B2B surveys in 2022

Let’s start with defining B2B surveys. Essentially B2B surveys are a list of questions designed to get information about various industries. These surveys not only extend to industries but also products and services. B2B surveys can be conducted to find out information about market entry, product expansion or behaviour patterns. For instance, you can conduct a B2B survey to target professionals who have been dealing in cryptocurrency in the past year. In this way, you can get data from on the ground individuals. The B2B survey can then shape your research or investment strategy. But, you might be wondering how to do this? You can find out how exactly to run a B2B survey in our blog post.

In general, online B2B surveys have gained a lot of popularity in 2022. Technology like AI and geolocation based surveys, have made it possible to run B2B surveys very quickly. In the next section, let’s look at why B2B surveys are so popular.

Why are B2B surveys so popular and who uses them?

B2B surveys are important for several reasons. However, their main purpose is to get streamlined data for research purposes. The goal of the B2B survey could be other than research also. The business who is using the B2B survey could use the data for decision making. This decision making process could be a rebranding strategy based on customer opinions, or a choice about which business vendor to go with. 

Besides decision making, B2B surveys offer many other benefits. They are a quick and easy way to get all the data you need at one place. What’s more, these days there are online panel providers that can conduct B2B surveys. Panel providers like us, streamline the B2B survey project entirely. Survey programming and scripting, recruiting B2B survey respondents and data collection are all taken care of. 

Let’s switch gears to talk about who uses B2B surveys. Anyone ranging from PE firms, management consulting firms to healthcare companies can use B2B surveys. We recently did a case study on real estate managers who used B2B surveys to pick the right software option for their company. Since the UK housing market has been uncertain this year, these managers wanted to make forward-looking predictions. Through a B2B survey of real estate software users, GrapeData was able to provide actionable insights in just four days. Similarly, there can be many such cases of businesses that need B2B surveys. The concept can extend to any organisation, in any industry. 

What is B2B market research and how is it conducted?

Let’s kick off by defining B2B market research. Fundamentally, B2B market research is the process of collecting information about what your business consumers need. This could extend to topics such as customer behaviours, perceptions, product or market fit, brand awareness. Therefore, market research is just a broader tool that B2B surveys use. In other words, B2B surveys are just a tool of the bigger picture of market research. 

Statista reports that the revenue of the market research industry was $76.4 billion dollars, on a global scale in 2021. The year before, North America and Europe accounted for a large portion of revenue gains. Clearly, the B2B market research industry is booming and will continue to rise in the future.

Now, let’s discuss how market research is conducted. In 2022, arguably the most used method for market research is the internet. Even on the internet, online surveys have become extremely popular. This is because online surveys hardly take 10 or 15 minutes to complete and are an easy way to get data. Therefore, online surveys are one easy and popular way to conduct market research. At GrapeData, we have 300k contributors on our platform, who receive online surveys specific to their profile. If you are looking to target B2B survey respondents, submit an enquiry on our contact page.

One of the ways to conduct market research is online B2B surveys, but there are many others. The other method is focus groups, which are slightly less popular today. Focus groups are conversations held with a group of people to gather their opinions. This could be about a new product launch, for instance. Another method for market research is field experiments or trials. In this method, there is an independent variable that is controlled to see the impact on the dependent variable. For example, the independent variable could be certain rules and regulations that are the norm in an organisation. The researcher could control this variable to see whether employees actually follow it (dependent variable). A lot of publicly available data such as government databases can also be a good base for market research. Government databases or public research organisations can grant access to market researchers.

To sum up this section, we looked at what B2B market research is, the revenue of the industry and some of the ways it is conducted. 

B2B Market Research and B2B survey Trends in 2022

In this section, we discuss some key trends in B2B market research in 2022.

1. Fast and productive results

In today’s world speed in B2B market research has become vital. As a result, traditional market research methods like focus groups are dying. This is because businesses need to act fast if they want to stay ahead of the competition. To get the first mover’s advantage, market research needs to be conducted quickly. Here, online B2B surveys are a major advantage as they offer speed and flexibility. 

2. Using the internet to get valuable data

Social media offers a wealth of information for market research. We know that today, for most people, social media is almost as necessary as breathing. For businesses conducting market research, social media can open many doors. They can gather data through forums and platforms to see how customers behave. If you’d like to have more information on how we conduct B2B surveys and recruit respondents, contact us sales@grape-data.com.

3. Types of respondents

Traditionally, market researchers have been careful to choose a representative sample. You might be wondering what a representative sample is. Essentially, in statistics it is defined as a proportion of the population that shows its characteristics. However, in 2022 there has been a shift towards more diversity and inclusivity in market research. Researchers are now considering how best to include diverse respondents. 

4. Data automation

Data automation in market research is expected to increase. With the pandemic, all market research methods had to shift online. Technologies like IOT, AI and ML that were already on the rise in 2021, are predicted to be used more than ever. Manual methods of data collection, if still used, are likely to go extinct. Data based business models are likely to rely on even more automation, in the future. 

5. Qualitative and quantitative research

In the rest of the year, qualitative and quantitative research is expected to be combined more. In the past, market researchers have defined two types of research approaches. The first one is qualitative, where research is based on opinions, judgements and ideas. The second is quantitative, which as the name suggests, is based on numbers rather than opinions. For 2022, it is likely that we will see a combination of both approaches. Using a mix of both, we can solidify numerical research findings with qualitative information. In this way, the market research can have a more solid base. 

‍ Final thoughts

To summarise, we looked at the meaning of B2B surveys, their popularity and major users. We discussed that B2B surveys are a tool for market research. Additionally, businesses, market researchers and marketers are major stakeholders in B2B surveys. Then, we touched on the concept of B2B market research as a whole. We saw that there are many ways to conduct market research: experiments, observations, surveys and focus groups. We also talked about how market research is going to evolve in 2022. Few key trends are the rise of upcoming technology, the need for quick information and personalised insights.

If you are interested in conducting B2B surveys, GrapeData has got you covered. We are a tech-based online survey provider, with a focus in niche B2B and B2C audiences. Through personalised targeting, we make it a point to provide the best pool of survey respondents for your project. Follow us on our LinkedIn page to stay up to date with our activities.