Assessing demand for business internet among small firms

What is shaping internet services

Broadband providers, platforms and digital businesses depend on adoption, experience and trust. Usage patterns differ widely by city tier, age and language.

• New users are coming online in smaller towns and local languages
• Experience and reliability drive loyalty
• Trust and safety concerns shape usage

An internet service provider, working in Egypt & Morocco. Client identity is withheld to protect confidentiality.

Organisation

An internet service provider

Sector

Internet services

Team engaged

Market Research

Services

Business panel, Quantitative research, Research consultancy

The provider wanted to launch business plans but did not know what small firms needed. Small businesses relied on consumer internet plans, and outages often cost them sales. Many small businesses used home internet plans that failed during busy periods, but few business plans were designed for their needs or budgets.

• Deliver on the brief: assessing demand for business internet among small firms.
• Understand the views, needs and behaviour of small businesses.
• Measure how widespread each pattern is, and explain the reasons behind it.
• Give the client evidence it can act on within 7 weeks.

The work focused on 800 small businesses.

• small businesses800

Audiences we typically reach in internet services

Broadband and app usersNew internet usersSmall businesses onlineContent creatorsParents and educators

Coverage: Egypt & Morocco. Markets: Egypt and Morocco.

• Egypt
• Morocco

A mixed-method design: structured research measured how widespread each pattern was, and qualitative conversations explained why.

1. 1Brief
2. 2SME survey
3. 3Interviews
4. 4Insight

We surveyed small businesses in Arabic and French about connectivity, outages, prices and support. Interviews were conducted in Arabic and French with shops, clinics, offices and small manufacturers, covering how outages affected business and what support they expected. We also asked businesses how outages affected sales and which support channels they preferred.

Business panelQuantitative researchResearch consultancy

small businesses

800

• Business respondents were screened on role, company size and involvement in the decision before being invited.
• Online respondents were drawn from verified panel members who matched the screening criteria, with quotas on key profile attributes.
• Qualitative participants were recruited purposively to cover the full range of experiences that mattered, rather than for statistical representation.

• The online survey was mobile-friendly and offered in respondents' languages.
• Interviews and discussions were led by experienced moderators using a guide agreed with the client.

• Digital fingerprinting and duplicate checks
• Attention, speed and straight-lining checks
• Review of open-ended answers
• Recordings and transcripts for every session
• Re-screening of qualitative recruits
• Logic and range checks on the final data
• Work carried out under our ISO 20252 quality procedures

• Cross-tabulation by key groups and locations
• Significance testing on the differences that mattered
• Thematic coding of interviews and discussions
• Journey and decision mapping

• Reliable uptime and quick repair mattered more than speed.
• Support response times became a key part of the provider’s marketing.

Business customers paid for reliability.

• The provider launched plans with service guarantees.
• Share the findings with the teams closest to customers so they can act quickly.

What we recommended, and the client put into practice

• Business plan subscriptions grew steadily after launch, especially among clinics and retailers.

• Insight report and management presentation
• Cleaned data file and data tables

• Repeat the measure after changes are in place to track progress.
• A natural follow-on question: what makes users feel safe online?