As a research agency specialising in both consumer and B2B research for our PR agency clients, we know a thing or two about developing and executing successful research projects.
It’s far too easy to approach B2B research projects in the same way as one does consumer research. Ie, choose a compelling topic that links to the brand’s offering and is genuinely interesting to consumer media, and go out with quantitative research to yield data which explores and expands on the area.
This is because we are all consumers and – working in PR – we all have a thorough understanding of what does, and doesn’t, work as a news story.
So we’re coming from a position of expertise and developing a theme for a survey for consumers can often come quite naturally and organically.
B2B research can be very different however. When constructing a PR research project for a B2B brand, it’s key to get to know its – often very niche – audience inside out.
First off – who exactly is your target audience? Very often for B2B research, the focus is on C-suite individuals – but are they the ones who are actually making the decisions that relate to whether you get a sale or not? Liaison with internal sales teams and desk research can bring this group into focus.
Once the audience is identified, we need to dig deep before coming up with our research topic.
What are the business issues your audience faces? What do they think of you vs your competitors? What are the barriers in the way of them choosing to buy your product? And what experts do they turn to for advice – including trade media?
Also, what are the wider issues the industry as a whole faces? The brand will have a perspective as a purveyor in its sector, however the customer audience may have a whole different view.
A deep dive into the views and insight of your target audience is the first step in B2B research – and this means qualitative research first, focusing on a small, hand-selected panel.
Once this is undertaken, the information gained will help you develop your quantitative research project – which is what will make the project robust, significant and newsworthy.
At Perspectus Global, we offer B2B research packages involving qualitative and quantitative research in just this way. For more information on how we can help with your research needs, get in touch at info@perspectusglobal.com.