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6 min

A guide on how to conduct TMT B2B market research

TMT b2b market research: guide on how to run this type of research

GrapeData
Oct 20, 2022
TMT
B2B market research

Introduction to TMT b2b market research 

The telecoms, media, and technology (TMT) sector is one of the most dynamic industries in the world. It's also one of the fastest-changing and most competitive industries. In today's digital world, businesses are constantly evolving to keep up with changing customer expectations and needs. Thus, the TMT sector comprises a group of emerging technologies, and companies in this industry often depend on heavy research and development investments. 

When conducting market research for any business, it's important to understand what your audience needs so that you can provide them with more value in return. Conducting TMT b2b market research allows you to gain insight into what people think about your products or services as well as their expectations from them in the future. 

A brief on the TMT sector 

TMT is a term used to refer to the telecoms, media, and technology industries. These are industries such as media and entertainment, telecommunications, computers and electronics, and information technology. The TMT sector is a broad one that encompasses many different sectors. There are many different companies that fall into the TMT sector. Some of them include Apple, Google, and Amazon. These companies all provide products that we use on a regular basis, such as smartphones and laptops.

Over the last two years, we've seen this sector evolve, shaped by new opportunities, trends and technologies. Deloitte Insights recently put together a collection of outlooks focused on each sub-sector in the TMT industry. These insights ask critical questions and recommend a set of strategies to tackle challenges in the future. For instance, one recommended strategy is to responsibly capitalise on technologies as the line between the real world and the virtual one thins out. Read more about the insights here

In 2021 alone, the value of tech deals worldwide had reached $3 trillion, according to a report by GlobalData. This was largely due to high volumes of activity in the TMT sector. Read more on the report here. Let’s switch gears to talk about market research in the TMT sector. 

Market research in the technology, media, and telecoms sector

Market research is the process of collecting and analysing data to identify needs, opportunities, and threats. It helps companies determine their strengths and weaknesses in relation to competitors. Market research enables companies to find out the size of the market they are operating in, as well as its growth potential, by understanding customer needs, preferences, and purchasing behaviour. It also allows companies to understand other key players in the TMT industry, so they can know how best to position themselves.

How to conduct TMT b2b market research

Before you begin to develop your goals and strategies, it is important to define the problem you want to solve. This will help you stay focused on building a solution that works for you rather than adopting one designed by someone else. In the next paragraph, we will discuss how to define a research strategy in the context of TMT market research. 

One of the first stages in conducting TMT b2b market research is your target audience and their needs. Next, you can move on to identifying pain points or challenges they face in achieving their goals. Then, you can determine whether there are any gaps in existing solutions available on the market. Based on these plans, you can then come up with an action plan to conduct TMT b2b market research. With GrapeData, conducting TMT b2b market research is easy. Our database of 300k+ contributors allows you to be armed with actionable insights from knowledgeable individuals. 

When deciding to conduct TMT b2b market research, first decide your objective

Is it to discover the current market scenario or expectations of future trends? If you want to know what's happening right now, you might want to conduct a survey or an interview. If your goal is to find out how people think about the future and what they expect will happen over time, then maybe you'd be better off with a focus group discussion or a one-on-one interview.

Once you've decided what kind of research method would be best suited for your objective and timeframe, then determine how long this study should last by considering who will participate in it (sample size). Additionally, consider where they'll come from (sample selection method), at which points in time during this period those participating will provide their input (interval), etc.

Pinpoint your audience. 

What are the demographics? Age group, job roles, etc. You will need to know who your target audience is in order to focus your efforts on the right people. Your demographics describe the characteristics that make up an audience, like age group, gender, and education level. It's important to know these details because they can help you narrow down the specific needs and wants of a particular group. For example, if you're targeting people who are OTT platform users but within a certain age group, you'll need TMT b2b market research insights when deciding which media channels to use.

This will aid in choosing the right survey design and structure questions accordingly

The right survey design and structure questions will help you get the right answers. A poorly designed survey is ineffective as it does not provide adequate information needed for analysis and reporting. The aim of conducting a TMT b2b market research is to gather high-quality data from target customers so that useful insights can be derived from it. This means that the survey must be clear and concise, unbiased. In addition, the survey should not contain any leading questions or ambiguous statements that could influence responses. For a guide on B2B survey questions to ask, check out our recent blog post. 

Decide on a sampling method

Do you want to take a random sample of your audience or target everyone? Deciding on a sampling method is the first step in TMT b2b market research. The best method is to use a random sample, as this will give you the most representative results of your audience or target population. However, if you know your audience well (for example, if they all have similar characteristics) then a targeted sample may be useful as well. To decide which method is right for you, think about what type of information you need and why it's important. If it's critical that your study reflects every type of respondent at large (e.g., male-female ratios), then go with random sampling. If not, then consider using a targeted sampling method instead.

Choose a research agency partner with experience in conducting TMT b2b market research and setting up solutions for TMT companies

When thinking about a research strategy, choose a survey research specialist that has experience in conducting TMT b2b market research. A few things to consider when choosing a survey specialist are listed as follows. First, they should be able to set up quick solutions for brands and conduct surveys with large sample sizes. Second, they should have a good reputation in the area of TMT b2b market research, and they should be transparent about their methods.

Conduct a pilot test if required by running the surveys with a small sample size which can help you evaluate your results

Pilot tests are used to evaluate your survey questions before you conduct the full study. They can provide feedback about how much the participants understood and how much effort they put into answering the questions. A pilot test is an online or offline survey with a small sample size (usually 100-500 people) that helps you evaluate your results before launching the larger-scale research project. It is important to understand if key concepts are clear and easy for respondents to answer, or if respondents need more explanation upfront about what’s being asked of them.

You can also learn about wording issues that could bias responses or cause confusion in later stages of the project when more people take part in testing. In addition, use pilot tests as an opportunity to ask additional questions related to your topic but not included in your final questionnaire so you can gather more information while still using up only a portion of your budget and resources needed for launch day. 

Scale up if results are promising

If not then tweak the study and re-evaluate before going live with the survey. If the results are promising, then scale up the study by adding more questions and participants. You can also choose to add more surveys to the same sample of people. This is done in order to obtain a comprehensive view of their behaviour. If the results are not promising, then tweak your study further and re-evaluate before going live with the survey. You can ask for a free sample of the research report before deciding whether you should scale up your research efforts or abandon them altogether.

Always think about the quality of information over the quantity while conducting any research

When conducting market research, it’s important to know where you should focus your attention. While the quantity of information is not as important as the quality, it does serve an important purpose in the long run. When conducting b2b market research, for example, it’s easy to get caught up in a sea of numbers and statistics without actually knowing what those numbers mean or how they can help your company. In these situations, you want to make sure that you are getting answers from qualified sources and not just anyone who might offer insight into your business needs.

Conclusion

When conducting TMT b2b market research, it is important to keep in mind the above points. The last thing you want is to start off on the wrong foot by choosing an agency partner with no experience in conducting such surveys. Similarly, if your objective is to find out what consumers think of a product or service, then make sure you choose the right sample size which can help achieve this goal.

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