B2B market research glossary

Processing data so individuals can no longer be identified.

Research results are reported in aggregate, and identifiers are removed or replaced before data is shared.

Related:PIIGDPR

A question designed to confirm the respondent is reading carefully.

Good attention checks are fair and relevant, not trick questions. They are one signal among several used for quality review.

Related:Red herringStraightliner

Research that studies businesses and the professionals who buy, use or influence products for their organisation.

B2B market research focuses on decision makers inside companies rather than consumers. Audiences are smaller, harder to reach and more expensive to interview, so sourcing, screening and quality control matter more than in consumer studies.

Related:B2B sampleDecision makerFirmographics

The set of verified business respondents invited to take part in a survey.

B2B sample is sourced from professional panels, specialist communities and partner networks. Good B2B sample is profiled by role, seniority, company size, industry and technology responsibility so the right people can be targeted and screened.

Related:PanelSample blendingPanel agnostic

Automated scripts that try to complete surveys for incentives.

Modern bots can use AI to write plausible text. Layered entry checks, behavioural signals and open end review are used together to remove them.

Related:Fraud detectionOpen ends

A survey repeated over time to measure awareness, consideration and perception.

Trackers need consistent sampling, screening and source mix so changes reflect the market rather than the sample.

Related:Sample blendingQuantitative research

A decision maker outside IT, such as in finance, operations or marketing.

Many technology purchases now involve BDMs who define requirements and own outcomes. Including them gives a fuller view of how buying decisions are made.

Related:Decision makerBuying committee

The group of people across functions who together make a B2B purchase decision.

Large purchases involve IT, finance, operations, procurement and an executive sponsor. Sampling the whole committee shows how criteria differ by role.

Related:Decision makerERP

The top executives of an organisation, such as CEO, CFO, CIO and CISO.

C suite respondents are scarce and time poor, so studies need short surveys, fair incentives and careful verification.

Related:CIOCFOCISO

The California Consumer Privacy Act, giving California residents rights over their personal information.

Amended by the CPRA, it covers notice, access, deletion and limits on sharing. It applies to many US research projects.

Related:GDPRPII

The executive responsible for finance, often a key approver for enterprise software.

CFOs and finance leaders shape ERP, planning and finance technology purchases. Studies often combine them with IT to reflect the full buying committee.

Related:Buying committeeERP

The senior executive responsible for an organisation's information technology.

CIOs are a low incidence, high value audience. Studies usually require company size thresholds and confirm the person's direct role in strategy and budget.

Related:ITDMC suite

The executive accountable for information and cyber security.

CISOs and security leaders are among the hardest audiences to reach. Studies focus on security budget, tooling and incident response responsibilities.

Related:ITDMC suite

The executive responsible for technology strategy and engineering, often product focused.

In software companies the CTO leads engineering; in other firms the role overlaps with the CIO. Screeners clarify which responsibilities apply.

Related:CIOITDM

Respondents who qualify, finish the survey and pass quality checks.

The number of completes, often written as n, is the main unit of a sample order. Only accepted completes that survive quality review are usually billed.

Related:CPIQuotaReconciliation

A method that measures how people trade off product features and price.

Respondents choose between product profiles, and modelling estimates the value of each feature. It is widely used for B2B pricing and packaging research.

Related:MaxDiffQuantitative research

The price paid for each accepted complete.

B2B CPI rises as incidence falls, LOI grows and seniority increases. A quote should state the assumptions behind the CPI so both sides know what happens if real incidence differs.

Related:IRLOICompletes

Confidence that each response comes from a real, qualified and attentive person.

B2B data quality is protected in layers: supplier vetting, identity and duplicate checks at entry, careful screening, in survey attention checks, open end review and reconciliation.

Related:Supplier vettingFraud detectionAttention check

A professional who approves, influences or specifies purchases for their organisation.

In B2B research decision maker is defined by screening, not job title alone: final approval, budget control, shortlist influence or technical evaluation.

Related:ITDMBDMBuying committee

Removing respondents who enter the same survey more than once.

Duplicates are common when several sources are blended. Deduplication uses IDs, fingerprints and answer patterns to keep one record per person.

Related:Digital fingerprintingSample blending

Identifying a device from its technical characteristics to spot repeat or fraudulent entries.

Fingerprinting looks at signals such as browser, device and network attributes. It helps catch one person entering several times through different panels.

Related:DeduplicationFraud detection

A sign up process where a person confirms membership twice, usually by email.

Double opt in reduces fake sign ups and is a standard expectation for reputable panels.

Related:PanelSupplier vetting

The share of qualified respondents who start but do not finish the survey.

High dropout usually points to a long LOI, a hard question block or a technical issue. Monitoring it during soft launch catches problems early.

Related:LOISoft launch

Large organisations, commonly 1,000 or more employees.

Enterprise audiences have specialised roles and larger buying committees, which lowers incidence and raises the value of precise screening.

Related:SMBBuying committee

Software that runs core business processes such as finance, supply chain and operations.

ERP research needs both IT and business respondents because the decision spans functions.

Related:Buying committeeCFO

A standard set of 37 questions buyers use to assess an online sample provider.

Published by ESOMAR, the global research association, the questions cover sourcing, profiling, quality, privacy and transparency. Providers publish answers to support due diligence.

Related:Supplier vettingData quality

Public market data, such as hiring and investment activity, used to add context to survey findings.

Signals like job postings, funding and technology adoption help explain why respondents answer as they do. We combine them with survey evidence in our intelligence work.

Related:Primary research

An assessment of whether the requested number of completes can be achieved for an audience, timeline and budget.

Feasibility combines supplier reach, expected incidence, length of interview and field time. An honest feasibility states its assumptions, so the buyer can see what would change the estimate.

Related:IRCompletesLOI

How long a survey stays open to collect the required completes.

Field time depends on incidence, audience size, quotas and how senior the respondents are. Senior B2B audiences often need more days in field than broad professional audiences.

Related:FeasibilityIR

Descriptive data about a company, such as size, industry, revenue and location.

Firmographics are the business equivalent of demographics and are the basis of most B2B quotas.

Related:TechnographicsSMBEnterprise

Tools and checks that stop bots, fake identities and survey farms from entering a study.

Common signals include impossible geography, device fingerprints shared across many entries, abnormal speed, copied open ends and inconsistent profile answers.

Related:Digital fingerprintingBotsDeduplication

The EU General Data Protection Regulation governing personal data of people in the EU.

GDPR requires a lawful basis, data minimisation, security and respect for individual rights. Research providers apply it to any EU respondent data.

Related:CCPAPII

A one to one qualitative conversation with a respondent, usually 30 to 60 minutes.

IDIs suit senior B2B audiences who will not join group discussions. Recruitment uses the same screening discipline as surveys.

Related:Qualitative research

The reward a respondent receives for completing a survey.

Senior B2B respondents expect incentives that respect their time. Incentive level affects response and is one reason executive audiences cost more per complete.

Related:CPI

The share of people entering a survey who qualify for it.

Incidence is driven by how narrow the screening criteria are. A survey of all IT staff may have high incidence; a survey of CISOs at large banks evaluating a specific tool will have low incidence, which raises cost and field time.

Related:ScreenerFeasibilityCPI

A respondent's clear agreement to take part, based on knowing how their data will be used.

Consent is captured before a survey starts. Respondents can stop at any time.

Related:GDPRPII

A professional with authority or strong influence over technology purchases.

ITDMs range from IT managers to CIOs. Studies typically screen on involvement in a named technology category, budget size and stage of purchase.

Related:Decision makerCIOTechnographics

The median time it takes a qualified respondent to complete the survey.

LOI affects cost, dropout and data quality. Long B2B surveys see more fatigue among senior respondents, so keeping LOI realistic usually improves both price and answers.

Related:CPIDropout rate

A check that survey entry, redirects and completion codes work before any respondent is invited.

Link testing confirms complete, terminate, overquota and quality redirects send the right status back to the sample provider, so counts and billing reconcile.

Related:Soft launchRedirects

A service where the provider runs sample, quotas, quality checks and reporting for the duration of a survey.

With managed fieldwork the agency hands over a programmed survey link and the provider handles sourcing, quota balancing, daily progress updates, quality removal and final reconciliation.

Related:Soft launchQuotaReconciliation

The likely range around a survey result caused by sampling.

Larger samples give smaller margins. For example, about 400 completes gives roughly plus or minus five points at 95 percent confidence for a 50 percent result.

Related:CompletesQuantitative research

A method that asks respondents to choose the most and least important items from small sets.

MaxDiff produces a clear priority ranking of features, messages or needs and avoids everyone rating everything as important.

Related:Conjoint analysisQuantitative research

Free text answers written in the respondent's own words.

Open ends provide rich insight and a strong quality signal. Reviewers look for gibberish, copied text, off topic answers and text that looks machine written.

Related:BotsData quality

A respondent who qualifies but arrives after their quota group is already full.

Overquotas are closed out politely and are not counted as completes. A high overquota rate signals that invitations should be targeted more precisely.

Related:QuotaTermination

A community of people who have opted in to receive survey invitations.

Panels hold profile data about their members, which allows targeting. B2B panels profile job role, industry and company size. No single panel covers every niche business audience, which is why specialist providers combine several sources.

Related:B2B samplePanel agnosticDouble opt in

Sourcing from whichever vetted panels best fit a study, rather than from one owned panel.

A panel agnostic provider chooses suppliers per audience on quality, reach and price. This avoids pushing every study through one panel that may be thin for a niche role, and lets the provider replace a supplier that underperforms.

Related:Sample blendingSupplier vetting

Information that can identify a person, such as name, email or phone number.

Survey data is normally delivered without PII. Respondents are identified only by IDs so results can be reconciled without revealing identities.

Related:GDPRAnonymisation

New data collected directly from respondents for a specific study.

Surveys and interviews are primary research. Secondary research reuses existing published data.

Related:External signalsQuantitative research

Research that explores reasons and context through interviews or discussions.

In depth interviews with decision makers explain the why behind numbers and are often run before or after a survey.

Related:IDIQuantitative research

Excluding a completed respondent from final data because they failed quality review.

Removed cases are reported with reasons and are not billed. Transparent removal rates by source help buyers judge sample quality.

Related:ReconciliationData quality

Research that collects numeric data from a sample large enough to measure and compare.

Online surveys are the most common quantitative B2B method. Results are reported as percentages, scores and statistically tested differences.

Related:Qualitative researchMargin of error

A target number of completes for a subgroup, such as company size or region.

Quotas make the final sample match the structure the study needs. Hard quotas stop at the target; soft quotas are guides that can flex. Quota fill is monitored daily during fieldwork.

Related:OQManaged fieldwork

The final step where both parties agree the accepted completes and removed cases before invoicing.

During reconciliation the agency flags any respondents removed for quality, and the provider confirms the final accepted count. Clean reconciliation depends on traceable IDs for every complete.

Related:CompletesCPIRedirects

A fake option, such as a non existent product, included to catch over claiming.

Respondents who claim to use a product that does not exist are flagged. In B2B technology studies this protects against people pretending to be decision makers for tools they do not know.

Related:ScreenerAttention check

Survey exit links that tell the sample provider how each respondent ended.

Each exit status, complete, terminate, overquota or quality removal, has its own redirect. Correct redirects are essential for accurate field reporting and invoices.

Related:Link testReconciliation

Combining respondents from more than one source in a single study, in a controlled way.

Blending increases reach for niche audiences. It needs consistent screening, deduplication across sources and tracking of each source's contribution so results stay comparable over time.

Related:Panel agnosticDeduplication

The opening questions that decide whether a respondent qualifies for a survey.

B2B screeners confirm role, seniority, company size, industry and involvement in a decision. Well designed screeners hide the target answer among plausible options so people cannot guess their way in.

Related:TerminationIRRed herring

Companies below enterprise size, commonly under 1,000 employees.

Definitions vary by study. SMB decision makers often hold several roles, so screening focuses on responsibilities rather than titles.

Related:EnterpriseFirmographics

Releasing a survey to a small share of the sample first to check data, incidence and timing.

A soft launch, typically around ten percent of completes, confirms the survey logic, real incidence, real LOI and quality flags before full launch. It prevents expensive problems from scaling.

Related:Link testManaged fieldwork

A respondent who finishes far faster than is realistic for the survey.

Speeders are usually defined against the median LOI, for example under a third of it. They are flagged and reviewed alongside other signals before removal.

Related:StraightlinerLOI

A respondent who gives the same answer down a whole grid of questions.

Straightlining suggests low attention. It is checked on grids where identical answers would be implausible.

Related:SpeederAttention check

Checking a sample source's recruitment, profiling and fraud controls before using it.

Vetting reviews how members are recruited, how often profiles are refreshed, what identity checks exist and how the supplier handles removals. Suppliers are scored over time on actual study performance.

Related:Panel agnosticData quality

Data about which technologies a company or person uses or is evaluating.

Technographic screening targets users of a specific cloud, security tool or ERP platform. It is essential for competitive and product research in technology markets.

Related:FirmographicsITDM

Ending a survey for a respondent who does not qualify or fails a quality check.

Terminations happen at screening or after quality checks. Tracking termination reasons shows whether incidence assumptions were right and whether a source is sending poor traffic.

Related:ScreenerOQ

Adjusting results so the sample reflects a target population structure.

Weighting corrects imbalances such as too many large companies. Heavy weighting reduces effective sample size, so good quotas are preferred.

Related:QuotaFirmographics