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Utilising Social Media in B2B Research

Ezine - 02/08/2012

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Market research has been relatively slow to adapt to the changing nature of information and the plethora of new opportunities that the internet has created for making physical research easier. Now, however, we are seeing a dynamic shift in what constitutes best practice both in terms of B2C research and B2B market research.

Over 90% of companies now have some form of online presence with the most common being a website. Many companies are not developing their social media presence and many marketing companies are not stressing social media marketing as an integral tool - both in terms of research and branding. However, B2B market researches are increasing their use and the importance they place on social media tools for research and we are beginning to see progress - although it is still somewhat undirected.

Social media is important for B2B market research as it allow customer opportunities to be identified and marketing initiatives to be focused. For B2B purposes Linked-in is the biggest portal for businesses and business professional and this platform allows extensive research to be undertaken quickly and efficiently. The majority of B2B customers will be on Linked-in and will share their personal and company information in a variety of ways. This means that the information for in depth market research is freely available and accessible. This has made research easier in these fields but it has also added a new layer of complexity and analysis. Social media allows B2B research to be conducted more cost effectively and to be conducted across a much wider spectrum than previously. Hard to reach potential customer sections have become easily accessible and often no direct communication is necessary. For your business utilising B2B market research in social media can now be one of the cheapest and most effective ways of conducting any research with company blogs, websites, personnel information and company information being widely available online.

B2B market research needs to utilise social media platforms for company branding as well as customer/client profiling. This is where research is more clouded as in many ways we are still in an experimental stage with how we use social media in B2B communications and customer acquisition. Many companies struggle to find the time to build their online presence and to find enough new ideas and content to keep expanding their social media presence. 43% of all twitter company users have less than 250 followers with only 19% having over 2000. In terms of B2B marketing this might not seem a significant figure but if we take it that 90% of your potential customers are online this shows how hard many are finding it to reach them. This is why extensive B2B market research and B2B marketing is becoming increasingly vital to successful business. Companies cannot ignore where the companies are any more than we can ignore the products we sell. Your business prospects are now online and that is where we need to engage with them.