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We guide you on the basics of a commercial due diligence survey and how to get the most out of it
You might have heard the phrase due diligence many times in your everyday life. Individuals conduct due diligence at some point, for instance when buying a house. Or you conduct due diligence when you invest in a stock, for example. However, commercial due diligence is slightly different. It is often used in a business context instead of a personal one. Even though commercial due diligence is used in a business setting, its purpose is the same. It is used to minimise risk involved in situations. Due to the large scale needed to do commercial due diligence, you need a systematic approach. This method is known as conducting a commercial due diligence survey.
A commercial due diligence survey is a collection of questions designed to help a company analyse decisions. This is done in different types of business situations. Therefore, each survey will be uniquely designed according to the purpose of conducting due diligence. However, a commercial due diligence survey is just one part of the bigger picture of conducting due diligence. Sometimes, a due diligence report can also be prepared at the end of a commercial due diligence survey.
There are different types of commercial due diligence surveys. B2C commercial due diligence surveys include data on a company’s top consumers, consumer acquisition strategies, and sales channel development. To add to this, they can also include a breakdown of profits by geography and sales channels and demographic information.
On the other hand, you can also conduct organisation level commercial due diligence surveys. For instance, a consulting company wanting to find employee sentiment on retirement benefits can conduct a commercial due diligence survey. To elaborate, the company can add employee headcount, recruitment policies, stock options and pension plans, etc.
Along the same lines, you can conduct commercial due diligence surveys on different subjects.
Nowadays a lot of PE firms and management consulting companies are conducting commercial due diligence surveys. There’s a lot of data that can be gathered about new products and services, new market entries and customer preferences. For instance, GrapeData recently helped a mobile phone company increase its market share through commercial due diligence. A mid-sized mobile phone company needed a competitor intelligence survey to increase their market share. We conducted B2B market research in seven geographies. Through our contributors we were able to gather actionable data for our client. As a result, they were able to get more investment and increase their market share. Learn more about this case study on B2B market research here.
The main reason to conduct a commercial due diligence survey is to reduce market uncertainty. A commercial due diligence survey streamlines and simplifies the process of data collection.
If you want to learn how a commercial due diligence survey can help your business save money, we have a guide on our website. Below we also share some tips on how to get the most out of your survey for commercial due diligence:
An online data collection panel can synthesise the survey project for your business. Consider several factors like project timeline, reward, project goals and cost while choosing a survey provider. At GrapeData, we make the process as easy as it can be. Survey respondents from all industries simply download our app, from all over the world. They get rewarded to complete personalised assignments based on their profile. We also use geolocation and AI to vet our respondents.
Survey programming is defined as transferring the survey requirements into a data questionnaire so that insights can be inferred from it. Whereas, survey scripting is defined as the process of asking the right questions to the respondents. Therefore, survey programming and scripting are essential for data accuracy. The more accurate your survey project is, the better data you get.
You must custom target survey respondents to fit the nature of the survey project. There are many ways to do for instance through social media channels like LinkedIn. The more accurate your survey respondents are, the more accurate your survey project is. Survey respondents have to be gathered and pooled over a period of time. Therefore, ensure that you are taking enough time out of your project, to gather these respondents.
You can also use your own website and CRM base to pick respondents. Include a pop up on your website if it has rough traffic. In this pop up, ask respondents to fill in their contact information. Using this process, you will build a base of B2B respondents. Also, consider using your internal CRM base to pick respondents.
You need to ensure to set the right price for the survey project to attract respondents. Doing so will help you gather respondents quickly. Moreover, you will be able to meet project expectations more efficiently.
Usually B2B respondents are paid higher than B2C respondents. This is because they are harder to find and target. To avoid this, consider incentivising B2B respondents more effectively.
A pilot survey is a test survey before the actual launch. Through a pilot survey for commercial due diligence, you can see if your survey has any errors. These issues can then be fixed, before the launch. Running a pilot survey for commercial due diligence will help boost your credibility as well.
A pilot survey will also help you set the questionnaire correctly. Survey logic and programming can all be double checked at this stage. It will give you a testing opportunity to see how people respond as well.
Always ensure to plan goals and set timely deadlines for your survey project. In a commercial due diligence survey, planning ahead is key for a successful project. To meet the project’s end goals, you will need to plan in advance. A commercial due diligence survey can sometimes be costly and time consuming. Make sure that you have enough time in hand to avoid hiccups.
After the commercial due diligence survey is completed, you need to make sure to analyse data cautiously. Additionally, it’s a good idea to run the data through cleaning processes to ensure consistency. Once this step is done you can use various data analysis tools to get insights.
During analysis, you need to keep in mind the goal of the project. Only then will you be able to analyse data meaningfully. In summary, there are several things to be considered before launching a commercial survey for due diligence. At this stage of the survey project, you will have to think about privacy concerns as well. Ensure that all mechanisms are in place to protect the data from being misused.
In summary, a commercial due diligence survey takes time and money. There are several steps involved in a commercial due diligence survey. The first phase will involve planning the project and setting goals. In the next phase, you will move on to designing the actual survey. The next challenge is to find and recruit respondents, which can be made easy through survey providers like us. Lastly, you will have to complete post fieldwork actions. These include analysing data and maintaining data integrity. Once these steps are perfected, you have the perfect commercial due diligence survey.
At GrapeData, we have over four years of experience in commercial due diligence surveys. We focus on both B2B and B2C global surveys from start to finish. We can help you craft the perfect commercial due diligence surveys. To add to this, we use AI and geolocation technology to get the best survey respondents. We are a technology-backed survey solution that provides B2B or B2C panels for commercial due diligence. Contact us through sales@grape-data.com to see how we can help you.
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