Why B2B research panels aren’t enough

If you’re looking for B2B research, you might think that market research panels are a good place to start. They offer access to a large number of respondents often at a reasonable price. However, B2B research is different from consumer research, and panels fall short in providing the deep, specialized insights that B2B researchers need to inform high stakes business decisions. Find out how traditional panels fail to deliver high quality answers to your specific research questions — and discover the solution that actually solves for your needs: open networks with custom recruited professionals. 

Market research panels are useful for B2C research

Consumer research panels can be a great resource for B2C companies doing market research. They enable access to large numbers of respondents and can provide consumer behavior insights. For companies looking to understand how general consumers might respond to a marketing campaign or a new product, they can offer valuable data that can have practical value when it comes to informing business decisions.

Why B2C methods don’t apply to B2B challenges

However, B2B research is a different beast than B2C research. It requires niche insights in order to be valuable—insights that can only be obtained from the mind of an experienced professional who intimately understands your industry. When companies conduct B2B research, they’re looking for insights from highly qualified experts, rather than from regular consumers. Unfortunately for companies that are trying to conduct B2B research, these professionals aren’t accessible on traditional market research panels.

Panel research is good for getting a broad overview of things, but it can’t offer the level of detail and insight that B2B researchers need to make critical business decisions. If a major cloud computing platform sought to conduct research to gather user feedback on their cloud services, they’re unlikely to find the professionals who can offer useful insights in the reserves of a traditional market research panel. This is because panels — despite how they might be promoted — were never designed with B2B research in mind.

B2B research panels result in fraudulent data

In addition to the lack of access to niche experts, B2B research panels also often provide fraudulent data. Have you had a head-scratching moment when reviewing responses, wondering if real humans submitted them? This is due to the fact that most market research panel companies rely on self-reporting from respondents rather than using rigorous verification methods. In some cases, this can even include fake profiles or respondents from entirely different countries.

We’ve seen this happen numerous times with our clients. In one case, NewtonX was able to save a global management consultancy’s project by sweeping in to reprogram the entire survey and find a sample size of 400 highly niche algorithmic traders who used a specific source of financial data — all in just 10 days.  

Open networks: your secret research weapon

B2B researchers must navigate nuanced, highly competitive markets, and they can’t do that with sub-par tools like B2B research panels. They need access to upgraded methodologies that can provide them with the insights they need. Enter: open networks. 

Open networks enable B2B researchers to find qualified professionals with the exact expertise to answer niche questions. They offer access to experts who aren’t available on market research panels, which makes them an essential tool for anyone trying to answer sophisticated, industry-specific questions. 

How does an open network work? At NewtonX, it starts with our NewtonX Knowledge Graph, our proprietary search technology. Rather than pulling from closed research panels with limited pools of expertise, we start with our graph’s open network of 1.1 billion professionals across over 140 industries. Like a search engine for specialized B2B knowledge, our granular search filters allow us to crawl vast datasets of professionals for their actual knowledge. Moreover, all professionals go through our two-step ID verification process to ensure 100% verified, fraud-free data.

With the help of automation, we hand-pick—or as we like to say, custom recruit—exactly the right people you’re looking for without compromising any nuance, at any scale. It’s time to say goodbye to closed panels, and hello to the power of the open network.