How to Avoid the 5 Biggest B2B Market Research Mistakes

Good B2B market research gives your business firm foundations for:

Identifying new markets
Understanding what your existing – and your new – customers want
Navigating the competitive landscape

Your business-critical decisions are informed by reliable data that saves you money, resources, and time.

BUT – and it is a big BUT – it’s incredibly easy to make mistakes that undermine the effectiveness of your market research.

Let’s take a look at five of the most common market research fumbles and how ScoreApp helps you avoid them.

1. Not knowing what you want to find out

Problem: B2B market research must be led by clear objectives. If you dive in without a definite idea about what you want to know, you’ll end up gathering generalised data with vague conclusions. You also need to know what you’re planning to do with the information, once you get it. What business goal will it help you reach?

ScoreApp solution: ScoreApp templates scaffold your B2B market research survey design to make sure you define specific goals and build surveys that focus on the main details.

Benefits of having clear objectives using ScoreApp:

Focused data collection means you’re not swamped by a load of irrelevant information that dilutes your insights.
You get the answers to the questions that matter to your business.
You can confidently base strategic decisions on your B2B market research insights because they are specific to your business and give you the full story.
Your objective defines the audience segment, sample size, and market research methodologies necessary for your project.
You don’t waste time, effort, or resources on irrelevant market research that gives you an incomplete picture.

When you have a sure target, your B2B market research purposefully strides towards the most useful results. A clear objective makes the subsequent steps in your market research strategy much easier and more effective.

2. Asking bad questions

Problem: You won’t get good insights from bad questions. Many surveys fail because of leading, confusing, or overly complex questions that frustrate respondents and result in inaccurate data.

ScoreApp solution: The templates are chock-full of suggested questions with carefully chosen wording, which you can personalise without losing the power of their simplicity. ScoreApp expertly guides you to clear, neutral and precise questions that are easy to harvest actionable data from.

Benefits of asking the right questions using ScoreApp:

Participants don’t get bored: You have the right combination of question types to keep people interested.
Higher completion rate: You ask the right number of questions for the context. People aren’t put off by surveys that are way too long.
Hit your deadlines: Surveys don’t languish in people’s inboxes – they do them quickly – so you don’t need to extend your internal deadline.
Actionable insights: You’re asking the right people the right questions, so of course the data’s good – and the insights are even better!

3. Speaking to the wrong people

Problem: Targeting the wrong audience results in irrelevant insights. In B2B market research, where your offering is likely to have a niche audience, it can be tricky to talk to the right people. For example, you know your product users are on board with a higher price for your new features, but it’s the C-suite making the final decisions.

B2B market research is crucial to reduce customer churn and boost your customer retention rates. But it’s also the key to looking beyond your existing customers and finding out what your potential clients are thinking. Why do people choose your product? What makes them switch to a competitor? What do people think of your brand? Is there a specific thing prospects are looking for that you can do to tempt them away from the competition?

ScoreApp solution: The levels of personalisation and segmentation in ScoreApp simplify the process of finding qualified participants for your B2B market research. By segmenting respondents based on specific criteria such as demographics, behaviours, or preferences, you only ask the right people your questions.

Personalisation ensures your questions resonate with your target audience, to foster higher engagement and more accurate responses. This targeted approach eliminates guesswork and enables businesses to gather actionable insights from the right people, which ultimately leads to more informed decision-making and effective strategies.

Benefits of speaking to the right people using ScoreApp:

Targeted insights: Gather precise and relevant data by directing questions to the most suitable audience.
Higher engagement rates: Personalised and tailored questions resonate more with participants and therefore increase response rates.
Improved accuracy: Focused segmentation reduces irrelevant responses, ensuring cleaner and more actionable data.
Efficiency: Save time by avoiding talking to the wrong people.
Cost-effectiveness: Avoid wasted resources by reaching only those participants who align with your research objectives.
More informed decisions: Gain clearer insights from a well-defined audience, for better business strategies.
Customisable user experience: Easily adapt surveys to audience segments, to foster better interaction and results.
Scalable feedback: Quickly identify and engage key audience segments, supporting both small-scale and large-scale research efforts.

4. Not presenting the results clearly

Problem: There really isn’t any point having a multitude of data if you don’t organise it into something meaningful. The harder it is for people to understand your findings, the less likely it is that they will have any impact anywhere in your organisation.

ScoreApp solution: Powerful analytics and reporting tools help you present clear and compelling findings. With ScoreApp, your massive plateful of raw data is turned into yummy, digestible insights. This makes it easier for you, your team, your clients, and other stakeholders to understand and use your B2B market research to the benefit of your company.

Benefits of presenting data results clearly using ScoreApp:

Visual clarity: Intuitive dashboards and visualisations make complex data easy to understand at a glance.
Actionable insights: Highlight key trends and findings so users can quickly identify opportunities and challenges.
Save time and eliminate the boredom factor: Automated reporting reduces the manual effort of analysing and presenting data.
Customisable reports: Tailor reports to audiences or objectives, for relevance.
See the wood for the trees: Access clear, organised insights that support strategic planning and informed choices.
Real-time data: Monitor responses and insights as they come in, allowing for immediate adjustments or actions – ultimate agility!
Segmentation analysis: Easily compare performance and responses across audience segments for deeper understanding.
Shareability: Share clear, professional reports with teams or stakeholders to align on key findings and actions.
Improved accuracy: Minimise errors with automated data processing and visualisation tools.
Scalable solutions: Handle small or large datasets with tools designed to maintain clarity and usability regardless of scale.

5. Believing market research is a one-off activity

Problem: Treating market research as a one-and-done task. In today’s fast-changing business landscape, relying on outdated data can quickly leave you behind. Successful companies understand the importance of ongoing research to stay aligned with evolving customer needs and market shifts.

ScoreApp solution: ScoreApp makes it easy – and affordable – to conduct real-time research. The flexibility of the platform means companies can gather insights regularly, whether through ongoing customer surveys, quarterly check-ins, or research during key business moments.

Being able to set up automated surveys, track changing trends, and quickly analyse evolving customer preferences means you’ll always have up-to-date data at your fingertips.

This continuous flow of insights will help you respond to market shifts and adapt your strategies so you stay ahead of the competition – yogi levels of bendiness and fluidity!

Benefits of an ongoing research strategy with ScoreApp:

Stay ahead of trends: Regular research keeps you informed about evolving market dynamics, consumer preferences, and what’s trending.
Give them what they want: By gathering insights to refine your products or services, you’ll always meet – and exceed – customer expectations.
Identify opportunities: Spot new market gaps, untapped segments, or emerging trends before anyone else.
Keep an eye on the competition: Track industry benchmarks and competitor performance to maintain a competitive edge.
Reduce risk: Make data-driven decisions that minimise the likelihood of costly mistakes.
Boost customer retention: By regularly showing you understand and act on customer pain points, you build customer loyalty.
Shiny new things: Use fresh insights to inspire innovative ideas, strategies, and product developments.
Improve marketing effectiveness: Test and refine campaigns based on ongoing feedback for better ROI.
Measure success: Evaluate how effective your strategies are and adapt as needed to maintain growth.

Make ScoreApp your B2B market research partner

Avoiding these five common pitfalls can transform your B2B market research from frustrating guesswork to a powerful strategic tool. ScoreApp streamlines every step of the process, helping you define clear goals, ask the right questions, target the right audience, ensure high-quality data, and present your findings effectively.

Start your smarter B2B market research strategy with ScoreApp – for free – today.