{"id":4701,"date":"2013-06-18T09:41:20","date_gmt":"2013-06-18T13:41:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.exomarketing.biz\/?p=4701"},"modified":"2021-11-11T14:18:36","modified_gmt":"2021-11-11T19:18:36","slug":"a-toolkit-to-understanding-statistics-in-b2b","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/exob2b.com\/en\/a-toolkit-to-understanding-statistics-in-b2b\/","title":{"rendered":"A toolkit to understanding statistics in B2B"},"content":{"rendered":"

You created a research firm to conduct studies and the word statistics makes you sick? This short guide might help clarify the jargon of statistical research.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe conducted a study by interviewing 1000 respondents from Quebec who work in the XYZ industry. The study was conducted between April 29, 2013 and May 10, 2013 via an online survey. The confidence level was measured at 95% (19 out of 20) with a margin of error at 3.1%.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the beginning, the statistician, mathematician or analyst presents the parameters of the study, as above. They are usually discussed at the beginning of the project and depend on your needs and budget.<\/p>\n

Sample of X respondents<\/strong><\/p>\n

This is simply the number of entities (people, companies, etc.) that will be interviewed. Since it\u2019s practically impossible to question an entire population (ex: every company from the construction sector), it\u2019s preferable to choose a small group of companies that represents this population. In B2B, we often use smaller samples, which isn\u2019t always the case in B2C.<\/p>\n

Level of confidence<\/strong><\/p>\n

Polling firms will usually use a 95% confidence level (the infamous 19 out of 20). You might also see 90% or 99%, which generally depends on your budget.<\/p>\n

Tempting to choose a \u201ckingpin\u201d 99% level of confidence? Not necessarily. For the same sample size (1000, for example), your margin of error is larger, as below:<\/p>\n

Margin of error<\/strong><\/p>\n

This element is sometimes misunderstood. The margin of error is the estimate of the possible range between the results if the study were to be conducted a second time with the same respondents. The higher the margin of error, the lower the confidence level.<\/p>\n

Average and standard deviation<\/strong><\/p>\n

Finally something that might be familiar to you: averages! A former marketing professor of mine had compared averages to a bikini: they give a good idea of the results without revealing everything.<\/p>\n

Actually, the average can sometimes misrepresent your data. To see how, below are the standard deviations of the group averages. The standard what? Here\u2019s an example:<\/p>\n

Two groups of students receive their test results:<\/p>\n

If you only look at the average, as a bad school principal would do, then you might have thought that both groups have the same average and are thus comparable. Does this remind you of someone? Skinner!!! The principal of the Springfield elementary school from The Simpsons.<\/p>\n

Median<\/strong><\/p>\n

The median is the central value of your data. Let\u2019s look at the example above and compare the medians of the two groups.<\/p>\n

Wait a minute! The median of each group is different. To know whether your averages accurately represent these groups, look at the medians. If there is a 10% difference between the averages, then they probably do not represent your groups. I\u2019ll spare you the details, but here\u2019s the difference between the average and the median of each group:<\/p>\n