Recruiting small business marketers in Brazil and Vietnam for 60-minute in-depth qualitative interviews on AI assistants, customer management software, and premium business subscriptions.
Business growth tools research starts with a simple question: what do small businesses actually pay for to grow? Advertising is only one part of the answer. Many SMBs also pay for AI assistants, customer management software, and premium subscriptions that help them win customers and keep them.
For this study, a leading global social media and digital advertising platform wanted to understand how SMBs choose, pay for, and use these tools, and where their needs are still unmet. Vertex Research Partners recruited the SMB marketers who could answer that from experience.
For another look at SMB advertising audiences, see our case study on understanding non-users of Google advertising in SMB digital marketing.
The study covered two markets, Brazil and Vietnam. Vertex Research Partners recruited 10 participants per market for 60-minute in-depth qualitative interviews, with 20 interviews in total.
The client wanted a qualitative view of current usage, unmet needs, and pain points among small businesses that pay for business growth tools alongside, or instead of, advertising.
The research set out to understand:
- Which paid business growth tools SMBs use today
- What needs those tools meet: generative AI and advanced reasoning, verification, trust and visibility, and customer service automation and sales conversion
- Where current tools fall short
- How the picture differs between businesses that advertise on a major social platform and those that don’t
- How needs differ across business sizes and verticals
In this study, “business growth tools” meant tools that help SMBs grow and build stronger customer relationships. They were not advertising products.
Vertex Research Partners built a screening framework around the business, the individual, and their tool usage.
Business growth tools research only works if participants use the tools today. Every participant paid for and used at least one business growth tool in the last 28 days.
Job titles alone were not enough, so Vertex Research Partners ran screening and validation calls to test each participant’s real involvement in marketing and in choosing and paying for these tools.
The sample covered two groups of B2C small businesses that paid for business growth tools:
- Active advertisers on a major social media platform
- Non-advertisers on that platform, which could advertise elsewhere
This let the client compare the needs of advertisers and non-advertisers side by side.
A single spend threshold would not work across two very different economies. Vertex Research Partners applied annual digital advertising spend bands adapted to each market, with spend added up across platforms to place each business as small or medium. The sample covered a mix of verticals and company sizes in each market.
Each participant paid for tools that met at least one of three needs:
Generative AI creation and advanced reasoning · Verification, trust, visibility, and support · Customer service automation, sales conversion, and system integrations
Vertex Research Partners asked each participant which need mattered most today, so every need had a place in the sample.
The sample balanced decision-makers and hands-on practitioners, from owners to marketing managers and specialists, so the client heard from the people who choose tools and the people who use them daily.
The study covered Brazil and Vietnam.
Participants per market: 10
Total interviews: 20
Format: 60-minute in-depth qualitative interviews, conducted virtually
Language: each participant’s local language
All 60-minute in-depth qualitative interviews took place on video, in the participant’s local language.
Vertex Research Partners’ role was to give the client direct access to the right small businesses and the right people inside them. This kind of B2B research recruitment depends on detailed screening.
This involved:
- Verifying paid use of at least one business growth tool in the last 28 days
- Confirming each participant’s role in marketing and in tool selection and spending
- Placing each business into the right size band using localised spend criteria
- Balancing decision-makers and practitioners across sizes and verticals
- Covering all three customer needs
- Running screening and validation calls to check how clearly each participant could explain their needs
- Coordinating qualified participants for 60-minute in-depth qualitative interviews in Brazil and Vietnam
The value came from the screening. Every participant paid for and used growth tools, had a real role in marketing, and could explain their needs. Our qualitative research services are built around this kind of detailed screening.
Related case studies: Understanding Non-Users of Google Advertising in SMB Digital Marketing (SMB decision-makers), Refining Go-to-Market Strategy for ISVs Across the European Payments Market (go-to-market research), and Operational Equipment Procurement & Value Proposition Research Across Infrastructure Sectors (purchasing decisions). You can also see how we support market research teams with this kind of recruitment.
Vertex Research Partners recruited marketers from small B2C businesses in Brazil and Vietnam, including:
- Owners and founders (Owner, Founder, Managing Director) who choose and pay for tools directly
- C-level and senior leaders (CEO, CMO, Marketing Director) who approve budgets
- Marketing managers and leads (Marketing Manager, Digital Marketing Manager, Brand Manager, Head of E-commerce) who select and oversee tools
- Marketing practitioners (Social Media Manager, Performance Marketing Specialist, Digital Marketing Executive) who use the tools every day
- Customer experience and CRM specialists (CRM Manager, Customer Support Lead) who run customer conversations and automation
Looking to speak with small business marketers and decision-makers in international markets? Explore how Vertex Research Partners recruits relevant business professionals for multi-market research in marketing and advertising and beyond, or get in touch.
