Net some new knowledge
Editor's note: Bruce Peoples is principal at Peoples Marketing Insights, a Roswell, Ga., research firm.
Most of my strategic marketing and insights background is in consumer products brand management, which I have found to be very useful in my current role as a qualitative insights consultant. This classical marketing training gave me a framework to understand and help solve my clients’ marketing challenges, regardless of the industry or category. So when I started getting requests to conduct B2B marketing research, I was a little uncertain – both about the best methodologies to use and how B2B research might differ from traditional consumer-products insight generation.
While one could write another article about the differences between B2B customer marketing and research and consumer-products marketing and research, I think a strong argument can be made that there exist more commonalities than differences between the two. Both require companies to identify a core target audience; both require their products or services to be clearly positioned and differentiated in the minds of their end users; and both should have features and benefits that appeal to their target audiences on functional and emotional levels. As for differences between the two, they usually fall under the marketing strategies and tactics used to reach the target audiences and to generate insights.
One tactic that I have discovered to be effective in generating customer insights for B2B products and services is what I call the catch-and-release one-on-one interview. (The name for this approach presented itself – literally – on a sign adjacent to the Chattahoochee River while I was fishing with a friend one day.)
Targeted list
The catch-and-release interview is a one-on-one interview via phone with a targeted list of B2B customers. It can last anywhere from 10 to 25 minutes. Participants are usually decision makers, influencers and/or end users. They might include procurement or purchasing managers; engineers or maintenance personnel at industrial or manufacturing companies; or programmers or software engineers at technology companies.
There is a hierarchy of responsiveness among respondents. Current customers and business partners – distributors, brokers and manufacturers’ reps – are more willing to share their thoughts and suggestions and spend 20 to 30 minutes with the researcher. Former customers, customers lost in the selling process or potential customers are a tougher catch and will likely only give you 10 minutes of their time. But, it is usually a very valuable 10 minutes.
This approach differs from in-depth interviews in that you usually do not need to make an appointment – you complete the interview when you get the respondent on the phone the first time; hence the name. And what each interview may lack in depth is more than made up in breadth (i.e., the quantity of interviews you complete – often 30 or more, depending on the scope of the project).
Another key difference and advantage vs. longer IDIs is low cost – only once in the last 60 interviews have I needed to provide an incentive. Most respondents in the B2B world are more than willing to share their thoughts and opinions, especially when the client is identified. They often appreciate the opportunity to be heard. As for recruiting costs, most clients already have a list of current or lost customers in a database, while the list of potential customers is usually part of their lead-generation efforts.
Further, there are no travel costs involved for the researcher or the client. Travel savings can be applied to bring the researcher and the client together either at the outset of the project or at the end for the final presentation. Utilizing the phone not only saves money but also allows the researcher to reach participants anywhere, including global locations.
Just about any product or service
I have found catch-and-release interviews to be an effective method for generating insights around voice-of-the-customer or customer satisfaction issues, as well as feedback on just about any B2B product or service. Issues I have successfully explored include understanding how a product is used and how it performs; product positioning and differentiation; service responsiveness and the ability of the client to solve the customer’s problems; sales force effectiveness; customer pain points; perceived value (and pricing); company and brand (often one and the same) imagery and reputation; and competitive intelligence on all of the above.
One of the strengths of this approach is the breadth of coverage (e.g., 30 interviews or more). This gives you a lot of rich feedback and data on all of the elements mentioned above – and often on things your client was not aware of – the aha moments. For one client, I uncovered the specific towns in Canada where they should locate their offices to best serve certain industries.
The primary drawback of this approach is the limited amount of time with the respondent. These are not pre-planned, appointment-made, in-depth interviews and therefore they may not generate the deepest of insights. However, those factors have not prevented this approach from delivering deep insights, due to the sheer number of interviews (30 or more). Also, one advantage of this sequential approach is that as you progress, you uncover new issues or layers around issues that you can then add to your discussion guide and probe with subsequent interviews.
Given the short interview time, you can cover no more than six to 10 topics. This is a good thing, however, in that it forces all parties to focus on what matters most. For some respondents, usually current customers, you can schedule the interview on their calendar, which will provide you with more time to generate deeper insights.
Context and insights
I recommend beginning the project with internal interviews, usually with the client’s sales, marketing or product teams. This approach provides the interviewer with an understanding of the client’s business model and products and services; and context and insights around the issues to be addressed. It prepares the interviewer to then move on to the external interviews.
A thorough briefing from your client, one that provides a solid understanding of the products and services they offer and their features and benefits, is important too. The researcher should meet with the internal customer – not just the research or marketing manager – and be prepared to ask them questions. This will enrich your understanding of the business challenge and project objectives. Ask for a list of the acronyms you will encounter during the interviews so you are prepared to speak the respondents’ language and have an informed discussion with them.
A good list of targeted customers is also critical for success. Clients may ask you to interview current customers, former customers, customers lost in the selling process or potential customers. Current customers are the easiest to gain an interview with, as they more likely have a stronger relationship with the client. If contacting potential or former customers, the list needs to be long – the researcher should plan to have to make anywhere from 20 to 40 phone calls to get one completed interview. The researcher needs patience and persistence in today’s world of voicemail and endless meetings that keep people away from their desks. I usually do not leave messages and I keep a log of all calls made so that, if for example I reach a different or wrong person at a number, I won’t call them again.
I have been impressed with the quality and accuracy of the lists clients have provided. Sales database tools that have come into usage in the past few decades – salesforce.com, for example – are making this part of the job a lot easier. Also, the lists of sales leads provided by outside vendors are impressive in their scope and accuracy of names and phone numbers of target industries, companies and contacts and their titles.
Sets the tone
A great elevator speech is critical to success and sets the tone for the interview, which you really want the respondent to perceive more as a conversation. I type my elevator speech up in large fonts with lots of space between phrases and lay it out in front of me when I make the call. And I constantly refine it as I progress through the interviews. Your speech should begin with you identifying yourself and your research company name. I then add, “I am calling on behalf of [client company name].”
I recommend a transparent, non-blind approach. I have found being transparent has several advantages. Knowing the sponsor allows the participant to focus in the product or service – and his or her needs in that area. Transparency puts the participants at ease – who wants to share valuable business information with an unknown entity, who might be working for a competitor? It also establishes trust between the moderator and the participant – I’m not trying to hide anything. For brands that are less-established, it increases awareness and can impart goodwill, as some participants are impressed that a company will make this level of effort to learn more from their customers. An e-mail invitation from a V.P.-level person at the client firm lets respondents know you will be calling.
I inform the participant that the conversation will be recorded. I have not had anyone object; I usually say that recording will free me from taking notes and thus slowing us down and will save the participant time, though I do make as many notes as I can as quickly as I can.
I treat these calls as if they were a sales call, in that the person on the receiving end – a buyer or purchasing manager – would expect me to know a thing or two about his or her business. Preparation beyond the elevator speech really helps, so Google and Google Maps have become my friends.
I recently completed a project interviewing engineers in Canada. My middle-school children knew more about Canadian geography than I did. So I looked up the target company’s Web site and their location prior to making the call. Demonstrating this knowledge with the participant early in the interview puts you on a higher level and makes everything easier – it shows you made the effort to learn about their business prior to the call, which they appreciate.
As an example, one call was to a respondent who I discovered (via Google) had worked at an old, coal-fired power plant that was built in 1972. This knowledge allowed me to probe on issues relevant to this type of customer and to avoid wasting time trying to determine what those issues were. So the conversation focused on how old the equipment was, which I knew in advance; how reliable the client’s OEM installation was; and how well the client serviced this older equipment over the years – all important topics the client wanted to explore.
Another non-customer interviewee was almost apologetic, in part due to my preparation – he apologized for not being better prepared, even though he had no idea I was going to call! He spent over 20 minutes sharing valuable information.
You will need a good phone with a headset and a good audio-recording tool. I use my landline and a headset, which frees my hands to shuffle papers and take notes as needed. I use a small Olympus digital recorder with an earbud microphone but there are other effective methods, including third-party tools. Find one that works for you.
Understands the challenge
In an ideal consumer research world, a researcher would conduct in-depth interviews in-person, face-to-face. In the B2B world, however, with customers geographically dispersed, that is rarely practical or affordable. By combining old technology – the phone – and modern database technology – targeted, accurate contact lists of customers – with a good qualitative researcher – one who understands the business challenge, the project objectives, the client’s business model and who develops an effective discussion guide – catch-and-release interviews can generate valuable insights for just about any B2B company.