Introduction

B2B decision making surveys will help you understand your customers and prospects better. They will also help you identify areas for improvement, so you can tailor your products or services to meet their needs more effectively. In order to get actionable information from your surveys, however, it is important to follow some best practices when designing them. Let's have a look at some of them below:-

Some best practices if you're running B2B decision making surveys

To get actionable information from your surveys, you need to be strategic about how you word them. Here are some best practices for creating effective survey questions:

• Use specific language. If a question asks for an opinion or rating on something, make sure that it's crystal clear what the respondent is being asked to rate or evaluate. For example, instead of asking "How would you rate the quality of this product?" ask "On a scale of 1-5 (with 1 being poor and 5 being excellent), how would you rate our product?" This way there's no confusion about what exactly it is that people are assessing when they give their scores.
• Use the right tone in your survey questions. Also, don't forget about tone when writing any other content related directly or indirectly to your surveys! Think about whether there are certain words or phrases that could skew results based on your target audience's personality type(s).

Make the respondent feel comfortable and confident

In order to make sure that your respondents feel comfortable and confident, it's important to make sure that you are honest and upfront about the purpose of your survey. You should also ask for permission to contact them in the future if necessary. Below is an example of language you can use:

• "We are conducting this survey on behalf of XYZ company. As part of this research project, we need to collect some basic information about our customers/clients/partners so that we can better serve their needs in the future."
• "We would like to keep in touch with you about new products or services that may be relevant to your business interests."

Once a respondent has agreed (or refused) to participate in B2B decision making surveys, there are several ways that you could go about contacting them again.

You can:

• Ask them to share their opinions.
• Remind them that they are the experts.
• Ask them about your product or service. For example, "How do you feel about our new product?" or "Have you tried our new service yet? What did you think of it?" You can also ask more general questions like "What are some areas where we could improve?" or "What would make our company stronger?" This will give people an opportunity to share ideas with you without feeling like they're being put on the spot. You'll be surprised at how many great suggestions come back from this type of survey!

Gain their trust by asking for their expert opinion

In order to gain their trust, it's important that you ask for their expert opinion. This can be done by making them feel comfortable and confident in your survey. You could also share quantifiable results with them to show how much you value their time.

Make sure that everyone knows when progress updates will be shared so there are no surprises later on down the road. This helps build trust between both parties involved: yourself as well as those who took part in completing your survey(s). Also, respond quickly whenever questions arise from participants. It shows accountability and integrity on behalf of everyone involved.

Share quantifiable results to show how you value their time

Once you've collected the data, it's time to share it with your respondents. You can share results with individual respondents or their companies. You might also want to share your findings with third parties such as other survey respondents or even the general public.

The best practice here is to do what's most convenient for everyone involved, the respondent, their company, and yourself.

If you're looking for a way to share your B2B decision making survey results, it's important to remember that there is no one-size-fits-all solution. You need to consider what your goals are and how the results will be used by everyone involved.

Provide progress updates about your B2B decision-making surveys

Once you've finished a survey, don't forget to thank the respondent and ask for feedback. They've taken time out of their day to submit responses and provide insight into their needs and preferences. Therefore, it's important that you show them some appreciation for doing so! You could also ask if there's anything else they'd like to add or any other information that would be helpful for you in completing the project.

Respond quickly to questions and concerns

When conducting B2B decision making surveys, it's important that you respond quickly to any questions or concerns that may arise. This will show your respondents that you are attentive, which can help increase the likelihood of them completing the survey fully.

If someone asks a question, answer it as soon as possible! It's also important not only what you say but how fast you say it; responding in a timely manner shows trustworthiness and reliability on behalf of both parties involved in this process.

Responding quickly shows that you value your customers' time and want them to be satisfied with their experience with your company, which can help build trust and loyalty. When someone has a question, answer it as soon as possible so they don't have to wait for an answer or feel ignored. 

The way to draw stronger conclusions from your B2B decision making surveys

Let's have a look at some additional best practices for conducting B2B decision making surveys:

• Have a clear goal. Before you begin your survey, it's important to know what you're trying to achieve. You should also know how the data will be used. This will help you make sure that the questions in your survey are relevant and useful for answering those goals.
• Make sure there's an outcome in mind. Once again, this ties back to having clear goals. If there isn't an outcome or action item tied to the results of your B2B decision making surveys then why bother collecting any data at all?
• Make sure it's relevant to your business! If someone else has already done their own research on this topic, consider whether or not their findings apply before moving forward with yours.

Key questions to ask in B2B decision making surveys

As you prepare to conduct B2B decision making surveys, there are some key questions that you should consider.

• What are the most important factors that influence your business decisions?
• Do these factors change over time and from one industry sector to another?
• How do these factors compare with those of other companies in your market segment or vertical industry?
• How many decision-makers are involved in the buying process?

There are two main factors that determine the answer to this question: industry and company size.

In some industries, like technology or finance, there may be fewer than 10 people involved in making a purchase decision. However, for most other industries (including healthcare), there will be at least 15 or 20 people involved in making a purchase decision.

The number of people who are part of your B2B buying process also depends on whether you're selling to large companies or small ones. The more employees there are at your target company, the more likely it is that they'll have multiple decision-makers involved in making purchases (and thus require multiple surveys).

Worldwide Business Research suggests that in a company that has 100-150 employees on average 7 people are involved in the B2B buying journey.

• What is the average duration of a B2B purchase cycle?

The typical B2B purchase cycle can last anywhere from 6 to 12 months. The average length is 6 months, but this number varies depending on industry and other factors. For example, a company that sells industrial equipment may have a longer sales cycle than one that provides consulting services.

A B2B purchase decision can be made for multiple reasons. Either the customer wants to upgrade their current system or technology, or they're looking for a more cost-effective solution than what they currently have in place. The amount of time it takes to make the final decision depends on how many stakeholders are involved in the buying process (e.g., your client's management team). It also depends upon what kind of research needs to be done before making any decisions (e.,g., comparing different providers' proposals). 

Find out if B2B decision-makers are satisfied with their current suppliers

Are B2B decision-makers satisfied with their current suppliers?

This question is a great way to find out if your company is meeting the needs of its customers. It can also help you understand what your target audience is looking for. This process will help guide future marketing efforts and improve customer satisfaction.

If you're selling products or services that are meant to be used together with other products, then this question can help identify gaps in the market. If there aren't many competitors offering what you do, then there may be an opportunity for expansion or new product development!

Discover how B2B customers perceive your company with B2B decision-making surveys

The first step in the process is to determine what information you need. You may already have a good idea of what questions will be most helpful, but if not, consider asking:

• How satisfied are you with our products and services?
• What do we do well? Where can we improve?
• What would make our company better than our competitors' brands in your eyes?
• How can we improve our customer service?
• What do you like about working with us?
• What would make your experience with our brand better?
• Are there any products or services that we don't offer that you think would be valuable to you?

What is the profile of your ideal B2B customer?

When you're creating B2B decision making surveys, it's important to know who your target audience is. It will help you design the questions and give you insight into how they might respond. You should have an idea of the following for your ideal B2B customer:

• Age
• Gender
• Education level
• Job title
• Company size (number of employees)
• Industry
• Location
• How do they use the product or service currently? Do they like using it? What would they change about it if given an opportunity?
• How do they feel about competing products or services?
• How does your company compare to competitors in terms of price, quality, etc.? 
• What is the most frustrating thing about using this product or service?
• How could it be improved?
• Do they like your brand’s logo or designs? Why or why not?

What key factors influence the decision-making process in B2B companies?

In a B2B environment, the decision-making process is influenced by a number of factors. Some of these may be obvious, while others may not be as clear-cut. The following list includes some of the most important determinants:

• Price - It goes without saying that price will play a major role in your customers' decisions to purchase your product or service. However, it's not just about having the lowest price; there are other considerations as well.
• Quality- You want to ensure that your product or service offers high quality at an affordable cost.
• Service - Your customer service team should provide excellent support throughout every step of their experience with you.
• Brand recognition or reputation - Customers who have heard good things about your brand are more likely to trust what they hear from others who have used it before.

Conclusion

If you want to get actionable information from B2B decision making surveys, you need to be strategic about how you word them. Make the respondent feel comfortable and confident, gain their trust by asking for their expert opinion, and share quantifiable results to show how you value their time. Provide progress updates so that they can see what stage their responses are at; respond quickly to questions and concerns; or even offer an incentive for completing the survey (like an Amazon gift card). These best practices will help you collect more data so that you can draw stronger conclusions from your B2B decision making surveys.

If you enjoyed reading this post, you might also like: ‘5 steps for creating successful B2B decision making surveys’