Original B2B Research: How to Create Durable, Strategic Marketing Assets

If you’re a B2B marketer right now, chances are you’re drowning in content requests. Your sales team needs case studies. Leadership wants thought leadership. Someone decided you need to be on TikTok. And in the meantime, you’re trying to figure out how to stand out in a sea of AI-generated slop that’s flooding every channel.

The solution isn’t more content. It’s B2B original research that gives your strategy an anchor.

Sound familiar? We hear this all the time from marketing teams trying to do more with less.

We recently welcomed Jillian Hoefer (Head of Content at UserEvidence) to our Best Story Wins podcast to chat about what she calls “random acts of content,” among other topics. 

She shared how one proprietary research report transformed their entire content strategy, generating 600 downloads in the first week and continuing to drive results a full year later. (That kind of long-tail value is practically unheard of in content marketing.)

The best part? You don’t need a massive budget or a huge team to make this work. You just need to understand how original research can become the anchor that ties all your content together.

What Is Original Research (And Why It Matters Now)

In B2B, original research is proprietary data you collect for marketing. Often you get it through surveys, customer interviews, or behavioral analysis. Unlike third-party statistics that every competitor can access, original research gives you:

• Unique insights no one else can claim
• Credible proof points for sales conversations
• Long-term content assets that compound in value
• Media attention and backlink opportunities

In an era of AI-generated content, original research is your differentiation moat. It’s the difference between content that disappears in days and assets that drive results for years.

The Real Problem: Content Without Proof

Here’s what Jillian sees happening across B2B marketing: “I feel like I’ve fallen victim to ‘random acts of content’ many times. It feels like you’re kind of trying this thing and you’re trying this narrative and you’re doing this thing. And someone said we need to be on TikTok. So now we’re creating random videos over there.”

When you don’t have a solid foundation of proprietary data, every piece of storytelling content feels like a shot in the dark. You’re guessing at what resonates. You’re pulling stats from third-party sources that your competitors are also using. And you’re constantly playing catch-up when your go-to-market team asks for evidence to support their conversations.

But when you anchor your content strategy in original research? Everything changes.

How Original Research Transforms Your Content Engine

When UserEvidence put out their first Evidence Gap Report, a 21-page study with 150 proprietary stats and quotes from 12 thought leaders, Jillian says the impact was immediate and ongoing. Here’s how to replicate their success with your own B2B research strategy.

1. Start with one big bet on original research.

You don’t need to launch five studies at once. Start with one focused piece of original B2B research that addresses a real problem your audience is facing.

“We did some really cool proprietary research this past year that said 60% of buyers have ruled out a vendor because they didn’t trust the evidence that they were shown somewhere in the sales process,” Jillian says. That single stat from their research became a conversation starter across every channel.

For UserEvidence, this B2B research strategy gamble paid off bigger than expected. “The Evidence Gap Report got 600 downloads in the first week.”

Tip: Start by surveying your ICP about their biggest challenges or industry trends. Use tools like Wynter, or tap into your own customer base for data. Focus on questions that will yield insights your audience actually cares about—not just data that makes you look good. Keep your initial survey to 8-10 questions max, and aim for at least 200-300 responses for statistical relevance.

2. Build your content repurposing system.

Here’s where it gets really smart. Jillian didn’t just publish the report and move on. She built a system to extract maximum value from every data point in her original research.

“I built out a ChatGPT bot and said, ‘hey, I’m going to make this like a content repurposing type of concierge. Any piece of content that I feed to you in the future, I want you to suggest three different stats from the report that I could insert into content.’”

From there, every piece of content the team created—blog posts, landing pages, social media, even sales outreach—got infused with relevant stats from the research. The result? Everything felt more credible, more grounded, more trustworthy.

Tip: You don’t need a custom bot (though it’s a great idea). Create a simple spreadsheet with all your stats organized by theme, use case, and audience segment. Include columns for the stat itself, the insight it supports, and suggested content types. Every time you write new content, reference it. Make it a habit to ask: “Which data point makes this piece stronger?”

Related Content: How a Divisible Content Strategy Gives You More Content With Less Work

3. Use data to anchor your narrative (stop random acts of content).

This is the game-changer. When you have proprietary research, you’re no longer throwing content at the wall to see what sticks. You have a foundation that ties everything together.

And it’s not just about marketing content. The original data becomes a resource across your organization:

• Your sales team uses the stats in outbound emails and discovery calls
• Leadership references the findings in board presentations and analyst briefings
• Customer success points to the data when talking to prospects about ROI
• Product teams validate roadmap decisions with customer insights

Everyone’s telling the same story, backed by the same credible source.

Tip: Look for stats that work across multiple contexts. A finding about buyer behavior might support a blog post about building trust, a sales email about timing, and a webinar about industry trends. The more versatile your data, the more mileage you’ll get. Create a “stat of the week” rotation to ensure your team consistently uses fresh angles from your research.

4. Think beyond marketing—make it cross-functional.

One of the biggest advantages of original B2B research is that it doesn’t just serve marketing. When done right, it becomes a resource for your entire organization.

Jillian points out that their go-to-market team constantly uses research findings. “Our go-to-market teams use some of the stats in their outbound and in their conversations,” she says. This creates consistency across every customer touchpoint—and makes everyone’s job easier.

When your sales team is scrambling for proof to close a deal, they shouldn’t have to come to you asking for a custom case study. They should already have a library of credible, relevant data at their fingertips.

Tip: When you’re planning your B2B original research, involve stakeholders from sales, product, and customer success from day one. Run a 30-minute brainstorming session where each team shares the questions they wish they had answers to. Prioritize questions that serve multiple teams, and create team-specific one-pagers that highlight the most relevant findings for each group. This upfront investment ensures cross-functional adoption and impact.

5. Embrace the long-tail value.

Here’s something most marketers don’t expect: Original research has staying power that typical content doesn’t.

“I swear to you that we had people still downloading the original evidence gap report the day that we were putting out the next version of it the following year,” Jillian says. “Like we were having consistent long tail downloads of this thing.”

Compare that to a typical blog post or social media campaign, which might see most of its engagement in the first few days or weeks. Research-based content stays relevant because people are always looking for credible data to support their decisions—whether they’re building internal business cases, crafting their own content, or educating their teams.

Tip: Don’t just promote your research at launch. Reference it in every relevant piece of content you create for the next year. Include it in email nurture sequences. Use it in retargeting campaigns. Update your social bios to highlight it. Create a six-month promotional calendar that finds new angles and audiences for the same research. Treat it like the evergreen asset it is.

Original B2B Research FAQs

How much does original research cost?

Basic surveys through tools like Wynter start around $1,000-3,000. More comprehensive studies with 300+ responses can range from $5,000 all the way up to $100,000 and more depending on how advanced the methodology is. However, if you survey your own customer base, costs can be significantly lower, mainly involving time investment and incentives for participants.

How many responses do I need for credible B2B research (n=)?

Aim for 200-300 qualified responses minimum for statistical relevance in B2B markets. For niche audiences, 100-150 responses can still provide valuable insights, though you’ll want to be transparent about sample size when sharing findings.

How often should we publish original research?

Start with one annual flagship report to anchor your content strategy. Quarterly pulse surveys can supplement your research strategy and keep your data fresh. The key is consistency—it’s better to do one high-quality study annually than to stretch resources thin across multiple mediocre projects.

What’s the best way to promote B2B original research?

Treat your research like a product launch: create a dedicated landing page, promote across all channels for 2-3 weeks, pitch to industry publications for coverage, and continue referencing findings in content throughout the year. The research should fuel your content engine for 12+ months.

Your Original B2B Research Action Plan

We’re living in a moment where anyone can generate content in minutes. But B2B original research gives you what AI never will: credibility, differentiation, and longevity.

Original data proves you know your space. It gives you something competitors can’t easily replicate. And it keeps working for you long after you hit publish—creating the kind of long-tail value that typical content simply can’t match.

If you’re tired of creating content that disappears into the void, it’s time to anchor your strategy in something real. Start with one focused proprietary research project. Build a repurposing system to extract value from every data point. And watch as your “random acts of content” transform into a cohesive, data-backed narrative that actually moves the needle.

Ready to launch your B2B original research strategy? Listen to Jillian’s full episode on the Best Story Wins podcast. And if you need help bringing your own research-based content strategy to life, check out our content strategy toolkit or reach out to start a conversation.