Archive for the ‘B2B News’ Category
Thursday, January 24th, 2008
In the coming weeks B2B International will be extending our expertise in medical research yet further, with the opening of our dedicated online medical panel - B2B medical.
Already within the past year, over 4,000 doctors and medical specialists have been interviewed by our specialist medical interviewers. The aim of these interviews has been to find out more about prescribing trends, workloads and messages from marketing campaigns in a number of disease areas ranging from cancer to diabetes.
Now our medical research is expanding yet further with the launch of our online medical research panel B2B Medical.
Bhavika Hira, manager of B2B’s medical unit says that “because our telephone unit has gathered such comprehensive data, we now understand the needs of doctors and are confident that online research is the way forward, enabling busy professionals to fill in questionnaires at their own convenience.�
Our online medical panel can be accessed by medical professionals simply by registering via the dedicated website. All that’s required is a valid GMC number – ensuring the veracity and credibility of panellists. Once registered, doctors and specialists receive questionnaires regularly, each focussing on a specific disease area or speciality.
For more information on our online medical panel, please visit https://www.b2bmedical.co.uk/. Further details of our other medical research services, including pharmaceutical research is available on B2B International’s main website.
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Medical Research, Online Research, B2B News |
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Wednesday, January 9th, 2008
The latest issue of BLine, B2B International’s quarterly newsletter, is now available here on our blog.
BLine keeps you up to date with the latest goings-on at B2B International and this latest issue (Winter 2007/08) covers a range of current issues, including:
- When you ask for a Perrier, you really just mean a sparkling water;
- B2B’s expansion in the USA;
- B2B’s sponsorship of the recent EU-China Business Summit;
- The outcomes from some of our latest research; and
- Information on our medical research services
To view the latest issue of Bline click here.
BLine is intended to keep you in the loop about what’s new at B2B International, share opinions of what’s happening in the market research industry, why organisations are commissioning research and how we may be able to help you in understanding your markets better.
However, BLine is not just be a one-way dialogue - We’d like to hear from you, so feel free to get back to us with your views.
You can view or download previous issues of BLine by clicking here.
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Market Research, B2B News |
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Wednesday, January 2nd, 2008
First of all - A Happy and Prosperous New Year to all our readers!
Although New Year is typically a time to look forward to new events and experiences, we thought we’d break with that convention somewhat in our first post of 2008, by having a quick review of the year just gone on The Market Research Blog. With that in mind, here’s a quick rundown of our most popular posts from 2007, just in case you’re a newcomer to our blog or if you simply missed something we posted in the last year:
- Guerrilla Marketing - When Less Is More
- The Benefits Of Advertising
- Choosing A Logo
- White Paper: China and India -The Growth Debate Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4
- Meeting the Needs of the Retail Industry
- Which Brands Have People Been Discussing This Week?
- Online Leadership Portal - Part 1 | Part 2
- Market Research - The Key To Business Success - Part 1 | Part 2 | Top Tips
- Go Figure - Pricing & Segmentation - Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4
- Professional Services and Valuing the Customer
- The Market Research Industry in India - Part 1 | Part 2
- Will Television Advertising Arrest Starbucks’ Slumber?
- Logo Research - Approach With Caution
- The Benefits Of Online Research
- Are Brands Like Caricatures?
- Market Research Prices - A Global Comparison Part 1 | Part 2
- Marketing and Selling to Chinese Businesses Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7
- The Ultimate In Customer-Driven Pricing
- Do You Understand Your Customers?
- Ten Tips On Branding
From our point of view, 2007 was a big year of expansion for B2B International - especially in terms of getting our Asian office in China up and running as well as unprecedented growth at our central operations in the UK. Naturally, we’re hoping for bigger and better things in the year to come - and we wish you much the same.
We’ll get into the swing of things proper in the next few days with some more of our thoughts on market research, the universe and everything else!
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Qualitative Research, Pricing Strategy, Quantitative Research, Segmentation, Market Research India, SMEs, Online Research, Market Research China, Advertising Research, Market Research, Branding, Customer Satisfaction, Market Assesment, Esurveys, B2B News |
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Monday, September 24th, 2007
Online resources for leadership
Research into what was already available online as an aid to leaders showed millions of references to leadership but very few sites targeted specifically at leadership issues, more were linked to management. Hence, sites for SMEs gave advice on setting up businesses, strengthening entrepreneurship, and business health checks; the voluntary sector focussed on bespoke training and shared leadership; the public sector concentrated on individual development programmes and downloading publications; whilst education and knowledge were areas of interest for the corporate market, with references to business gurus and leading by peer example.
Key words and phrases used on the various sites reflected these differences. Website buzz words amongst SMEs were development, entrepreneur, business planning and advice; for corporates it was challenge, innovative, best practice and cutting edge; words such as innovative, community and good practice were common on public sector sites; and the voluntary sector used development, support, improve and understand.
The layout and aesthetics of websites also varied: conservative and professional for the private sector, plain and dull for SMEs, happy and inviting for the voluntary sector, and old fashioned and cluttered for the public sector.
Having researched what was out there online, focus groups were undertaken to gauge interest in online resources: people from corporates showed most interest in using online resources on leadership; in the public sector there was a tendency to use formal academic programmes for leadership training; the concept of leadership appears newer to the voluntary sector; SMEs are least likely to engage with leadership issues as they are more focussed on management and keeping up-to-date with regulations; students see a strong role for web resources though they expect sophisticated use of technology.
What people want from an online leadership site
Again, the various groups wanted different things. Corporates wanted interaction and information, SMEs wanted advice and updates, the public sector wanted a bit of everything, the voluntary sector wanted experience and sharing, and students needed a site to be active and interesting.
Forum respondents were asked what would make them use an online resource:
• functionality – such that the site was easy to use, site search is essential, good navigation links, personalisation
• format – must be eye-catching, good colour (red and blue), little advertising, meaningful graphics
• interactivity – technology to create two-way communication and social networking, for younger users alternative delivery sources were thought important (e-learning, online mentoring, webinars)
All this feedback collected by B2B was able to provide decision-making information for the NLA who then advised designers of the online portal so as to be able to embrace these opinions and also respond to the different requirements.
The future
The research indicated what an ‘ideal’ site should include: a home page that was generic, with easy navigation, personalised login options, search facility, tabulated index, what’s new section and student site. The site content should include news, case studies, experts and community information, provide training and development resources, and discuss work and industry related issues such as regulation.
Thoughts on the site in the future focussed on a platform portal with self-selecting sector options. Ideas include:
• more bespoke solutions tailored to the needs of specific users or sectors
• leadership linked to self development, using current thinking
• more interactivity using technology to aid learning; networking; mentoring
• a facility to manage resources appropriate to the users’ needs such as sector sites by self selection
• regularly updated site, backed up by a credible institution which addresses leadership
B2B director Carol-Ann Morgan is manager of the research. She believes that the NLA site is the only one that addresses all business/industry sectors and can also engage all levels of management from shop floor to boardroom. “This site pulls all the different elements together as one complete resource. It is easy to use, when and where the individual wants. It allows ideas, best practice, information and leadership advice to be shared for the benefit of all and it encourages individual and cross-sector networking. In fact, it does what it set out to do, ie promote distributed leadership.”
About The Northern leadership Academy - www.northernleadershipacademy.co.uk. The NLA’s interactive leadership portal has been developed to help individuals and organisations based in the North improve their leadership skills through a raft of specialist content and interactive resources. Once registered, individuals can create personal profiles and engage in peer-to-peer networking, access a comprehensive directory of leadership resources, have the opportunity to participate in e-learning courses and sign-up to highly rated personal development programmes such as ‘Windmills’ and Harvard’s ‘Manage Mentor’.
The portal hosts a series of industry-specific channels for those working in the private, public, community and voluntary sectors. Managed by industry professionals, these channels offer dedicated forums, discussion areas, audio-visual tools, event calendars and other content specific to these sectors.
In addition to the online leadership portal, NLA runs leadership course, seminars and networking events across the North. It has also established an academic think-tank that undertakes research linked to regional economic issues ad provides fellowships to students based in the North that specialises in leadership.
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Industrial Research, SMEs, Market Research, B2B News |
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Friday, September 21st, 2007
LOG ON TO LEADERSHIP
Findings from business-to-business market research specialist B2B International have helped establish an innovative online leadership resource
The Northern Leadership Academy (NLA) is a pioneering partnership between the business and management schools of the Universities of Lancaster, Leeds and Liverpool. Its overarching mission, to be achieved through more and better leadership in the region, is to boost Northern productivity, helping close the multi-billion economic gap between the North and the average for the rest of England.
One of many deliverable themes for the NLA was the development of a leadership portal. B2B International, with expertise in the academic sector, was commissioned to determine the content and functionality of this leadership portal and evaluate the final product.
Research began in October 2006, looking at what online resources were currently available and conducting focus groups with individuals of varying levels of leadership who worked in the private, public, community and voluntary sectors, and with business/MBA students. The portal was launched in spring this year with further refinement now due. B2B is currently undertaking an e-survey on the website to elicit views.
The NLA’s core objective is the promotion of distributed leadership across all sectors and industries in the North. This is based on a principle of collaborative working and shared responsibility, as opposed to focussing on the traits, behaviour and actions of a sole or single leader making key commercial and strategic decisions in isolation. The new paradigm means that the heroic, natural-born leader gives way to distributed leadership with collective responsibility. It leads to high levels of personal responsibility and performance, encourages learning by doing and innovation whilst enabling the followers to feel empowered and involved.
Varying styles of leadership
B2B’s research shows marked differences in leadership across sectors. In the corporate/ private world, leadership development was found to be central – a leader was essential to develop staff to deliver profit to shareholders. In the public sector, leaders were more compliant, managing services for the public good and busy with direction and responsibility. A leader within the SME sector was a true manager as he or she had to survive in a competitive environment and needed to control costs and gain business. A more reluctant leader emerged in the voluntary sector, keen to help others develop and be seen as inclusive, collaborative and democratic.
Part 2 will be published on Monday
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