How a B2B Market Research Agency Can Give You an Edge
Standing for business-to-business, B2B market research firms provide analytical services relating to companies that transact business with other companies. Market research is the process of collecting and interpreting data about a particular market sector, and B2B market research firms use commerce data to achieve a wide range of objectives. B2B research agencies work to create market separation and provide relevant market data to offer a better understanding of the sales relationship in the client’s target market. For example, the Small Business Administration reports approximately half of all small businesses fail within the first five years. These types of figures are complied by market research companies that work with B2B organizations in the private retail and wholesale as well as government sectors. Here are a few of the ways a B2B market research firm can give your business an edge on the competition:
1) Market Analytics
Analytics involves using automated computer data collection programs to find patterns in marketing data and consumer behavior. Marketing analytics capture, interpret and map data from a wide range of online sources and can cover anything from statistical modeling to artificial intelligence. The data is then used to help businesses understand their competition’s products and sales points. The data is used to determine what products are in the greatness demand and which companies are involved in the production, acquisition, sales and distribution of those goods and services.
B2B market research agencies then use proprietary marketing analytical tools to analyze the data and extrapolate how a specific company can best tailor their business practices to stay ahead of its competitors by providing marketers with project planning guidance and long-term support.
2) Social Media Marketing
Social media plays a huge role in today’s fast-paced marketing world by permitting companies to connect with consumers as well as with other businesses. Most companies utilize some type of social media in some manner when making sales and purchasing decisions or promoting their company to other businesses.
One of the most common and successful uses of social media channels is to collect B2B market research data, and one of the best B2B marketing research methods for social media is a split test. Commonly referred to as an A/B test, split testing is a marketing experiment where an audience is divided in half, and each section is shown a variation of a campaign to see which campaign performs better. A/B testing is just one-way social media can be used to increase your business’s online footprint and an experienced B2B market research agency can show you how to take full advantage of your online presence to attract other businesses.
3) Improve Market Understanding and Business Strategy
No company is an island unto itself, as all businesses buy or sell goods or services to other businesses in some manner. Even if a manufacturer sells their products directly to consumers, that business must still source its components from other companies. One of the most difficult things for a company to get right in B2B marketing is to obtain a comprehensive understanding of the rapidly changing B2B landscape.
Additionally, companies must create a successful strategy for connecting with other companies in a timely manner. An example that illustrates the importance of these two points is the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. In a matter of months, the world went from doing business as normal to shutdowns and lockdowns and a supply chain crisis as store shelves went empty virtually overnight. Businesses from across many sectors that produced crucial goods needed to move fast to alleviate shortages and produce extra medical supplies. In situations like this and many others, a B2B market research firm is an invaluable resource for providing insight in helping to determine changing market trends on the fly to help keep your business from falling behind in the supply chain infrastructure.
Conclusion
For a business to succeed long-term, market research must be a continuous process and not something that is done only once. B2B marketing is vital as most organizations outsource at least some of their products or services either to or from other companies. For companies that want to keep pace with their competition in the marketplace, an experienced B2B market research firm is an invaluable asset in providing a competitive edge.
