Summary
This presentation gives insight into B2B-specific business requirements and how the application of innovative, consumer-centric research methods like Netnography can be applied to strengthen the competitive situation of strategic suppliers within the B2B2C eco system of the food market. This presentation demonstrates how listening to social media with Netnography has generated real competitive advantages. Insights and inspiration for the successful use and implementation of social media research for B2B companies are also provided. Two food case studies on natural and healthy nutrition as well as on the next generation of citrus beverages demonstrate the application of Netnography.

Summary
Insights generated from interviews with hard to pin down stakeholders (ex. C-suite executives from customers in the B2B arena) can provide a benefit for planning corporate strategy. Online bulletin boards provide a powerful and flexible way to interact with senior audiences, generating high engagement and rich data for analysis and interpretation. This paper includes case study detail from an evolving program of studies with key international stakeholders for Philips, leveraging online bulletin boards to generate insights which drive critical brand strategy decisions. Weakening the distinction between corporate client and isolated research respondent brings both challenges and opportunities

Summary
Relationship marketing (RM) is frequently employed by firms to improve their dealings with customers. Despite the absence of a universally acceptable definition of RM, it has gained considerable interest and application in business-to-business (B2B) industries since the 1990s. The purpose of this paper is to report on the dimensions that were identified by RM managers of a major B2B financial services provider as important in establishing and managing long-term marketing relationships. The Analytic Hierarchical Process (AHP) method was used to identify the most important dimensions. An initial pool of 23 dimensions of RM was identified in the marketing literature, and this pool of dimensions was reduced to 10 after the empirical study. The study found that particular dimensions are more important than others when relationships are established, and that trust, commitment, satisfaction and communication are the most important dimensions. Further dimensions identified as important in the B2B financial services industry are competence, relationship benefits, bonding, customisation, attractiveness of alternatives and shared values. The findings are valuable for the continual management of marketing relationships with customers.

Summary
This paper examines a variety of examples of repertory grid research to assess how and why the technique is used. In particular, the authors focus on the strengths and weaknesses of using the repertory grid to explore the nature of close business-to-business relationships. Compared with the more frequently used technique of qualitative depth interviews, differences were found which suggest that further research is needed to identify what really drives supplier-buyer interdependence. The research indicates the value of the repertory grid in exploring topics that are not well defined and to identify the way that business decision-makers are making sense of their work environment.

Summary
This paper reviews the specific challenges faced by Business to Business (B2B) researchers in using internet access panels. The history of internet research has been dominated by the consumer perspective although the move away from traditional data collection methods has been faster in some B2B markets than in consumer research. This paper seeks to raise issues for discussion to allow for B2B researchers to deliver professional data and results in an internet environment.

Summary
The use of surveys continues to be an important technique in business-to-business (B2B) market research, and internet or web-based surveys are fast becoming desirable alternatives to traditional survey methods. Web-based surveys have several technological and methodological advantages to help improve both internal survey and external validity. This paper presents the results of a webbased survey conducted in a typical B2B research setting to evaluate the ‘hidden’ opportunities and benefits of web-based surveys. We demonstrate that using a web-based approach has considerable potential for examining ex post the quality of collected data and for retrieving findings to improve future surveys.

Summary
Manufacturers of business products have sought more effective ways for messages to break through, be heard and resonate with their audiences. While purchase decisions for high-end business products are typically team decisions, and the dynamics of the decision process have been dissected by researchers for years, the element that has typically not entered this model is the personal one; as understanding of the motivations of the key person who is the (internal) expert on the product. This paper addresses the discovery of the values and/or motivations of buyers.

Summary
The paper describes a specialist business panel (itself a rarity) of exporters and other users of international freight, parcels and document transport services. It provides a series of DHL case studies demonstrating the value of a time series of data extending over a 20-year period.

Summary
The paper considers the use of Creative Idea Generation techniques with business respondents, in both group discussions and individual interviews, with particular reference to employee research conducted across six countries for BT, the United Kingdom's major telecommunications company. Reference is also made to research conducted for the Design Council in the UK, to other workshops the author has conducted with different clients, to the use of techniques which help participants to prioritise the ideas generated, and to action planning techniques.

Summary
China is not only a huge fast-moving consumer goods market, but an industrial product market with enormous development potential as well. With the aim to better understand the B2B market situation in China and formulate proper marketing strategy, multinational companies need to obtain objective, precise and comprehensive information of China B2B market, users as well as the competition situation. Comparing to market information on consumer goods, B2B market information is incomplete and with limited access. In this paper, the authors introduce an efficient model, the '+-×÷' model with primary functions of business information collection, processing and value-adding. Additionally, the methods to help clients succeed in China's B2B market are discussed while analyzing successful business cooperation in this field.