Editor’s note: Cara Woodland is global voice of the customer manager at Columbus McKinnon Corporation, a Buffalo, N.Y., manufacturer of material handling products.   

Business-to-business research recruiting has always been difficult. Most outside B2B recruiting vendors focus on senior-level executives, purchase decision-makers, information technology or the medical field. For someone like myself whose end-users primarily work in manufacturing plants, on oil rigs, in nuclear power plants or underground mines around the world, finding them and conducting research can seem to be a nearly impossible task. I’ve had to create my own path. In this article, I will share resources for connecting with hard-to-reach B2B audiences.

Internal resources

Your internal sales team, distributors, suppliers and employees can be excellent resources when recruiting. Internal sales teams can provide you with direct access to your target market. They can point you to purchase decision-makers and potential end-users in your field, as they are likely in contact with those you are looking to gain insight from. This may be as simple as using your customer relationship management database or as complicated as getting buy-in and time from your sales team to provide viable contacts and set up meetings. Give a succinct outline of the research goals and the type of person you are looking to connect with to help reduce resistance from both your sales team and the contacts they may provide.

If you are looking for another way to utilize internal resources, ask the question: Are my company’s employees using our products? If so, use them as research respondents. Employees are sometimes the easiest and cheapest untapped resource. The use of employees for research does increase the bias introduced into the research and should be avoided for some studies such as branding, but they can be a useful resource when on a tight budget and a directional understanding is needed.

After you turn to internal resources, I recommend reaching out to your distributors and suppliers who interface with purchase decision-makers within your target market. Networking beyond the purchase decision-makers may also provide contacts to end-users. This can be tricky at times, as some distributors are reluctant to give a company access to their client list for proprietary reasons. Using an outside research company to help blindly recruit may be helpful in this process.

Marketing channels

Using your marketing channels can be another great way to connect with audiences you are struggling to reach. Here are five channels I turn to:

  1. Direct-to-customer e-commerce sites: Gathering information from online sales is often the most productive way to find end-users and purchase decision-makers. If you have databases full of names and contact information, use them to your advantage.
  2. Web site and social media channels: Your company’s Web site and social channels often provide direct access to end-users and purchase decision-makers. Even if you don’t have a sophisticated analytical tool or team to pull information from your social media channels or Web site tagging system, you likely have a contact form on your Web site. If you use those leads, then you have another source for accessing your target market. One word of caution: some of your competitors may be snooping around on your Web site, filling out forms to get information, so it is necessary to scrub the list.
  3. Direct target marketing database: Used for direct mail and e-mail campaigns, direct target marketing databases may have been developed over time and scrubbed. It can be useful to sort for specific types of users by NACIS code or type of user. However, it is important to mention that in some countries people or businesses could be on a do-not-call list. Technically, marketing research is exempt from the do-not-call list in the U.S. but this may not be the case in other countries, so it is imperative to check this if you are planning to contact people via phone.
  4. Warranty and customer service databases: These databases provide you with access to people who have either had questions, complaints or warranty claims on your products. Although they are more likely to be dissatisfied customers, they may be your best resource to learn about changes that need to be made to your products.
  5. Past research studies: By looking at past research, you may find respondents who would qualify for your current research. While you don’t want to create a professional respondent (or overburden a customer), some respondents may be very interested in providing regular feedback on select topics, which could lead to a customer panel. When you conduct research, you could create an opt-in for participants to agree to participate in future studies.

Go where they are

I have found industry trade shows and conferences to be the most effective way to access hard-to-reach audiences. Research domestic and international conferences that target the market you are trying to reach. Pay for a booth so you can recruit or conduct research. Sometimes the trade shows your organization already attends or exhibits at are enough to reach your target audience. If your target audience is made up of organized workers, union meetings or boards can be a great way to connect with companies. 

The following are a few other spaces (both in-person and online) I turn to when looking to access hard-to-reach audiences.

  • Industry associations: With local and national chapters, industry associations may allow you access to your target audience. In addition to regular meetings, many have publications you can advertise in for longer-term studies.
  • Community colleges, technical and trade schools: Working teachers, who have contacts or access to current students and alumni, are a great resource. This type of alliance may be mutually beneficial as students look for mentors, professional development opportunities and jobs.
  • Training and professional development centers: Training centers often provide continuing education for your hard-to-reach audiences. Often, these centers will give companies a short time slot to ask for or have the students participate in research.
  • Online forums: Reading reviews can be a useful way to see how people are using or complaining about your products. You can also post questions or invite people to take part in research. It is necessary to screen those who come from these sites, but they can be excellent respondents.
  • Trade journals, association and industry magazines: Industry publications provide many industry workers with up-to-date trends and regulations in their industry. Placing ads or recruiting those who are writing articles can be a longer-term strategy.
  • Social networks: You can use professional networking sites, like LinkedIn, to find the right people by searching for key characteristics and job titles. Understand that these sites typically target professionals, so if you are looking for blue-collar workers it may be a stretch. Joining and participating with online industry groups is another avenue.
  • Target companies: Contacting target companies directly can be a tough approach, but it does work, especially if you have an in through another source such as a friend, sales team member or network connection.

If you are looking to expand beyond these networks, consider hiring an outside recruiter. Most will ask for a list to start with or some help or hints on where to find the target you are trying to reach, so be prepared. Even if you don’t have a list, I have been able to find recruiters who are willing to take on a challenge and work hard to find the right people. You should expect to pay more and contract with them on a “best efforts only” basis. This approach requires you to over-recruit because you are more likely to have no-shows, cancellations or unqualified respondents.

Trade-offs

B2B companies are often faced with trade-offs when recruiting respondents to participate in research, most of which boil down to introducing bias into the research. Below I outline two main trade-offs you face when conducting B2B recruiting.

  • Blind recruits: While blind recruits are preferable in most research projects, in B2B recruiting, having respondents know who is sponsoring the research can be useful in gaining access to and compliance with the right target market. Knowing who is sponsoring the research provides credibility. One way to do this is to provide a letter from the sponsoring company outlining the research project goals and type of person who should be participating in the research. The downside is it can also cause more problems later.
  • Incentives: Paying respondents to participate in research can bring up all kinds of issues, especially if the person knows who is sponsoring the research. Many companies have ethical guidelines and policies that do not allow their employees to receive any kind of gifts which could be construed as a bribe. In many cases, a person can be fired for accepting incentives. By offering money, you can put a person in a quandary. Although marketing researchers are not trying to directly sell a product, it could be interpreted differently by others. If you recruit blindly, this isn’t as much of a problem. Another option would be to donate the incentive to a charity. Whether the company is identified or not, it is important that the incentive is offered as an option to the participant, rather than a requirement.

Needle in a haystack 

Finding your end-user in a B2B environment can feel like searching for a needle in a haystack. Although it may be difficult, it is possible with a little creativity and out-of-the-box thinking. You may have to try multiple avenues and techniques to get the type of person you want, but the ultimate win is when you get the information you need to provide a more educated answer to your research question.