B2B International CEO Matthew Harrison was guest speaker and facilitator at the Chartered Institute of Marketing’s (CIM) ‘Knowing me, knowing you’ market research round table in Manchester on Friday. The purpose of the event was to consider how market research can shape marketing strategy.
On the day, Matthew talked about the different types of market research and the various areas of business these can help. Some of the key drivers behind a market research project – in particular, the need for clients to increase customer loyalty and/or to differentiate themselves from the competition – were highlighted.
Matthew talked about how market research has evolved in recent years – a subject that is discussed in depth on our own website – The Evolution of B2B Research. While the pros and cons of in-house market research as opposed to commissioning a specialist research agency were debated, the return on investment of market research, as you might expect, was a topic that was discussed at length. Several client case studies were used to bring this topic to life.
Speaking afterwards, Matthew said, “It was really enjoyable to be so heavily involved in today’s event. While we are huge advocates of the role market research can – and should – play in a company’s overall marketing and growth strategy, it’s good to have the chance to talk to others in the field about it. Without being challenged or having discussions around this topic, it’s easy to forget that some people need to be convinced about market research’s benefits and want to fully understand the ROI of market research.”
Organiser Dawn Holmes was pleased with the day’s event, saying, “A huge thanks once again to Matthew from B2B International for doing a great job of facilitating the event and providing his expertise.”
