{"id":63384,"date":"2021-05-04T12:12:40","date_gmt":"2021-05-04T10:12:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/visionarymarketing.com\/?post_type=glossary&p=63384"},"modified":"2023-05-26T07:58:12","modified_gmt":"2023-05-26T05:58:12","slug":"market-studies-in-b2b","status":"publish","type":"glossary","link":"https:\/\/visionarymarketing.com\/en\/glossary\/market-studies-in-b2b\/","title":{"rendered":"Market Studies in B2B"},"content":{"rendered":"

There are many methods for conducting market studies in B2B. The quantitative questionnaire (or survey) is a widely popular used method.\u00a0Cases that are often more applicable require B2B market surveys.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Below we describe the associated tools and methods most suitable for B2B marketing.\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Market studies in B2B: Survey Methodology<\/h1>\n
\"Market
Market Studies in B2B: surveys methodology<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Conducting B2B Marketing Studies in 11 steps<\/h2>\n
    \n
  1. The first step is to describe the objectives<\/strong> of your market study in a few points; a maximum of two to three main points for a good survey. Avoid piling up the objectives.<\/li>\n
  2. Once the objectives have been set, you need to define the total population<\/strong> of your survey. To do this, match this definition with the objective established in the first step.<\/li>\n
  3. The third step is to conduct a preliminary study <\/strong>on a few individuals (10\u201312 people) in order to come up with a few hypotheses. In doing so, you will now have a good foundation for your work that will be tested later on.<\/li>\n
  4. Once you have identified these hypotheses, you need to formulate them clearly<\/strong> (based on step\u00a01), describing very clearly the points you want to confirm, clarify, or even deny. In this step, you must proceed without prejudice, take into account that anything could happen, and keep all your options open before you have analysed all the answers.<\/li>\n
  5. The next step is to write the questions<\/strong> with great care. The more you practise, the better. Your writing should be as understandable as possible, make sure to avoid any bias in your questions.<\/li>\n
  6. Followed by deciding what\u00a0type of survey fits best for your needs<\/strong>: online surveys are more common today than face-to-face interviews (at a trade fair for example, over the telephone, through video conferences\u2026).<\/li>\n
  7. Once the questionnaire is ready, the next step is to do a test run<\/b>. Start by putting yourself in the conditions of the respondent and then, find a dozen respondents to test your survey. This will correct 80% of the obvious errors of bias, logic and wording.<\/li>\n
  8. Before releasing the final version of your survey, you still need to determine your sample size so that it is representative of your population<\/strong>. Keep margins of error<\/a> in mind.<\/li>\n
  9. To administer your survey, ask the questions in a clinical way to avoid biases<\/strong>. Interviewers are expected to withhold a trained professional position. Plan to send a reminder in case of a self-administered questionnaire. Otherwise, online tools allow for a follow-up of non-respondents. Non-responses have particular importance as they are a good indicator of the quality of your questionnaire.<\/li>\n
  10. When you are at the analysis stage, if the survey permits it and the sample is large enough, use cross-tabulations (or cross-tabs)<\/strong>. Remember to remain cautious in your analyses and always back up your results with proper data references.<\/li>\n
  11. Lastly, in your report, start with an \u2018executive summary<\/strong>\u2019. Avoid biased conclusions, and support these with charts and analysis to minimise prejudice. A good way of structuring your results is to compare them to your original hypotheses. Avoid \u2018politically correct\u2019 conclusions that please everyone but do not reflect the reality of the product, the market or the customers.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    The Limitations of Theoretical Approaches<\/h3>\n

    In B2B, the target population tend to be smaller and harder to reach than in B2C. Hence, the samples tend to be smaller and more expensive to build. It is, in fact, more difficult (if not impossible) to obtain representative samples as sometimes not all the statistics are available.<\/p>\n

    Note: Decision-making processes depend on the size of the company you are dealing with. The larger the business, the more complex the decision-making process. When complex processes are involved, your market study brings generic results. Moving forward, a targeted account plan is necessary customer by customer (account plans are some sort of individual market research on large companies). This is where ABM<\/strong> (Account Based Marketing) comes into play.<\/p>\n

    Trends and Innovations<\/h3>\n

    Nowadays, Computer-Aided Web Interviewing (CAWI) is mainstream.<\/p>\n

    Amongst the tools available on the market, Google Forms are offered for free. Its interface is simple, intuitive, responsive design, and you can also retrieve the data in Google Sheets. However, Google Forms will never compete with professional solutions such as SurveyMonkey, Qualtrics, Typeform or SurveyGizmo.<\/p>\n

    These solutions offer advanced team management features, the download of templates, survey customisation and reporting.<\/p>\n

    Tools and Methods<\/h3>\n

    There are several types of surveys:<\/p>\n