Increasing your company’s size requires you to hire more people, expand your resources, and create new lines of products and services.
In order to grow a company, you need to understand how your products and services are received by the public. Telephone research helps you do just that.
A number of more traditional survey types have been replaced and overtaken by online survey tools in recent years.
But there are still some situations where traditional methods, such as telephone surveys, remain unmatched by more modern technology.
Located in the UK, More Than Words Marketing is a telemarketing agency that specialises in B2B, public sector, and marketing to schools.
Our campaigns do not use computer-assisted telephone interviewing. Our focus is on engaging and obtaining the best information from decision makers, through clear and precise communication.
The experts at our agency do provide email campaigns, but for market research, we always recommend telephone surveys.
Use a phone survey when:
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rapid results are needed,
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the target audience is reachable by phone (you have a calling list or have collected phone numbers from subscribers),
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it would be difficult for members of the target audience to complete a written questionnaire, or they would be unlikely to return it,
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your survey questions require complex answers, or
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you want opinions or to discuss their thoughts on a product or service.
The response rate of online surveys conducted from contact lists that combine both customers and prospects falls between 2% and 5%, according to B2B International.
In contrast, telephone interviews with the same list will result in response rates between 10% and 25%.
An overview of phone interview types
In market research, there are three main types of telephone interviews:
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A structured telephone interview. This will be made up of short, closed questions, in order to collect quantitative information.
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Semi-structured survey. This is made up of both closed and open questions, allowing the interviewer to collect both quantitative and qualitative data.
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In-depth telephone interviews. Interviewers can conduct qualitative research in this way – mainly through open-ended questions. Instead of a structured questionnaire, these interviews are typically longer and use a general topic as a starting point to guide the interview.
Telephone market research: advantages
The quality is controlled
When a trained market research interviewer listens to participants’ voices, they can determine whether they understand what is being asked, and address questions and answers. Data quality is determined by all of these factors, which can affect the accuracy and integrity of the final results.
In-depth data collection
It is often easier for people to talk about their opinions rather than write them down. Most people speak at a rate of 140 to 160 words per minute, but can only type at around 40 words per minute.
A skilled telephone researcher is able to obtain in-depth, detailed opinions in a shorter time frame, while being able to steer the conversation to get the precise information they need.
Accessible
Despite the growth in internet access among households, there’s still a greater number of people who have access to phones.
This makes telephone surveys especially appealing for businesses that want to survey a wide population.
Add a personal touch
In general, compared to other survey approaches, telephone surveys are more personal. If the interviewer is skilled, this can offer a great deal of brand-building opportunities.
The telephone market research process at More Than Words
In the same way that every client and every business are different, there is no one set formula for creating a perfect market research survey.
Our telemarketing team, however, follows a general pattern to maximise the effectiveness of our surveys.
A telephone market researcher will ask your customers to rate an aspect of your business, thus guiding them to the right place to think about, and then we ask them to tell us about their experience in an open-ended question.
Getting the data you need is easier when you let customers lead the conversation, prompting them for further information only when necessary.
Additionally, not only do we help you interpret your market research results, but you’ll be able to watch as our skilled staff conducts interview sessions live.
Want to know more?
If you would like to learn more about the market research we conduct for your company, please call us at 0330 010 8300.