Editor’s note: Margaret F. Morich is co-founder of Consumer & Professional Research, Inc., a Chicago-based, full-service marketing research firm. Morich's special expertise is in the area of data collection. Over the past 20 years she has managed research projects in virtually every major industry classification including health care/medical, pharmaceutical, automotive, financial/insurance, printing, paper, packaged goods and food products. Morich is a graduate of Regis College and has completed advanced course work in behavioral psychology at the University of Pittsburgh.
The country's most successful packaged goods manufacturers have long-standing reputations as innovators in the use of marketing research. They understand the value of using consumer research to fully develop their marketing potential.
Today, the same opportunities are available to manufacturers of industrial and business-to-business products. More and more successful industrial manufacturers are developing and using well thought out research programs for their product lines. These companies have recognized the value of marketing research to their business growth. At the same time, they also recognize that there are inherent differences between consumer research techniques, and research designed to meet their special needs of industrial marketers.
This article addresses 10 topics which I feel will contribute to efficient, smooth running and productive business-to-business research projects.
1. The objectives (or information needs) of the research must be reasonable ones. That is, it is important to avoid the pitfall of trying to address too many issues in one research project. It is far better, and often far more efficient, to separate the research into several modules. In this way, specific questions can be directed to the specific respondent segments most qualified to supply the answer.
2. A significant proportion of industrial manufacturers use two-step or three-step distribution networks for their products to reach the end-users. Therefore, it is imperative to target the research to the unique profile of each important aspect of the distribution channel. Each level of distribution, and even specific segments within each distribution level, have a very different set of needs and use a very different set of criteria for evaluating a manufacturer.
3. Be certain that the person targeted is a viable respondent to the research and knowledgeable enough to answer the survey questions. Never assume that a job title defines a responsibility area.
4. A knowledgeable research firm can be a tremendous help in completing a quick "screen" or top-line assessment of incidence of qualified respondents in the sample pool. The pertinent question becomes, "How do we find the 'right' respondent?" Published lists, directories or customer account profiles are frequently available. However, they are often inaccurate and out-of-date. Frequently it gets down to using "search and find" techniques to locate and qualify key respondents. That is, it is necessary to keep asking very specific screening questions until you reach the person within an organization who is best qualified to provide the answer.
5. On business/industrial research projects, it is sometimes necessary to use a smaller sample base size because of a limited universe. However, my experience shows that this does not present a serious problem because the sample base represents such a high percentage of the total market. Traditional statistical reliability does not make sense nor is it an important issue among these markets.
6. Data collection methods for business/industrial research depend primarily on the nature and source of the information base and the sampling requirements of the study. Telephone interviews work well when gathering opinions that are easily verbalized, where information needs are not too extensive, and where sampling reliability is important. Mail surveys are most useful in situations where the questions can be a check-list or when specific company records need to be accessed to answer sections of the questionnaire.
Individual, personal interviewing is often the most viable format with high level corporate executives or professional persons, or when the topics of the interview are highly confidential. Focus group sessions are an attractive option for situations where respondent interaction is desirable. It is not uncommon to combine different data gathering techniques among the same respondent base.
7. Use research firms/data collection facilities that have a mature, intelligent and experienced interviewing staff. When the wording of the questionnaire must be followed exactly, it is still important that the interviewer sound professional. This is an intangible that gives the study a sense of propriety. Also, interviewers on business-to-business or industrial topics frequently express themselves individually when trying to establish rapport with receptionists, personal secretaries or executives who require special handling. In these cases, a skilled interviewer can increase respondent cooperation and leave callback opportunities open.
8. Using the sponsoring company's name also gives validity to the survey and significantly increases respondent participation. Although individual responses are kept confidential, it makes good business sense to have your customers know how valuable their opinion of your products and services are to your company.
9. A professional person has limited time to give to a market research study, and it's important to respect this time and to see that it is used productively. For that reason, pretesting questionnaires for both length and semantics/content are an important aspect of industrial research surveys. A small number of individual, in-depth interviews, or one or two focus group sessions will usually pay big dividends.
10. User incidence figures and/or market share estimates for industrial products are often erroneous or not available at all. In many instances, this leads to unrealistic cost and timing estimates for study completion. In these situations, there is no substitute for a good client-supplier relationship.
Business-to-business/industrial research is coming into its own as an aid to corporate decision-making for manufacturers of business-to-business products. Research firms are also becoming more comfortable with its anomalies, and executives/professionals are getting accustomed to the notion of participating in marketing research studies. By using these 10 suggestions, marketing research among professional target markets can be even more productive.