Interview research remains one of the most important – and often underutilized – ways for B2B companies and organizations to generate irreplaceable insights to guide critical decisions. A deep understanding of what customers, buyers, users, members, competitors, suppliers, influencers, and other decision-makers think can drive strategy, refine tactics, and improve overall performance. Even in the age of Big Data, qualitative interview research should remain an integral part of any research program.

1. CONVERSATIONS
WITH PURPOSE
Improving decisions
with the power of
interview research
Interview research remains one of the most important – and often underuti-
lized – ways for B2B companies and organizations to generate irreplace-
able insights to guide critical decisions. A deep understanding of what cus-
tomers, buyers, users, members, competitors, suppliers, influencers, and
other decision-makers think can drive strategy, refine tactics, and improve
overall performance. Even in the age of Big Data, qualitative interview re-
search should remain an integral part of any research program.
Copyright © 2012 The Mezzanine Group. All rights reserved.

2. INTERVIEW RESEARCH
THIS WHITE PAPER IS BASED ON THE THE VALUE OF QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
THOUSANDS OF QUALITATIVE INTER-
VIEWS WE HAVE CONDUCTED OVER Over the past decade quantitative data has become
much more readily available for business decision mak-
MORE THAN A DECADE ON BEHALF
ing, especially in marketing. Our increased capacity to
OF SMALL, MID-SIZE, AND FORTUNE
measure, track, and survey our operations and custom-
500 B2B COMPANIES, AS WELL AS ers has boosted our ability to gain transparency on our
PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS. IT businesses. But its rise in popularity and prevalence
WILL BE OF INTEREST TO ANYONE masks one disadvantage; a corresponding decline in
WHO SEEKS TO UNDERSTAND HOW use and appreciation of qualitative research.
THEY CAN ENHANCE THEIR STRAT-
EGY, SALES, MARKETING, CUSTOMER This represents a concern. As we move beyond the age
SERVICE, OPERATIONS AND OVER- of information and into the what Forrester Research
calls the age of the customer, the value of qualitative
ALL BUSINESS OR ORGANIZATIONAL
research is actually growing in importance. Qualitative
SUCCESS BY USING INTERVIEWS AS
research has the ability to guide, illuminate, augment
A RESEARCH TOOL. and explain quantitative data.
Our clients, across all industries and sectors, find that
qualitative interview research provides a level of rich-
ness and depth that can yield an unparalleled under-
standing of their target markets. In a B2B context in par-
ticular, where buying decisions are typically complex,
qualitative research can provide invaluable insights into
decision-making that can’t be captured in a simple sur-
vey – not just the ‘what’ of buying behaviour, but the
‘why.’ And, sometimes, quantitative data simply isn’t
accessible in a meaningful way in a given industry or
specialization, while qualitative data is much easier to
obtain.
The Mezzanine Group 02

3. WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF
INTERVIEW RESEARCH?
Qualitative interview research provides a level Interview research can be used very effectively for
of nuance and richness and can provide an- a number of different purposes:
swers to questions that secondary research or
even a survey can’t. Interviews take you inside 1. Market landscape – to uncover the subtleties of
the minds of prospects and customers, to un- relationships and trends in the industry.
derstand how and why they make the decisions 2. Competitive intelligence – to understand the
they do. Interviews give you the opportunity for a range of positions in the market, and how effec-
dialogue that allows a much greater opportunity tive they are.
to probe deeper into interesting facets of cus-
3. Go-to-market-approach – to evaluate potential
tomer behaviour and perception.
go-to-market strategies and their reception in
the marketplace.
For example, finding out how often someone
purchases a given item is very different from un- 4. Buyer behaviour – to clarify why and how buy-
derstanding how they purchased it or how en- ers make the decisions they do, and what influ-
trenched or loyal to that product they may be. ences them.
Survey data may indicate that customers are 5. Client satisfaction – can be used either to illu-
very satisfied with a service and a company may minate or to prepare for quantitative research or
believe that its customers are loyal as a result. for a more strategic review of client satisfaction.
However, interviews may reveal that, despite
6. Member needs assessment – to probe the
expressed satisfaction, customers would leave
to a competitor because of small and unrealized affinity that members have with the organization
needs that the company did not anticipate or un- as well as to gauge their satisfaction and identify
derstand. emerging needs. Can also be used to prepare
for quantitative research.
In our experience, the results of quantitative 7. Segmentation – to obtain a nuanced, client-
research tend to tell a familiar story, often vali-
centric perspective.
dating internal hypotheses and accepted wis-
dom – while still offering value in the precision 8. Feasibility study – to assess market interest in
of the responses. However, qualitative research a particular product or service.
among customers and potential customers are
filled with anecdotes and colour, delivering much
deeper insights to behaviour and opportunities,
and enabling more informed and higher quality
decisions by leadership.
The Mezzanine Group 03

4. INTERVIEWS VS. FOCUS
GROUPS
There are many ways to acquire qualitative data:
one-on-one interviews, focus groups, observational
THE MOST EFFECTIVE analysis, shadowing, and others. The most common-
METHOD TO ACQUIRE ly used in market research are interviews and focus
QUALITATIVE DATA IS THE groups. We find that one-on-one interviews are the
ONE-ON-ONE INTERVIEW most effective method for most situations. While fo-
cus groups can sometimes be done successfully in
a B2B setting, and may be practical when a group is
already gathered together (such as at a conference),
there are a number of challenges which directly affect
their value, including:
• Competition: Where interviewees see each other
as competitors, there can be concerns about dis-
closing information. Participants may also send
out intentionally confusing signals, or may partici-
pate more for the purpose of trying to learn some-
thing from their competitors, calling results into
question. This occurs less frequently in a more
private situation like a one-on-one interview.
• Logistics: In B2B research and for professional
associations it can be quite challenging to secure
even one-on-one interviews. Bringing together in-
terviewees to a central location for a discussion
is near-impossible in many fields, and extremely
challenging and prohibitively expensive in others.
• Heterogeneity: It is unusual to find a set of pure
peers in B2B or professional association settings.
For example, even among health care profession-
als there is a clear hierarchy between physicians,
nurses and technicians. Even among physicians,
there are significant differences among different
specialties, and between specialists and general
practitioners. These differences in professional
roles can cause reticence and differential levels of
participation by individuals in a focus group.
The Mezzanine Group 04

5. WHEN SHOULD YOU DO
INTERVIEW RESEARCH?
Qualitative versus quantitative research is 2. It is not practical or affordable to do survey
really a false choice. In a robust market re- research, given the context or resources
search or member needs assessment pro- available
gram both methods are used regularly, and • Expertise is still required to design surveys that
are designed to work together in a comple- will elicit meaningful data. With the proliferation
mentary way. However, there are a number of of free or low-cost online survey tools, it may
situations where quantitative research is not seem that there are few barriers to administer-
optimal, and where qualitative research via ing surveys, but access to the technology does
interviews becomes an irreplaceable tool: not equal capability. A poorly-designed survey
1. Quantitative secondary research is not with imprecise or overlapping questions can
available muddy the waters. Since there is a tendency
to gravitate towards quantitative data, regard-
In many B2B industries, adequate secondary
less of how misleading or unclear the data may
research that would enable us to quantify the
be, this can be especially dangerous in terms of
market or report on customer or competitive
warping decision-making.
trends is simply not available, at any price..
This is particularly true where industries are: • It is not always practical to obtain a quality list
for survey distribution, particularly an email list.
• Highly specialized, niche, or small – data is
The more scattered and diverse the target pop-
not collected or reported at the appropriate
ulation is, the harder it will be to get a survey to
level of detail.
a representative sample.
• Operating in a fast-changing technological,
• Obtaining and evaluating a sample can be very
economic, or regulatory context — data
difficult. Even if you put out a survey with a
quickly becomes obsolete.
significant incentive, the target market will not
• Emerging, disruptive, or cross-disciplinary necessarily respond, despite best efforts. This
— the category doesn’t exist yet, or the is especially true if you are asking a particular
data may not be reported in a way that’s target market to comment on a topic or service
applicable. that isn’t core to their business. If the goal is to
• Geographically focused (in Canada or understand a small or fragmented market, sam-
elsewhere) and struggling to apply US or ple issues for quantitative data become even
global data to a specific market. more challenging and make the data difficult to
interpret.
In these cases, interview research can un-
cover trends and even give a sense of market
size. Note that secondary research should be
an important component of any research pro-
gram, to take full advantage of sources that
do exist, however limited, and to contextualize
primary research findings. The Mezzanine Group 05

6. WHEN SHOULD YOU DO
INTERVIEW RESEARCH?
3. You are not ready to write a survey 4. Survey research may not answer the
question
If little is known about the issues or the target
population, it may be impossible to write an ef- While quantitative research has grown significantly
fective survey. Conducting interview research more sophisticated in recent years, it still has limi-
beforehand will vastly improve the survey’s rel- tations that qualitative research can address. An
evance and accuracy. Interviews can help by: open question asked by a live person in the context
of a conversation can elicit much richer information
• Surfacing important topics to explore and
than a closed survey question ever will.
appropriate questions to ask.
• If you want to identify trends and future devel-
• Identifying terminology which will resonate
opments in your industry, qualitative research
with respondents.
can be a much more effective – and faster
• Generating potential answer options to pro- – way of uncovering the emerging ideas that
vide on the survey. will affect your industry. People only rarely fill
• Clarifying categories of respondents in a tar- in “Other: please specify” on a survey. But, if
get population. asked an open question in an interview (such
as “What are the trends you see in your indus-
try?” or “What are your main challenges?”),
they can provide a great deal of analysis which
QUALITATIVE RESEARCH CAN may point to the future, and which likely would
HELP IDENTIFY TRENDS AND not have been included in a survey.
FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS IN • If you are exploring sensitive issues, dynamic
YOUR INDUSTRY and adaptive interviews can be more effective
in obtaining useful data than a survey which
may just get abandoned or, worse, answered
inaccurately.
• If you want to understand a complex landscape
with a number of interlinked players, qualitative
research can give you a sense of the relation-
ships and power dynamics between them.
The Mezzanine Group 06

7. HOW IS INTERVIEW RESEARCH
CONDUCTED?
A successful interview research program includes:
ANYONE CAN HAVE A CONVER-
• Clear research objectives. SATION, BUT NOT EVERYONE
• Well-thought-out methodology, including provi- CAN CONDUCT AN EFFECTIVE
sions for confidentiality, medium of the inter- INTERVIEW. INTERVIEW RE-
view, time, and so on. SEARCH FOLLOWS A SPECIFIC
• Interviewees targeted for types of companies, PROCESS AND IS BEST DONE
types of roles, and the ability to comment on BY SKILLED INTERVIEWERS
specific subjects. WHO ARE ABLE TO DRAW OUT
• Incentives for interviewees, based on an as-
INFORMATION FROM INTER-
sessment of their motivations.
VIEWEES AND UNDERSTAND
ALL THE NUANCES OF THEIR
• An interview guide designed to meet the re-
COMMENTS.
search objectives while enabling the interview-
er to build rapport and trust with the intervie-
wee.
• The identification and preparation of interview-
ers, including a thorough briefing on the context
of the project and the research objectives, as
well as practice runs and observation.
• Securing and conducting the interviews.
• Monitoring and course correcting as required,
to enable learning through the process and to
ensure quality of results.
• Performing systematic and rigorous analysis of
the results, mapping back to the research ob-
jectives but also reporting unexpected findings.
The Mezzanine Group 07

8. SHOULD YOU USE A THIRD
PARTY OR DO IT YOURSELF?
For some purposes, a company or organiza- • Objectivity: To get the full value from a re-
tion can conduct interviews itself, and gain use- search process, a fresh set of eyes is often
ful results. This is true particularly when there needed. An outsider can see patterns that in-
is a very specific information objective desired, siders might miss, and insiders may shy away
there is little perceived risk in having the com- from tricky findings that a competent and pro-
pany reach out directly, and where confidential- fessional external research or firm should be
ity is not perceived to be important to the inter- comfortable addressing.
viewees. Sometimes, as with client satisfaction
• Capability: Designing, conducting, and ana-
check-ins, there can be a relationship-building
lyzing the results of interviews are specialized
aspect to the company doing this kind of re-
research skills that most companies and orga-
search itself.
nizations do not possess. Interviewers must be
able to fully grasp the business context and the
• Sponsor confidentiality: In order to ob-
research objectives, adjust to the styles of the
tain objective data on many topics (for in-
interviewees, and adapt the interview ques-
stance, brand perceptions or competitive
tions to the responses received. Most compa-
intelligence), it is critical for the sponsor of
nies and organizations do not have these skills
the research to be kept confidential, which
in-house.
is not possible if they are conducting the re-
search themselves. This also avoids tipping • Network: An external firm may have a larger
the sponsor’s hand to competitors. and more diverse network than the company or
organization itself, as well as relationships with
• Interviewee confidentiality: Only a third
experts in various industries, which it can bring
party can credibly state that confidentiality
to bear on securing interviews.
will be maintained. This encourages inter-
viewees to be more forthcoming with genu-
For more information on how to implement inter-
ine impressions and opinions, and therefore
view research successfully, see our companion
the interview results can be taken more seri-
White Paper titled “Conversations with purpose:
ously.
Maximizing the value of interview research,”
which provides steps for successfully conducting
interview research, and suggestions for avoiding
common pitfalls.
The Mezzanine Group 08

9. CONCLUSION
ONE OF THE MOST POWERFUL The ability to get closer to customers, users, and
members, understanding their emerging needs and
TOOLS TO UNDERSTAND THE
addressing challenges before they become intracta-
B2B ENVIRONMENT REMAINS ble, will be critical to business success in the coming
THE ONE-ON-ONE INTERVIEW decade.
WITH BUYERS, INFLUENCERS,
Mastering the oceans of data that are now available
STAKEHOLDERS, AND INDUSTRY in the business environment is part of this capability.
EXPERTS. However, those who ignore qualitative methods of
obtaining actionable insights will risk making deci-
sions without seeing the full picture. The one-on-one
interview – actually going and talking with the people
whose decisions directly affect your business – is
a unique and invaluable technique to include in any
research program, to improve the quality of decision-
making that results.
The Mezzanine Group 09

10. WANT MORE INFO?
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11. ABOUT THE MEZZANINE GROUP
The Mezzanine Group is a Toronto-based Business to Business
strategy and marketing company.
For more than ten years, we’ve helped executives in small and
mid-sized companies, large enterprises and professional
associations achieve growth through effective strategic plans
and marketing implementation.
We know growth - we were named one of the fastest growing
companies in Canada for four years by PROFIT Magazine.
The Mezzanine Group
www.themezzaninegroup.com
416 598 4684
info@themezzaninegroup.com