A lucid motive underpins research: to find out what people think, feel and do. It’s this simple yet powerful idea that’s driven countless groundbreaking revelations and discoveries over the centuries, and more recently in the world of marketing. While the basis of research is unchanging, the continuous advent of techniques and tools means the practice is ever-evolving – add to that the past decade’s worth of technology and, for B2B marketers, the practice is almost unrecognisable.
This, in part, explains why the industry is in the need of a mindset shift when it comes to research. The authority placed on statistics comes with great responsibility; all too often it’s used as a means of confirming biases and bolstering an individual’s standing. So how can marketers ensure they’re not only conducting research for the right reasons, but also using the right ingredients for best effect?
Tools, technology and the changing face of B2B research
Historically, B2B research was quite straightforward. Researchers would use telephone interviews for hard numbers or in-depth interviews and focus groups for qualitative results – but technology changed everything. Andrew Dalglish, director of Circle Research, put this dramatic shift into context: “When we first set up Circle Research 10 years ago, close to 100% of our qualitative activity would have been through telephone interviews. Nowadays it’s 90% online and 10% telephone.” So what does this new 90% comprise of? Well, according to Andrew, there are three main areas.
1. The emergence of online communities
Through online communities, researchers can invite their target audiences and hold ongoing discussions. The dynamic group format enables participants to bounce around ideas organically while the researcher takes notes.
2. The emergence of real-time insights
Researchers can glean in-the-moment insight untarnished by memory. With a mobile app, for example, participating B2B decision-makers can keep a diary, take photos of situations of interest, and log specific activities and provide commentary. This provides researchers with an ethnographic view of their target.
“As marketers, we’re in the behaviour-change game,” says Katherine Almond, head of B2B insight at Bray Leino. “We absolutely need data. But the over-reliance on hard figures risks decisions being made without genuine insight into the subtleties that underpin these behaviours.”
3. The liberalisation of data
Research agencies of yesteryear would store project data in its masses – the volume and complexity meant the findings were difficult to access and interpret. Nowadays portals can be used to store data visually, enabling researchers to interrogate and analyse without hardship.
Overcoming innate human biases
While these tools and techniques have transformed the process, there are challenges facing any research process due to innate human biases. The first concerns the person the research is performed on, and is a particular problem in B2B. Andrew explains: “People tend to over-rationalise, and not always have true insight into what they do and why they do it. They may genuinely believe they understand their motives but an unconscious motive is leading them to act in a certain way.”
The second is the confirmation bias of the researcher. This crops up when the researcher makes an assumption on what people think, feel and do, and bases a line of questioning around exploring those assumptions. The likely result is merely a confirmation of those assumptions.
“To get around the first, there are various questioning and statistical techniques to get under the skin of the unconscious drivers of behaviour; probing beyond that superficial way,” Andrew adds. “For the second, before designing the research, have an informal discussion with the subjects. A good example is a customer satisfaction survey. Making assumptions on what customers want is OK but that’s relative. So we would talk to the customers and find what that client assumed was only half of the matter.”
"As marketers, we’re in the behaviour-change game. We absolutely need data. But the over-reliance on hard figures risks decisions being made without genuine insight into the subtleties that underpin these behaviours."
Navigating the B2B committee
Beyond those unconscious biases, there are further hurdles reserved specifically for B2B researchers. The space is infamous for its decision-making committees; marketers need to work out who exactly they’re targeting within a group before constructing messages. Take the IT purchasing decision, for example.
It would be wrong to assume the CIO is calling the shots; it’s more likely they’re simply signing off the budget. In fact, the IT director is likely to have the biggest sway, but their decision is influenced internally by their team – while also being lobbied by end users – and externally, by experts, analysts and consultants. On the surface, finding the root in this convoluted process appears an insurmountable task, but there are ways around it.
“The first step is to map out the decision-making unit,” explains Andrew. “Don’t just think about the person rubber-stamping the decisions; ask who’s making the recommendation to that individual. And then find out what’s guiding the individual who’s making the recommendations. Do they have a team that’s informing the decision? Do they have end users who are lobbying them for a particular solution?”
It’s also important to analyse separately the groups within the wider unit. The CIO is more likely to be ROI-focused with wider strategic goals, whereas IT teams have operational concerns.
Convincing the time poor
Senior marketers are time poor and financially secure; the worst combination for researchers. This is compounded by the fact that, in a B2B environment, they often have commercial restraints with regards to the sharing of private information, and are subsequently guarded by gate-keeping PAs. Despite these barriers, researchers have developed manoeuvres, explains Andrew.
1. Leveraging relationships
When performing research on an existing customer, you’re able to sell the benefits of them taking the research: “Tell us what you need and we’ll serve you better.”
2. Offering valuable information
Give them information they couldn’t access unless they took part in the research. As well as covering the issues core to the project, offer to include questions about the challenges they’re facing. With these findings, produce a short side report exclusively for participants.
3. The last resort: Financial incentives
Charity donations work to an extent, but financial incentives are the least powerful of these three persuasive tactics. Always consider how that payment might appear to the world – will it fall foul of bribery rules? But regardless of whether it’s compliant with the law, think about the insinuations people might make if it was made public.
Harnessing its potential
Research will continue to govern our rational decisions as the practice becomes more sophisticated. Qualitative information is complimented by ethnographic research; quantitative is supported by behavioural analysis. It seems the biggest gap left to fill is in the people in charge. Researchers need to strike a balance between taking an academic approach – a focus on techniques and methodologies – and acting on the commercial imperative. Never forget that the reason an organisation is doing research is to guide a business decision to achieve a competitive edge.
