5 Powerful Ways To Boost Your B2B Marketing Using Survey Research Reports
There’s a Dr. Seuss quote I love.“Today you are you, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is youer than you.”
I read, watch, and listen to a lot of B2B content daily. The most startling thing that stands out to me is that there’s a lot of duplicated content and ideas. Try this out — do a quick Google search and look at the top three results. A lot of the content is the same. There’s nothing truly original or unique about it.
Some B2B brands have forgotten that there’s no other brand exactly like them. Instead, these brands try to replicate what their competitors do. I often think they’re going against the premise of the Dr. Seuss quote I mentioned.
One of the ways to show that there’s no other brand just like yours is to present findings from first-hand research. Your aim is to use these findings to help your target customer succeed, a goal that should be central to your B2B marketing strategy.
Before we look at how these reports can be used, let’s look more closely at the definition.
What Is A Survey Research Report?
A survey research report in B2B marketing involves the use of surveys to gather information from a specific audience about a topic. The survey data is then analyzed to create a document that explains key findings and provides recommendations for the best way forward. Some of the most popular B2B brands, including HubSpot and ConvertKit, use survey research reports to present first-hand information that establishes their brands as industry thought leaders.
Some examples of B2B survey research reports include:
5 Powerful Ways To Use Survey Research Reports In B2B Marketing
Survey research reports are often not included in content marketing strategies because they consume a lot of time and resources. But these reports are worth the investment when they’re done well. Here are five ways they can be useful for your B2B content marketing strategy.
Become Known For A Specific Topic
Bizzabo is an all-in-one platform for event management. They’ve created a range of research reports covering topics including event tech, virtual events, the state of the event industry, and mobile events. I read one of their research reports entitled “The Evolution Of Events” for an article I was writing.
Their research provided stats used to support the claims I made in the article. Including those stats meant I had to hyperlink to the original research report thus giving Bizzabo a backlink.
But that wasn’t the only benefit for Bizzabo. That company is now the first that comes to my mind whenever I think about virtual events. This research report helped Bizzabo stand out as a virtual event thought leader in my mind.
Survey research reports help you become known for a niche-specific topic. They help you stay top-of-mind and ultimately lead to interested prospects.
2. Be Seen As A Valuable Resource
Many marketers look forward to Hubspot’s annual reports that cover a range of topics in the industry. A good example is HubSpot’s recent social media trends report.
What makes this report truly interesting though isn’t necessarily the data that’s presented. Instead, it’s the recommendations provided for driving ongoing social media success. These recommendations are what some marketers use to inform their social media marketing strategies.
Your content asset library can benefit from a survey research report that helps your target customers improve their business strategies. Ultimately, your brand will become a valuable resource in their eyes, a resource they’re eager to recommend.
3. Expand Your Reach Through Collaboration
One of the best research reports I’ve read is from the OC Tanner Institute. It’s their Global Culture Report and it features quotes from a wide range of industry experts, including a professor from the Harvard Business School. These quotes add further credibility to the report and provide opportunities for collaboration.
The collaborations that arise from survey research reports can lead to long-term opportunities. Collaboration can come through:
The expert getting more exposure and in exchange sharing the report with his or her audience
Your brand being on a key expert’s radar and, if the expert is impressed, that person may be willing to either work with your brand or recommend it to someone else
Working with another brand to complete the report. It would then be shared on both your platforms and your partner’s platforms.
4. Learn More About Your Target Audience
Data drives research reports. The data you collect can help you learn new things about the people you’re trying to reach. You’ll better understand the struggles they face and the solutions they’re really looking for. Learning more about them helps you create content that better serves them.
For instance, I published the State Of Content Marketing In The Caribbean report. Two of the key findings that stood out to me were that:
48% of in-house marketing execs in the Caribbean don’t have blog posts ranking on page one of Google Search
90% of in-house marketing execs in the Caribbean have video content as part of their marketing strategies
This showed me that video content marketing is a priority in the Caribbean, but there’s still room for the growth of blog content marketing strategies in the region. That’s important information to have since I work with clients all over the world, including clients based in the Caribbean.
5. Attract Highly Qualified Leads
A highly targeted approach to your research report will help you attract highly qualified leads who become customers. People who download survey research reports are looking for specific insights about a particular challenge they’re facing.
For instance, the executives who download The Predictive Index’s State Of Talent Optimization report are looking for insights that will help them create a more engaged workforce. Some executives who download the report become users of Predictive Index’s employee management platform.
Final Words
B2B marketing strategies are diverse and often focus on the most common content marketing assets — blog posts, guides, Youtube videos etc. But a survey research report allows you to share first-hand knowledge that gives you an edge over your competitors. It’s a B2B content marketing asset that isn’t used by most B2B brands tbus giving you the perfect opportunity to truly stand out.
The key to creating a successful survey research report is to hire a research report writer. Let me help you create useful content that puts your brand in the spotlight.