2bm.biz
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