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Archive for the ‘Global Research’ Category« Previous EntriesThe End of Cheap China?Wednesday, March 28th, 2012  In this week’s Business Surgery, Stephanie Teow assesses whether the appeal of China is on the wane or as strong as ever I read with interest recently an article in The Economist which questioned the extent to which China can continue its position as a low-cost base of manufacturing in an era of rapid social and economic change:
According to the article, many experts suggested that the cost to manufacture in China could soar twofold or even threefold by 2020, when it may be just as cheap to manufacture things in North America as in China. Our experience carrying out research across different markets in China indicates that costs in China have been rising for some time now, and the era of ‘cheap China’ has actually been at an end for a while. Rising labour costs and the growing costs of key raw materials, means that China’s previous competitive advantages as a location for manufacturing are gradually being eroded. However, although it is likely that the future will see a growing proportion of China’s low cost manufacturing moving to other developing economies in the region (or even back to Western countries), it does not necessarily follow that most B2B manufacturing will suddenly up sticks and leave China in the immediate future. As this article notes, China has a number of key advantages as a manufacturing base which other countries in the region find very difficult to emulate, such as:
It is clear that China will remain the manufacturing location of choice for some time to come for manufacturers in most business-to-business markets. While rising costs in China will clearly make exporting from China more prohibitive in the future, it is increasingly the lure of the large Chinese domestic market that is attracting the attention of manufacturers. Equally, the manufacturing complexity and technical expertise required for many b2b manufacturers, along with the importance of reliable supply chain infrastructure, means that for many companies China still represents the most viable manufacturing location. A growing cohort of business-to-business companies are now demanding market intelligence to better understand China less as a manufacturing base for export, and more as a dynamic marketplace of the future. Global Market Research 2011 – An Industry ReportFriday, September 16th, 2011  The new ESOMAR global market research industry report for 2011 shows that the industry has now grown to US $31.2 billion in 2010. This represents an overall growth of 5.2% and 2.8% after adjustment for inflation – a significant improvement on 2009 but in line with expectations of economic recovery. Some of the key highlights of this report include:
For a more detailed look at the figures visit: http://www.esomar.org Taking A Different ApproachTuesday, August 9th, 2011  B2B International’s Matthew Harrison was one of the expert market researchers to attend Marketing magazine’s annual Greater Insight round table last month. On the day, Matt brought to the table his thoughts on ensuring success in both developed and developing markets:
click here if you would like to read more of Matt’s thoughts, or to see a short video. The Future Looks Bright for Online B2B Focus GroupsMonday, December 14th, 2009 
With worldwide expenditure on online research predicted to almost treble over the next three years, market research specialist B2B International believes the future is rosy for most online techniques, especially focus groups. The technological revolution of the past 15 years has led to the rapid development of online data collection methodologies. Of these, the online survey is the most established but, more recently, online focus groups have emerged, making it possible to obtain qualitative information online. Following similar principles to Internet message boards, the online focus group differs from online surveys in that it allows every participant to see the responses of all of the other respondents and encourages them to respond to these views as well as to the initial question posed by the researcher. In addition, the researcher inserts questions as the discussion develops, in order to probe areas of particular interest, or to gain further information on new topics that participants introduce to the discussion. In this way, online focus groups enable a real-time, dynamic discussion to develop between the researcher and the respondents, just as would be the case with a face-to-face focus group. Business-to-business market research specialist B2B International has been firmly established in the online research industry since the company’s inception in 1998 and remains one of the forerunners in e-enabled research. B2B International has recently published a comprehensive White Paper – Using Online Focus Groups As A Business-To-Business Research Technique – which gives a balanced assessment of the rationale behind using the online focus group as a research methodology. The White Paper outlines 13 key reasons to conduct online focus groups:
In addition to highlighting the undisputed benefits, B2B International Director Matthew Harrison, author of the White Paper, shares some of the insights that B2B International has learned through the large number of online focus groups it has conducted over the last several years. According to Harrison: “Online focus groups can take place for a defined period of, say, 90 minutes, as with a face-to-face focus group but our experience shows us that online groups are more effective when spread over a period of 2 days, with respondents entering the discussion at different times to suit their convenience. This way, groups generate more considered opinion and a greater volume of information, adding real value to the research.” However, internet focus groups are not suited to every research project and B2B International is quick to recognise the limitations. These include the fact that certain target audiences – particularly the less web-savvy – are less suited to online groups than others; respondent recruitment can be labour-intensive and expensive; and certain limitations exist with presenting physical stimulae for respondents to touch, feel or smell. In spite of this, Harrison is optimistic about the future for online focus groups: “There are many reasons why we believe the prominence and effectiveness of online focus groups will increase, but key among them would be convenience and technology. Increasingly busy schedules coupled with the need to speak to respondents all across the world make online focus groups an ever more viable option. Secondly, there will continue to be huge advancements in the capabilities of and familiarity with technology, enabling greater numbers of respondents from all across the world to take part with increasing ease and improved effectiveness.” To read the white paper in full, please click here. The Challenges of Global Business-to-Business PromotionsTuesday, December 1st, 2009 
This month, Campaign magazine published its second Going Global supplement. A number of experts in the field of branding gave us their thoughts on the issues that face those tasked with international branding. One of those experts was B2B International’s very own Paul Hague, who provided some advice for business-to-business marketers taking their promotions to a global audience: We have all heard of communication gaffes made by regionally focused consumer companies as they attack a wider market. If Rolls-Royce had gone ahead with the branding of their Silver Mist car in Germany, it would have found it was trying to sell Silver Sh*t. Such cultural and linguistic differences are a marketer’s nightmare and they indicate the importance of using research to understand the difference between customers throughout the world. HSBC has made an effective campaign out of the way different people see the world. In a long-running and highly recognisable series of adverts (particularly noticeable in international airports), they humorously provide examples of how people’s interpretation of the same objects can be vastly different depending on their culture, heritage, education, etc. They demonstrate, if you like, how one man’s meat can be another man’s poison.
All the while, business-to-business marketers have been sitting on the sidelines. They do not have the huge marketing budgets that are required for global campaigns. In fact, $200,000 is likely to be a respectable budget for many an industrial company or division aiming at an international market. With such meagre funds to play with, their communication efforts have been much more targeted and therefore less visible for us to examine and critique. With an emphasis on below-the-line advertising, business-to-business marketers have focused on anything that gets them close to shaking hands with a potential customer. High on the list are exhibitions, brochures and technical sheets translated into local languages, and, if you’re lucky, a website on which you may just have one or two language options. There is very little attempt made to understand the local culture and to design a promotional campaign that meets local needs. If marketing budgets are really so small for business-to-business marketers, it may be hard to imagine how they could afford to spend $100,000 on a market research campaign aimed at testing different communications and finding out what works over a wide geographical area. Mind you, the investment in research to establish the principles of what works pays dividends – not only on the current campaign but on all future campaigns. I encountered a good example a couple of years ago during the concept testing of an advert. Of the seven adverts being tested, the design agency had a clear favourite – a nicely designed ad showing two futuristic-looking heads. However, in what was a huge disappointment to the agency, this particular ad bombed dramatically when tested against the six others among an international group of target customers. Existing and potential customers actually found the ad confusing and felt it portrayed the company as two-faced. Adverts that tested much better were less stylish but they featured the product, or the product plus a person. A good test for any b2b marketer is to lay out their promotions in front of customers and prospective customers, and ask the following questions:
Market research isn’t the only measure that can be used to test the effectiveness of promotions. Additional indicators can be quite simple, such as:
In conclusion, here’s a checklist of questions that business-to-business marketers should consider when addressing global markets:
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