Planning B2B market research might appear straightforward on the surface – define your objectives, write a survey, and send it to professionals using a tool like SurveyMonkey Audience. But in reality, reaching decision-makers and specialists in B2B industries requires a much more nuanced approach. Unlike B2C surveys, which often target wide demographics, B2B surveys must focus on very specific characteristics such as role, industry, company size, decision-making authority, and seniority level.

General business labels aren't always enough

One of the biggest challenges in B2B research is making sure you’re targeting the right respondents – not just people who work in an industry, but the exact function and job level your research requires. A common example is sending a survey about procurement trends to anyone in the supply chain industry, only to receive responses from individuals in operations or inventory roles who don’t hold purchasing power. This misalignment can skew your data and lead to misleading conclusions.

Why validating job titles matters

Unlike consumer audiences, professionals are more likely to have overlapping job duties or job titles that vary by company or sector. A “Marketing Manager” in a large tech company may not have the same responsibilities as someone with the same title in a local SaaS startup. That’s why validating the respondent's actual scope of work – through screening questions or demographic qualifiers – becomes essential in B2B survey design. Without this validation, your data quality can quickly degrade.

Professional targeting isn’t just harder – it’s smaller

Another factor that adds complexity is low-incidence targeting. If your desired group makes up only a small portion of the general panel population – such as HR directors in long-term care facilities with a team size over 20 – you can expect longer field times and higher costs. This is a common pain point for insights teams trying to execute efficient research while staying within budget or time constraints.

Common challenges in B2B survey targeting include:

• Respondent self-misclassification (someone selecting a function that doesn’t align with their actual responsibilities)
• Small or hard-to-reach segments, which slow down data collection
• Limited targeting filters on DIY platforms without add-ons or expert configuration
• Lack of role validation, which can compromise data accuracy

With all these considerations, it’s no surprise that many companies choose to work with research experts like SIVO’s On Demand Talent to help plan, execute, and optimize their B2B survey studies. These seasoned professionals understand how to work within – and around – the limitations of tools like SurveyMonkey Audience to ensure every data point supports smarter business decisions.

SurveyMonkey Audience is a popular DIY research platform that allows users to target and distribute surveys to a panel of respondents based on pre-set demographic and professional filters. For B2B research, this platform offers a way to quickly access professional respondents based on job role, industry, and other business-related criteria. But before jumping into a survey launch, it’s important to understand how SurveyMonkey Audience actually works – and what it can and can’t do when it comes to targeting professionals.

Built-in filters for business respondents

SurveyMonkey Audience provides a range of targeting filters designed for reaching professional audiences. These include roles like manager, director, executive, and C-suite; company size filters; and industry types. While this makes it possible to begin planning B2B market research surveys yourself, using the platform effectively requires careful thought to align your targeting strategy with your business goals.

Where DIY targeting can fall short

Despite its strengths, SurveyMonkey Audience has limitations when it comes to reaching niche respondents – especially those in specialized or low-incidence groups. For example, finding business decision-makers in a specific industry AND company size range might be difficult if that audience is underrepresented in the panel. Targeting professionals by function (like finance, marketing, or legal) is possible, but validate carefully – job titles alone don’t always ensure the respondent matches your intended decision-maker profile.

Also worth noting: even when a survey is targeted to professionals, SurveyMonkey does not always validate their exact title or responsibilities unless you add specific screening questions. This means implementation and question design play a huge role in the research quality.

Making SurveyMonkey Audience work smarter for your team

To get the most out of SurveyMonkey’s professional targeting tools, it helps to work with an experienced researcher who knows both the strengths and the gaps of the platform. At SIVO, for example, our On Demand Talent professionals know how to:

• Create custom screeners that vet respondents beyond generic job titles
• Design surveys that validate business decision-maker roles and experience
• Mitigate low-response or poor-fit issues by adjusting targeting or messaging
• Optimize language so it resonates with professionals in different industries

This kind of knowledge boosts both the quality and efficiency of B2B surveys, especially when you're facing quick turnaround deadlines, smaller budgets, or a strategic initiative that can’t afford faulty inputs. For many teams, having external experts step in temporarily – rather than hiring full-time or relying solely on freelance platforms – makes more sense. SIVO’s On Demand Talent fills that gap, providing fractional experts who can guide your SurveyMonkey projects while building your team’s capabilities long term.

Ultimately, SurveyMonkey Audience is a powerful tool – but like any tool, its impact depends on the hands that are using it. By combining your internal knowledge with expert guidance, you can run practical, repeatable, and high-quality B2B research that supports smarter decision-making across your business.

Tips for Reaching the Right Professionals in Your Survey

Targeting professionals for B2B surveys may seem straightforward, but it often requires more planning than expected. When using a platform like SurveyMonkey Audience, your goal is to not only select the right criteria – such as industry, job title, or company size – but also to validate that your respondents truly fit the profile. Unlike consumer surveys, where demographics usually suffice, B2B research depends heavily on accurately identifying the roles and responsibilities of participants.

Start with Clear Target Definitions

Before creating your survey, define who you're targeting in detail. Are you looking for senior decision-makers in IT, HR professionals at mid-sized firms, or procurement officers in large enterprises? The more specific you get, the better your odds of surveying the right people.

For example, rather than choosing the catch-all label “manager,” consider filtering for “IT operations manager at companies with 500+ employees.” This helps avoid response mismatches and increases the quality of your data.

Validate Job Titles with Screening Questions

Even when using SurveyMonkey's professional targeting tools, adding custom screening questions in your survey is crucial. Titles like “Director” can mean different things across industries and regions. To improve accuracy, include screening questions like:

• “Which of the following best describes your level of influence in purchasing software for your company?”
• “How many employees does your company have?”
• “Do you manage a team or operate as an individual contributor?”

These types of questions help validate that your respondent meets your job function and decision-making criteria.

Think Realistically About Incidence Rates

The more niche your target group is, the harder it may be to find and reach them through DIY platforms. SurveyMonkey Audience offers strong professional targeting, but not unlimited reach. If you're surveying highly specialized professionals – such as industrial engineers in pharmaceutical manufacturing or CFOs in early-stage startups – be prepared for lower incidence rates and a longer fielding time.

Test and Refine as You Go

Sometimes, the targeting parameters that work on paper don’t yield the expected sample. In those cases, a quick pilot or soft launch of your survey can uncover issues early. You can then revise screening logic, tweak recruitment criteria, or relax filters to improve feasibility without compromising too much on respondent quality.

Targeting professionals with DIY research tools like SurveyMonkey Audience is powerful – but it requires thoughtful planning and realistic expectations. The more clearly you define “who” you need and “how” you verify them, the stronger your B2B survey results will be.

When to Bring in Experts for B2B Survey Projects

While SurveyMonkey Audience offers accessible and fast ways to gather business insights, some B2B survey projects are simply too complex to go it alone. Knowing when to bring in expert support can be the difference between a successful study and one that misses the mark.

Complex Targeting or Low-Incidence Groups

Any time your project involves reaching hard-to-find professionals – like senior executives, technical specialists, or buyers in a niche vertical – you may face feasibility issues. These audiences aren’t always represented at scale in DIY research panels. Partnering with experienced researchers ensures you use the right mix of targeting, screening, and recruitment add-ons to find your audience efficiently.

High-Stakes Initiatives with Executive Visibility

Projects driving strategic decisions, product development, or executive roadmaps often require validated, rigorous findings. For these high-impact cases, expert input on methodology, question design, and data confidence can help protect your outcomes – and your credibility.

Lack of Internal Research Experience

Smaller Insight teams or cross-functional stakeholders experimenting with DIY tools may lack deep market research expertise. Without guidance, it’s easy to ask leading questions, gather biased responses, or misinterpret the data. Bringing in a consumer insights expert helps align your survey with your business goals, ensuring every question adds value.

Multi-Country or Multi-Language Surveys

Expanding internationally? Global B2B research adds another layer of complexity. From translations to cultural calibration and survey routing, expert support is crucial to ensure your study resonates across markets and delivers reliable results.

Here’s a quick rundown of signals that expert support could help:

• You’re struggling to define your target audience in clear terms
• You need to validate niche job titles or specializations
• Your team is unsure how to design rigorous survey questions
• You’re not hitting sample or quality goals after launching
• You need to present results to senior stakeholders with confidence

In all of these scenarios, bringing in a knowledgeable partner – like SIVO’s On Demand Talent – ensures your B2B survey stays focused, methodologically sound, and actionable.

How On Demand Talent Supports High-Quality DIY Research

The rise of DIY research tools like SurveyMonkey Audience has opened up new opportunities for companies to move faster, reduce costs, and keep insights in-house. But maximizing these platforms still requires skill and strategy. That’s where On Demand Talent from SIVO can help.

Expertise On Your Terms

On Demand Talent connects you with experienced consumer insights professionals who plug in as-needed. You get flexible, fractional support – not freelancers or junior temp workers – but real experts ready to guide projects from start to finish. Whether you're short on time, staff, or know-how, On Demand Talent can step in without adding permanent headcount.

Making the Most of SurveyMonkey Audience

Many teams invest in DIY platforms but find they're not using them to their full potential. Our experts help you get more value from your tools by:

• Developing survey strategies aligned with business objectives
• Optimizing targeting using SurveyMonkey’s professional targeting tools
• Crafting screening questions that actually identify your intended audience
• Improving response rates and reducing waste from low-quality data

For example, a fictional mid-sized fintech company recently needed to survey compliance officers in North America using SurveyMonkey Audience. Unsure of how to define the right screening criteria, they engaged an On Demand Talent professional who created a tailored targeting approach, boosting qualified responses by 40% while keeping costs controlled.

Upskilling Your Team Along the Way

One key advantage of On Demand Talent is that our experts don’t just do the work – they help your team learn how to do it better. Think of it as embedded learning: your team benefits from practical guidance in real time, elevating their skillsets while results are delivered.

This builds long-term capacity and makes your investment in DIY tools even more impactful. Over time, your team becomes more confident, strategic, and data-driven.

Flexible Support, Strategic Impact

Whether you're supplementing task-heavy initiatives or managing finite market research projects, our On Demand Talent solution helps you expand the reach and results of your insights function – without the commitment of a full-time hire or the spend of a traditional agency model.

In short, we bring the missing piece that unlocks the full power of DIY. Fast. Flexible. Strategic. And always focused on quality.