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What are B2B market research questions and why do you need them?

A post that describes B2B market research questions and why you need them

GrapeData
Feb 16, 2023
B2B market research

Introduction

If you're new to B2B market research questions, here's what you need to know. Consider a persona-based approach to developing B2B market research questions. Avoid asking too many open-ended B2B market research questions. Think about how the timing and format of your B2B market research question can influence the response. Make sure your B2B market research questions are clear and specific. 

What are B2B market research questions

B2B market research questions are a way to find out what your customers want, what they think about you, and how you can improve your business.

They're different from B2B buyer persona questions because they don't focus on one individual or company. Instead, they're aimed at understanding the needs of the entire target audience (in this case, businesses).

B2B market research questions are an essential part of the design process. They help uncover needs and demands, which further inform the design of products and services.

If you're new to B2B market research questions, here's what you need to know:

  • There are two types of B2B market research questions: primary and secondary;
  • Primary research is conducted through surveys or interviews with actual customers;
  • Secondary research involves analysing existing data from other sources (such as public records).

B2B market research questions are important because they help uncover needs and demands

Through discovering needs and demands, B2B market research questions can further inform the design of products and services.

  • Market research questions help you understand your audience. Understanding who your customers are is an important first step in developing a successful product or service. The more information you have about them, the easier it will be for you to tailor your offering accordingly. B2B market research questions are used to gather demographic data (e.g., age range, income level) as well as psychographic information. Researchers can use this type of data as part of a study or analyse it by itself depending on what questions were asked during the survey process.
  • Market research questions help you understand the market. Knowing what other companies offer gives insight into how different products fit into existing categories within an industry vertical. By asking these types of questions during surveys, businesses can get answers quickly.

Consider a persona-based approach to developing B2B market research questions

Let's talk about a persona-based approach to developing B2B market research questions.

Personas are fictional characters that are based on real people. They help you understand your target audience and focus your B2B market research questions. Personas also help you write better copy for your website, create more effective marketing campaigns, and build better products or services. In addition, they can also improve the user experience of your product or service.

The most important thing about personas is that they make it easier for you to communicate with potential customers. This is because they represent real people who have problems that need solving (or want something).

Avoid asking too many open-ended B2B market research questions

Open-ended questions are useful for getting background information and general insights. However, they're not the best way to get specific answers.

When you ask an open-ended question, your respondent has a lot of room to talk about whatever they want. This can be good or bad depending on what you need. On one hand, this gives you a more comprehensive picture of their thoughts and feelings. On the other hand, it takes up more time because there's no limit on how long someone can talk about something.

If time is limited (which it usually is), consider asking some closed-ended questions first. In this way,  you can quickly gather all the necessary information before moving on to more in-depth research methods like focus groups and interviews with experts.

Think about how the timing and format of your B2B market research question can influence the response

The timing of your survey is important. If you ask questions about how satisfied customers are with a product or service, for example, you may get different answers if the survey was conducted right after they received it rather than if it was done six months later.

That's why it's important to think through how long ago a customer had their experience with your company and what kind of influence that has on their current opinions. It's also worth considering whether someone who just barely interacted with your business will be able to give accurate feedback about their experience versus someone who had multiple interactions over time with many different people.

Survey length matters too! It's up to each research team to decide how many and what questions should go into surveys. However, most researchers tend towards using shorter surveys because they're easier than longer ones. 

Make sure your B2B market research question is clear and specific

Here are some tips to make sure that your B2B market research questions are clear:

  • Use clear language. Avoid jargon and acronyms, and make sure you're using the right word for what you want to say.
  • Be specific. Don't ask multiple questions in one. This can lead to confusion and provide inaccurate data, or no data at all.
  • Avoid double negatives (e.g., "I don't think that..."). They're confusing for everyone involved!
  • Don't use words like "always" and "never". Instead of asking if something happens "always," ask how frequently it occurs (e.,g., monthly, annually). And avoid asking questions like "Do you ever do this?" Instead, try something like "How often do you perform these tasks?"

Why do you need market research questions for B2B sectors

B2B marketing research questions are an essential part of your business. They help you understand what products and services your customers need, how they use those products and services, and why they buy from you instead of the competition.

This information can be used to improve your marketing strategy. You can get a better idea of who your target audience is, what their needs are, how much money they're willing or able to spend on certain items etc. This means that by asking the right questions before launching any campaigns (whether it's inbound marketing or outbound), you'll be able to make more informed decisions about where best to spend your time and resources.

The main reasons to create market research questions

B2B marketing research questions are important because they help uncover needs and demands, which further inform the design of products and services. If you're new to B2B market research questions, here's what you need to know:

  • The key difference between B2C (business-to-consumer) and B2B (business-to-business) sectors is that in the former case, customers are individuals; whereas in the latter case, customers are companies or organisations.
  • This means that your products or services need to be tailored for different kinds of businesses with varying complexities. Thus, there will likely be some level of customisation involved when designing them based on their needs.

B2B market research questions are important because they help you understand your audience. They also help you understand the needs of your customers and what they want to buy.

You may think that this is obvious, but it's not always easy for companies to figure out exactly what their customers want from them. A lot of times, people inside a company will have opinions about what their customers need based on how they themselves would use something. However, those opinions aren't always accurate. The best way to get an accurate picture of what people actually need is by asking them directly.

How to get the best B2B market research questions

To get the best B2B market research questions, you need to ask the right people. You need to find people who are knowledgeable about your industry and understand what it's like from their perspective.

If you're not sure where to find these people, try looking at social media sites like LinkedIn or Twitter for potential candidates. Once you've got some names in mind, reach out via email or phone call (if possible) with an invitation for an interview. Additionally, don't forget about incentives!

A great set of B2B buyer persona questions can help you uncover what your target audience really cares about

They can also help you understand how to reach them, how to engage them, and ultimately how to sell more products or services.

A buyer persona is an imaginary representation of a group of potential customers with similar characteristics who share common goals, needs, and behaviours. You can create buyer personas by researching the demographics, behaviours, and buying patterns of groups within your target market that share similar concerns or needs (for example: "small business owners").

How to write B2B market research questions

You can use an outline or template to help you create your B2B market research questions. A good outline is:

  • Clear and concise, with no unnecessary words or phrases
  • Easily understood by all members of the team who will be working on it 
  • Based on your objectives for the project - if they aren't clear, then neither will be your outlines!

You'll also want to remember that when creating your questionnaires, don't use jargon or assume anything about what people know about their industry or product category. This means phrasing questions in plain English and avoiding industry-specific terminology unless absolutely necessary (like when asking about competitors). Finally, try not to ask yes or no questions; they tend not only to limit responses but also don't give much insight into why someone chose one answer over another.

What should you include in B2B market research questions

You should include the following in your B2B market research questions:

  • Specificity. The more specific you can be, the better. If you ask a question like "What do consumers think about our product?" it's hard to get an accurate answer because there are so many variables involved. Instead, try asking something like "How likely would you be to purchase our product if it cost $10 more than it does now?" or "What do you think about our current pricing model?"
  • Open-ended questions versus closed-ended ones (or multiple choice). Closed-ended questions allow respondents only one response option while open-ended ones allow them free choice over their answers. These questions are great when trying to get specific data points such as demographics and location information since they force people into answering in a certain way without allowing them any flexibility in their responses. However, they aren't ideal when gathering opinion data because they don't allow respondents enough room for creativity or expression.

More points to include in B2B market research questions

  • Open-ended questions are best for uncovering the underlying reasons behind a particular business decision.
  • Closed-ended questions are best for obtaining specific answers, such as "How many employees do you have?" or "How much revenue did your company generate last year?"
  • Multiple-choice questions can save time during an interview, but they can also lead to bias if people feel pressured by their choices (which may not reflect their true feelings). Use them judiciously!

B2B market research questions should be written by a wide range of professionals, including:

  • Marketing professionals. You may be the best person to write your B2B market research questions because you are familiar with the products and services you offer, as well as how they compare to those of competitors.
  • Sales professionals. If you're tasked with helping salespeople increase their productivity, then it makes sense that you would also write their B2B market research questions so they know what information they need from potential customers before making calls or meetings with them.
  • Executives and executives within an organisation who will be overseeing projects related to customer acquisition (e.,g., marketing managers) should also consider writing these B2B market research questions because doing so gives them an opportunity to understand what kind of data needs collecting before beginning any new initiatives.

Effective question writing can help turn your B2B buyer persona into a useful guide for your marketing and sales teams

Before we dive into the details, let's first take a look at what a B2B buyer persona is and why you need one.

A B2B buyer persona is a fictional representation of your ideal customer. It includes information about their company (size, industry), job title and responsibilities, challenges they face in their role, how they use technology to solve those challenges, where they go for help, and more importantly why they do all these things. This last part is crucial because it helps us understand what makes our target audience tick: what motivates them? What are their pain points? What keeps them up at night? The answers to these questions can help us craft better messages that resonate with our prospects' needs. Learn more about pain points in this post.

More information on buyer persona can be found here.

Conclusion

We hope this article has given you some ideas on how to write effective B2B market research questions. The key takeaway is that there are no hard-and-fast rules when it comes to questioning writing. You should always consider what your target audience needs and wants when developing new B2B market research questions. In this way, you can uncover hidden opportunities for innovation and growth in your industry. If you enjoyed reading this article, you might also want to check out: How to write B2B market research questions.

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