B2B Testing of Your Corporate Clients: Keys to Success

Update: 04.10.2021

If most of the time, UX testing is done in a B2C context, it appears today that more and more studies are requested within the B2B populations of prospects, clients and employees. Different panels mean different protocols. So, how do you conduct a successful B2B test? Read this article to find out.

About the usefulness of testing your B2B customers

Most user tests aim to recruit B2C consumers within the target group of the client's product/service. To do this, research institutes and specialized startups analyze their panels to identify the people who should be surveyed.

Today, we are seeing a sharp increase in the demand for tests on employee populations or B2B prospects and clients. A logical trend, as the UX research agency and the Ferpection solution allow us to:

• Democratize user testing by considerably reducing costs without compromising on quality.
• Make testing the websites of startups, SMEs who operate in B2B accessible and profitable. But also, applications or extranets specifically designed for partners and employees of large groups.

So we understand how useful B2B testing is to get professionals talking and to gain a sharper perspective. To learn more, here is a concrete example of a study and test conducted with a B2B clientele for Bouygues Telecom Entreprise.

Recruiting these highly targeted testers

Let us start with the bad news: the more specialized the target, the more complex the recruitment. If the target to be recruited represents less than 1% of the population, it starts to get complicated, because we enter into ad hoc logic. If we are talking about less than 0.1% of the population, it is advisable to work on the basis of a listing provided by the client. This is often the case for our B2B clients who wish to have their prospects, clients or their own employees tested.

Working on the basis of your listing allows you to survey very specific populations. But you have to adapt your methodology to the testers who are not part of the panel.

You also need to plan a different remuneration from a B2C tester. You may consider offering a voucher, an invitation to an event, or a 1^st order free on the tested interface.

Methodology and choice of location: what you need to know to conduct a B2B test

As is often the case, you need to start from the context and your objectives, from what you want to learn by listening to your B2B clients, prospects and/or employees.

1 | Exploratory tests

These exploratory tests are useful if you want to:

• understand their expectations
• appeal to their creativity
• see them react on the spot
• dig into certain issues are they arise

You are probably in the framing phase of your offer, in the exploratory phase, for which we recommend individual interviews, face to face or in a conference call.

NB: We recommend focus groups (4 to 6 people) only for brainstorming workshops that require creativity. But, as always with this method, beware of the risk that a person with an assertive character will bias the group's responses.

2 | Interface testing

If, on the other hand, the website or application has already been launched, or if the launch or redesign project is underway, the challenge is to get the users to react on the strengths and weaknesses of the model, the website or the application.

At this stage, we believe that volume – of testers and feedback – is a determining factor. Ferpection's remote UX testing solution allows us to test a larger volume of people via its SaaS-based user feedback platform.

The scope of the testing protocol

The size of the test project is determined by the stakes involved. The higher the stakes of the project – potential turnover, risks in case of failure – the more profitable the investment in user testing will be. It is therefore important to adapt the system to your budget. Experts generally recommend investing 10% of a launch/redesign budget in usability testing, for considerable results. If you want more information on this topic, you can check out our article on the ROI of user testing.

Dealing with clients who are less technologically inclined

For these audiences, we recommend either face-to-face interviews in person; or a video call, but in the form of an interview with a qualified moderator. This does not prevent feedback from being entered into the Ferpection interface: if the tester is not very comfortable with digital tools, the interview facilitator should enter the client/employee's comments into the interface. If the interview is done remotely, you can of course share the screen and/or take a complete video capture of the session.

You are now ready to go Agile and listen to your employees, providers, prospects and B2B clients!

Want to learn more about the different user research methods available to better understand your users and test your products and services? Visit our methodologies page.

Did you like this article? Share it!