B2B Research Conference 2025

09.00 Registration & coffee

09.30 Welcome from the Chair
Tom Percival, Basis B2B

09.40 Unlocking the B2B Superpower: what really drives buyer decisions in 2025
Hear the latest insights from The Superpowers Index, the world’s largest B2B buyer behaviour study. With data from over 25,000 brand experiences, this study uncovers the emotional and rational drivers behind business decision making, including how AI, CX, ABX, generational shifts, and even trade tariffs are shaping what buyers need now.
Find out what is shaping buyers needs today and hear how Dentsu is using these insights to fuel stronger brand experiences, better decisions, and higher ROI across its sales and marketing strategy.
Matt Botham, Senior Research Director, B2B International
Tom Setter, Media Strategy Partner, Dentsu

10.10 Researching SMEs future requirements and designing a future-ready service experience
What does it take to design a servicing model that resonates with SMEs not just today but 10 years from now? In this conversational session, examine how Barclays Business Banking and Firefish used agile, iterative qualitative research to unlock SMEs’ servicing aspirations and shape an AI-integrated service strategy and roadmap.
Hear how the research identified the optimum mix between colleague and AI-led servicing giving stakeholders more confidence in designing a holistic approach. Explore how deep customer insight informed a compelling roadmap and socialisation of the research sparked cultural momentum across the business.
Lizzy Moroney, Head of Customer Strategy, Firefish
In conversation with
Geraldine Maringo, Head of Business Banking Platform and Enablers, Barclays Business Banking
Jen Hornsby, Head of Service Design, Barclays Business Banking
Gemma Newell, Head of Customer Insights, Barclays Business Banking

10.40 Morning refreshments

11.10 Adapting B2C methods to power SGN’s B2B energy strategy
This case study shows how B2C research methods, specifically deliberative engagement and digital methods, were successfully adapted for a B2B audience in the UK energy sector.
Small business owners took part in two, three-to-four week, online deliberative engagements, spaced seven months apart, to explore their views on SGN’s proposed energy transition plans. This rare longitudinal B2B approach delivered deep insight and directly shaped SGN’s long-term strategy. It also led to the creation of an ongoing ‘supergroup’ panel with a selection of the deliberative participants that continues to inform SGN’s planning.
Hear how to apply digital deliberative methods to engage B2B audiences on complex, high-impact issues.
Eloise Wroe-Wright, Research Director, STRAT7 Jigsaw
Ged Egan, Senior Stakeholder Strategy Manager, SGN

11.40 A behavioural science approach to driving B2B2C change
Ipsos’ Behavioural Science team partnered with Haleon to help pharmacists deliver better outcomes for pain patients by shifting from rational interactions to more emotional & holistic consultations.
Through in-store and training-based behavioural interventions, this programme marked a major departure from traditional B2B engagement. Using an innovative experimental design, the study proved the effectiveness of these interventions, driving measurable changes in pharmacist-patient interactions and strengthening trust in the Haleon brand.
Discover how this novel approach offers valuable lessons for applying behavioural science in other B2B2C settings where emotional engagement can drive real impact.
Colin Strong, Head of Behavioural Science, Ipsos and Professor of Practice at Nottingham University Business School
Laura Street, Marketing Director, Haleon

12.10 Engaging hard-to-reach audiences: how AI-moderated voice interviews boosted doctor participation in pharma research
Elma Research, a healthcare insights firm, recognised for its adoption of innovative technologies, partnered with Glaut to tackle a recurring challenge in pharma research: capturing rich, unfiltered feedback from time-pressed doctors.
AI-Moderated Interviews (AIMIs) were used to collect nuanced feedback on how doctors perceive pharma-led educational stimuli. Doctors responded autonomously with no scheduling required, via voice or text and in multiple languages. The AI moderator adapted to responses in real-time, enabling intelligent probing and deeper engagement.
This case study highlights how AIMIs outperformed traditional methods in accessing nuanced insights from a niche, high-value B2B healthcare audience.
Kyle Haynes, Head of International Quantitative Research, Elma Research
Matteo Cera, CEO, Glaut

12.40 Lunch

13.40 From insight to empathy: how creative storytelling helped British Gas Business understand the debt experience better and stay connected to customers
For British Gas Business, maintaining positive customer relationships throughout the various stages of debt management is challenging but crucial. In partnership with FlexMR, they explored the practical, and often overlooked, emotional challenges businesses face.
Findings pointed to actionable recommendations for a wide range of stakeholders. To bridge the evidence-to-action gap, the team designed a set of creative outputs to elevate impact and help stakeholders build empathy and better understand the perspective of customers.
This session will show how to approach complex and sensitive subjects in B2B research and how strong storytelling and creative outputs are key to embedding impactful insights with stakeholders.
Harriet Williams, Insight Manager, FlexMR
Stuart Hotchkiss, Business Customer Research Manager, British Gas

14.10 Expert panels vs. traditional recruitment: finding the right target audience
As recruitment landscapes shift, how can B2B researchers ensure they reach the right participants, especially in niche or high-stakes studies? This session compares the strengths and challenges of expert panels and traditional recruitment methods and examines how B2B recruitment strategies are evolving in response to new technologies and challenges.
Panellists will share real-world success stories, discuss risks such as credential verification, GDPR compliance, and cost-effectiveness, and address due diligence and best practices in relation to expert panels. They’ll also consider how traditional recruitment continues to evolve through digital tools like LinkedIn, and other online platforms.
Chaired by Stephen Bairfelt, Managing Director, Prevision Research & Chair, MRS B2B Network 
Max Friberg, CEO and co-founder, Inex One
Giulia Baldi, Principal, IDR
Eva Oller, Director, Online Research Senior Consultant, Ipsos
Phil Morton, Director, Foolproof
Kate Downer, Director, Verve

14.40 Conversational AI in B2B research: a new approach to employee experience research
In Q4 2024, Havas People conducted a global B2B employee experience research study powered by Peekator’s AI platform. The project which spanned 5 countries, with a sample size of over 5000 in quantitative research and 29 interviews in qualitative research uncovered the critical disconnects between employee expectations and workplace realities.
This session will share key findings from the research, examine the methodological decision making and show how an AI powered methodology both sped up the process and uncovered deeper insights. Examine the impact of incorprating conversational AI within the survey and how AI accelerated analysis and delivered summarised insights.
Marin Mrsa, CEO, Peekator
Lisa Maria Mai, Senior Insight Manager, Havas People

15.10 Afternoon refreshments

15.40 Synthetic truths? Evaluating AI’s role in the future of B2B research
Are synthetic respondents the future of market research or a step too far? This session will balance enthusiasm with scepticism.
Drawing on, hot-off-the-press findings from STRAT7 Jigsaw’s self-funded experiment comparing real and synthetic B2B respondents, the presentation weighs up the practical benefits against ethical concerns and considers viable applications, limitations and tips for using synthetic data in B2B research.
Just because we can use synthetics, should we?
Alex Johnston, Head of Commercial Development, STRAT7 Jigsaw
Hasdeep Sethi, Group AI Lead and Data Science Director, STRAT7 Jigsaw

16.10 From data to action: using social intelligence to reshape B2B relations in high-risk territories
Across Latin America, extractive industries operate in increasingly complex environments. In the B2B landscape, where decisions between companies, suppliers, local governments, and community organisations are deeply interconnected, social information is critical.
From Peru, to Bolivia and Colombia, this session offers a strategic and grounded look at how tools of social intelligence including social listening on B2B digital channels, perception studies, territorial analysis, are used to anticipate tensions, foster empathy driven decisions, and strengthen B2B alliances.
Hear how social data hasn’t just helped to understand the context but has redefined the rules of engagement for B2B actors operating under constant pressure.
Carlos Alegría, MBA, Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas (UPC), Peru

16.40 Close of conference & networking drinks reception