B2B Marketing Research: Choosing a Setting
As I said in my last post, I am dedicating my next few entries to the B2B marketing research process since understanding can help you garner valuable findings to use in your marketing strategy. Last time I covered the importance of doing secondary research on your target audience before starting your primary research, and now I’d like to discuss the importance of considering where to do your primary research.
I suggest interviewing your target audience in their own space, if possible. This makes the interviewees feel more comfortable, allowing them to open up, which in turn can lead to more valuable findings. It also means they’ll have “their stuff” around them so, if they describe something to you, they might be able to physically show you an example of it right then and there. Or, if they think of a certain way your product or service might be useful, they could pull in other people and have a quick brainstorming session about whether they agree, disagree, or want to come up with a whole new suggestion altogether.
In addition to making the interview better, being in your target audience’s space can also create additional benefits. For example, what sort of space is it? Is this a warehouse with a retail front where you could advertise your product? If so, think about how and what promotional materials work within that space; see if you could even take pictures to bring home to the creative team. Always ask for a tour, too – you never know what you might observe or how many additional people you might meet who could be helpful to you in the future. And finally, be on the lookout for anything your competitors do; if this is a space where you can promote your product or service, and your competitors already are, you’re already at a disadvantage.
Remember, the entire research process is influenced and shaped by the researcher, and your findings depend on the design and research plan you create. So before interviewing your target audience, think about the setting; it’s a very important decision that can greatly influence whether or not you collect valuable information you can utilize in your B2B marketing strategy.
Vann Morris is the Director of Buying Behavior Studies with the Atlanta B2B advertising agency, MLT Creative. She is a Social and Behavioral Scientist who is currently working on her PhD in Communications, and uses her strong theoretical background in order to show how scientific theory should be used to develop strategy and effective B2B marketing campaigns.
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