The first research campaign I managed for a client was… disappointing. A third-party vendor designed the survey and included it in their panels. We knew exactly who we wanted to reach. We couldn’t pay you directly. We got answers, and we had leads, but the guides didn’t change.
The next year, we tried something different. Two organizations that we had worked with throughout the year agreed to write our research. Their members were the audience we wanted. Their subject matter experts helped us identify industry challenges to study, drawn from conversations at their events and in their Slack channels. Put us on our list and theirs.
We received duplicate responses and closed leads. The difference was not the methodology or the budget, but the organizations willing to put their names to the research.
Vendor panels solve the transportation problem. One study author tackles two different things: access and reliability. That’s what determines whether the right people respond — and whether they trust what you’ve found.
Research partners increase access and reliability
Brands conducting research programs have been engaging heavily in partnerships with industry organizations, academic institutions, and non-profits.
This year, the James Beard Foundation and Deloitte have paired the Independent Restaurant Industry Report to highlight the challenges facing restaurant professionals.
The Content Marketing Institute and MarketingProfs have been following this playbook for 16 years. A corporate sponsor writes their annual content marketing survey, and both share and publish the survey, disaggregating the data into multiple reports for their members.
The right industry partner gives you access to audiences beyond your own, credibility you can’t generate, and a shared investment that demonstrates trust and purpose. But what makes a good partner?
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Audience fit: Can they reach the right people?
Not every serious partner is the right one. Your evaluation should start with one important question: do they own the audience you are trying to reach?
Audience fit weighs more than anything else in research collaboration, because reaching the right respondents is the whole problem you’re trying to solve.
Start the Goldilocks calculation: large, loosely connected communities will disappoint you. They are too small, and the audience responses will not be statistically significant. The pub is a community centric, highly inclusive place.
Colleague credibility: Are they respectful and respectful?
Our reputable partners do something you can’t do alone: they show respondents that your research is worth their time. Partners don’t have to be household names to add credibility. They just need to be respected within your industry.
Equally important is whether you have worked with them before or receive strong enough signals of trust. An organization with an impressive brand and a fast-paced team will freeze your timeline. What you want is a partner who is responsive and treats the project as a priority, not kindness.
Distribution commitment: Will they put real effort behind it?
A dissolution is when a partnership is quietly dissolved. One marketing organization we partnered with assigned a junior contact to the project – someone without authority or relationships that would have internal influence. The responses from their list were few. (Months later, they set up their own research project.)
Another colleague provided a completely different experience: an education-focused membership organization mentioned the study in their newsletter, posted about it on LinkedIn, sent personal DMs to members, and discussed it in their private Slack community. They accounted for the highest share of responses throughout the project.
Passion is not a problem. Both partners seemed happy during the signing. The difference is organizational commitment.
When you’re vetting a potential partner, ask them to specify: what channels they’ll use, how many referrals they’ll commit to, and what size list they can reach. They may have a great goal, but there are many competing priorities, and having agreements in place early on sets the project up for success.
Subject matter technology: Who will they put in the room?
The best research partners improve the quality of your research with their expertise. An organizational leader who reviews your questions before engaging can flag language that employees don’t actually use — the kind of answer that saves you from publishing findings that no one trusts. A member who is truly invested in the topic will go a long way beyond your expectations, such as bringing together a group of colleagues for a webinar to present their findings.
None of this happens without people who care. When scouting partners, look for subject matter experts who are willing to be quoted, appear on camera, and share work on their channels. The partnership should go beyond the logo to shared interests.
Power of event presentation: How will the findings arrive?
A research report available as a PDF download is a missed opportunity. Partners with existing events, podcasts, or media platforms give you a natural category of content and a built-in audience that is already paying attention.
A co-hosted webinar to present the findings extends the life of the research and gives your data a human voice. A partner whose experts are willing to appear on a live panel or recorded AMA turns a static report into a conversation.
Another brand we know worked with a partner who hosted an expert panel at their annual fall conference, turning research into a live industry conversation.
Content promotion: Will they create with you or share a link?
The research report is just the beginning. Partners who are open to integrating brands show that they are invested in the outcome, not just the process. Look for organizations that have a dedicated channel where discoveries can live on after launch and be considered a continuing asset.
One client’s research report is hosted on our partner’s content hub. My partner markets it as a valuable asset to their community, and members still download it several times a week — more than 18 months after publication.
The promised social following is more important than the size: the partner whose audience responds is more important than one with impressive numbers and low engagement.
The most important signal of all: are they interested in doing this annual program? A partner who sees long-term value in the collaboration will protect the integrity of the research because his reputation is tied to it, too.
Partners share work and rewards
The James Beard Foundation is learning what MarketingProfs and the Content Marketing Institute thought more than a decade ago: real research is one of the most powerful thought leadership programs you can invest in. Collaborating with an author increases the credibility and reach of your research and brings your product into rooms you may not have access to and conversations you may not have been a part of.
A good partner gains something meaningful, too. They carry content assets with a shared name, a perceived leadership position, and shared leads – not leaders who compete with yours, but leads who serve their community in ways you can’t. The same report download is your plan and their member price. This is why the model works.
Partner-led research is successful when both parties are committed to serving the industry first, and their marketing goals second. That mindset is what makes the research credible and what keeps the relationship going.
