Question

Topic: Research/Metrics

B2b Market Research - This Is Killing Me

Posted by Anonymous on 11/8/2004 at 8:59 PM ET 125 Points
I'm the marketing manager at a 75-person software company that sells to a very specific business-to-government niche. About a year ago, I said to my boss "We make enormous strategic decisions based very little information. We should do some market research."

He didn't seem too keen at the time, but a couple of weeks ago he said "Here's $40K. Get some market research done. I want it done by the end of the year."

(He's kinda like that.)

I'm not sure how to proceed. Mostly, I'm not sure how to get good value for my money. My goals for the market research aren't too lofty -- in each market segment, learn more about what the business pains are, how our customers make decisions, how they view the various vendors in the market, and so on.

I'm concerned that my $40K is going to be small potatoes to a market research firm, and it'll get me a couple of hastily-assembled focus groups that won't tell me anything I can't find out myself with a good list of questions, a telephone, a pencil and a pad of paper.

(Another problem is that I'm not convinced that our sales team has the organizational chutzpah to act on what we discover out. Maybe that's a posting for another day...)

In the meantime, I'm hoping someone can give me advice on how to proceed. What are the dangers of attempting "home-grown" market research? What are the benefits of going with an outside firm?
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RESPONSES

  • Posted on 11/8/2004 at 10:42 PM Member
    A few reactions.

    First, don't rely on focus groups. They don't cost much, and they're usually worth what you pay for them. They're good when you want some subjective, qualitative input, but useless if you're going to actually make real decisions based on them.

    So much for that rant.

    Second, you might consider a baseline habits, pracitces, usage, and attitude survey among a projectable base of users and prospective users. What you would do is create a questionnaire (phone or mail, depending on the advice of your market research supplier) that asks about what people do now, what products/suppliers they value, why, what they don't have that they wish they did, etc. Administer the questionnaire to a projectable sampling of your target audience.

    That should not only provide some good input for product development and other marketing mix decisions, but it will also become a baseline for measuring the success of what you end up doing. You simply repeat the same questionnaire next year, using the same approach, and compare results from year to year.

    Hope this helps. Let me know if you want some suggested suppliers. I know a few who do a really good job of stuff like this. (They are US-mostly, as far as I know.)
  • Posted by Carl Crawford on 11/8/2004 at 11:44 PM Member
    hi dave,

    DONT AWARD ME ANY POINTS

    i am a frist year marketing students so..... i dont have much of an idea about what to do.

    BUT you are the perfect candaite for the NEW feature of marketingprofs "The Prohect board".

    You should email the moderator to find out more, Your question is PERFECT for the project board

    Have a nice day

    Carl Crawford
  • Posted by Blaine Wilkerson on 11/9/2004 at 11:49 AM Member
    Great advice above.

    One of the primary benefits of outsourcing aside from objectivity is the fact that doing so will allow you to focus on your current duties and you won't have to take the time to learn how or take the RISK of doing improperly. You have a scapegoat (the consultant) if something doesn't pan out to your boss's satifaction.

    I would be very interested in discussing the details with you and provide assistance any way I can. Please send me an email to discuss (just click on my name).

    Thank You!
  • Posted on 1/28/2008 at 2:55 AM Member
    Why marketing research is fast growing in b2b service industries?
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