March 11, 2021

GRIT Insights Practice: Satisfaction with Suppliers

A look into the relationships between buyers and suppliers.

GRIT Insights Practice: Satisfaction with Suppliers

Each year, the GRIT Report tracks buyers’ aggregate satisfaction with the insights and research work they commission based on each buyer’s particular experiences. The report also tracks suppliers’ aggregate opinion of how well similarly focused suppliers meet client needs. Buyers and suppliers are asked to evaluate using the same 15 aspects.

 

Buyer Satisfaction

In the supplier performance section of the GRIT survey, buyers were asked how frequently they worked with different types of suppliers so that they would have their full portfolio in mind when later asked to share their overall satisfaction with their insights/research providers. Each buyer rated their particular portfolio of suppliers as a group, so GRIT captures buyers’ aggregate satisfaction with the insights and research work they commission.

Here is a preview of the satisfaction levels buyers reported to have with their research providers.

 

Buyer Satisfaction with Suppliers – Preview

Aspect Scope 18W2 19W2 20W2 Delta %
Overall satisfaction Overall 49% 55% 51% -4%
Overall satisfaction with strategic aspects Strategic 47% 51% 52% 1%
Overall satisfaction with tactical aspects Tactical 54% 50% 53% 3%
Managing scope or project specification
changes
Tactical 63% 53% 59% 6%
Value for cost Tactical 40% 34% 39% 5%

New this year: A new aspect, “adjusting to COVID-19 impact,” was added for this GRIT wave (not present on the below preview chart)  and scored a relatively respectable 63%, placing it as the third most satisfying aspect of supplier service.

 

Supplier’s Perceptions of Performance

Supplier self-ratings align with buyer ratings in some ways, but diverge in others. The most danger for suppliers is to over-estimate performance where buyers think they do poorly. These areas are “data visualization” (dead last for buyers, #4 for suppliers) and “reporting research results” (#11 versus #5).

 

Supplier Performance by Supplier-Buyer Delta- Preview

Aspect Scope Buyer Supplier Delta (Supplier – Buyer) Buyer Rank Supplier Rank
Overall satisfaction Overall 51% 55% 3%
Data visualization Tactical 29% 70% 41% 15 4
Recommending business actions based on the research Strategic 31% 51% 20% 14 13
Reporting research results Strategic 49% 67% 18% 11 5
Understanding their business Strategic 44% 56% 12% 12 11
Designing the research plan Strategic 60% 71% 11% 4 3

 

client relationshipsclientsgrit reportmarket research suppliers

Comments

Comments are moderated to ensure respect towards the author and to prevent spam or self-promotion. Your comment may be edited, rejected, or approved based on these criteria. By commenting, you accept these terms and take responsibility for your contributions.

Disclaimer

The views, opinions, data, and methodologies expressed above are those of the contributor(s) and do not necessarily reflect or represent the official policies, positions, or beliefs of Greenbook.

More from Leonard Murphy

Building AI Before It Was Cool: How Bad Data Quality Sparked a Revolution
Executive Insights

Building AI Before It Was Cool: How Bad Data Quality Sparked a Revolution

From focus group translator to AI entrepreneur, Nexxt Intelligence CEO Kathy Cheng shares her journe...

Scaling Service-Based Businesses: Private Equity Pathways with Jeffrey Reynolds
Executive Insights

Scaling Service-Based Businesses: Private Equity Pathways with Jeffrey Reynolds

Lenny Murphy talks with Jeffrey Reynolds on scaling service businesses via private equity, balancing...

A Day in the Life: An Example of How Agentic OS is Transforming the Insights Buyer Journey
The Prompt

A Day in the Life: An Example of How Agentic OS is Transforming the Insights Buyer Journey

Discover an example of how the Agentic OS is transforming the insights buyer journey. Explore AI agents in market research, automated procurement, and...

Transforming Tradition: Alex Hunt on Leading Behaviorally into the Digital Future
Executive Insights

Transforming Tradition: Alex Hunt on Leading Behaviorally into the Digital Future

Alex Hunt shares how he transformed Behaviorally into a digital, AI-powered insights leader in this ...

Sign Up for
Updates

Get content that matters, written by top insights industry experts, delivered right to your inbox.

67k+ subscribers