When I write blog posts for myself or for my clients, I look for compelling statistics to back up what I’m saying. However, it is often hard to find new sources that have published research on my topics, so I end up citing the same sources over and over again.
This means that there’s an opportunity for B2B technology companies to publish original research and gain PR from reporters and bloggers who need to cite credible data. This free PR will get your content in front of a wider audience and help position your brand as a leader in your industry.
I interviewed Derek Singleton, Analyst at Software Advice and Managing Editor at The B2B Marketing Mentor. He offered tips on how B2B technology companies can use original – or primary – research to stand out from the crowd.
Why Should You Publish Primary Research?
“One of the main issues with content marketing is that everyone is competing for attention,” says Singleton. “So there’s been a big uptake in the number of B2B technology marketers who are writing articles, producing webinars and so on.”
According to Singleton, this content overwhelm can make it hard for you to stand out – especially if you’re not adding anything new to the conversation.
“When you publish primary research, you’re not repurposing what everyone else has said,” says Singleton. “This makes your content more powerful, as it’s supported by original, qualitative data.”
Including original research in your content can also make your marketing more believable, as you have hard data to back up why your ideas, products and services matter. The 2013 B2B Content Preferences Survey revealed that 59.9% of B2B buyers strongly believe that vendors need to use more data and research to support their content. We all know that the more potential customers believe and trust you, the greater the chance that they will buy from you.
What Kind of Research Will Engage B2B Technology Buyers?
Singleton suggests that you start by identifying your target audience’s biggest pain points and developing research around them. You can also survey customers or conduct one-on-one interviews with them to determine the research topics that they are the most interested in.
Useful research for B2B technology buyers includes:
- Studies that prove how to improve the effectiveness of your product. If you can help customers get more value from your products or services, they will be more likely to remain loyal to your brand and refer others to you.
- Case studies. B2B technology buyers are looking for proof that your products or services deliver results, which is why case studies that contain data on your customers’ successes can be powerful. According to a recent hawkeye study, 71% of B2B buyers in the awareness stage and 77% in the evaluation stage cited testimonials and case studies as the most influential types of content.
- Customer or user surveys. Surveying your customers can provide you with valuable information on how you can improve your products or services. User surveys in particular can help your customers better understand how to get the most out of your product or service. For instance, if your company builds email marketing software, creating a report showing how various subject lines impact click-through rates for email marketing messages will help your customers improve the subject lines of their emails and become more effective email marketers.
How to Get Started
Singleton stresses that you do not need to hire a market research company to conduct compelling research. You can use online survey tools such as SurveyMonkey or PollDaddy. You can also present findings from experiments and A/B tests of your website that you conduct in-house.