Rigorous training and extensive call monitoring ensures complex multilingual market research project is a success.
Circle Research are a B2B research organisation specialising in numerous research areas such as customer loyalty and satisfaction, brand development and reputation tracking, market segmentation, product or service development and testing, thought leadership and content marketing, marketing communications and advertising research.
Project background
Circle Research approached The Telemarketing Company to undertake a multi-lingual CATi research project for one of their trusted clients. The main objective was to gain precious knowledge and insight directly with customers across 5 European countries that currently receive and use a hard copy catalogue. These were:
- France
- Germany
- Netherlands
- Poland
- UK
The purpose of the interview was to really understand how each individual customer incorporates the catalogue into their everyday business. Circle Research’s client wanted to explore how vital it was for their customers to have a hard copy of the catalogue:
- Is it essential for business needs?
- How is it used throughout the business?
- Is it a necessity for the customer’s business operation or is the catalogue more of a reference or research tool, or simply for brand awareness?
The Telemarketing Company were selected to provide a research project which would support the main objective by implementing a 10 – 15 minute CATi interview with a random selection of customers across the 5 selected countries.
The Telemarketing Company worked carefully with Circle Research to plan and execute a research programme of 2 weeks, which delivered all aspects required by Circle’s client.
Prior to the campaign launch, the following areas were planned and agreed through a process of open exchange of information and ideas:
- Detailed discussions surrounding the questionnaire
- Timeframes of when the research should be implemented - to help increase the level of results and to minimize any disruption to the customer
- How the completed results would be delivered back to Circle Research.
Project execution and results
Circle Research approached The Telemarketing Company with a fully designed questionnaire that their client wished to conduct with approximately 50 of their customers. The questionnaire was reviewed and discussed between The Telemarketing Company and Circle Research to ensure the most appropriate questions were included which also fitted into an estimated length of telephone interview.
After detailed discussions surrounding the proposed questionnaire, which resulted in no major alterations, The Telemarketing Company built and developed a bespoke CATi interface, which was capable of linking to Circle Research’s customised online questionnaire. Both platforms were subjected to a vigorous testing process to ensure the developed questionnaire would ultimately supply Circle Research and their client, with the valuable knowledge directly from their customers.
A small selected research team consisting of native speakers was assembled for each country. They were briefed extensively on the objectives of the research, to ensure a high level of interaction was achieved with the customer, as the questionnaire had been designed with a focus on open constructed discussion. The detailed briefing presented the interviewer to own a high degree of background knowledge and information, which enabled the interviewer to ask the right questions, which in turn broadened the level of key insight gleaned from the customers.
During each research interview, the interviewers were required to ask a set of comprehensive questions which ranged from straight forward closed questions, to open discussions where the interviewer needed to capture full detailed verbatim responses using various sub questions to engage the customer and entice as much insight as possible. The questionnaire was designed to generate in-depth responses for the client in order for them to really understand the customer and how they interacted with the catalogue in various design scenarios. The CATi research was also used to provide the customers that were interviewed with additional information surrounding the e-catalogue that they provide their customers, as well as exploring what improvements the client could introduce to both the hard copy catalogue and e-catalogue.
Extensive call monitoring, including live monitoring using native speakers, was conducted throughout the duration of the research project to help identify any areas of the call process which could be improved or changed to help improve the quality of information being captured.
The research project was conducted within the guidelines of the Market Research Society’s code of conduct, which ensured industry best practice was delivered on each call. All agents within the team were trained research agents having all been trained in accordance with the Market Research Society’s Accredited Interviewer Training Scheme.
In addition to this, a minimum of at least 5% of all completed research interviews were carefully reviewed and monitored in accordance with the IQCS (Interviewer Quality Control Scheme), an independent organisation which ensures and maintains high standards of data collection within the Market Research Industry.
“The Telemarketing Company provided great service, timely and accurate responses and great quality of work. They helped us throughout the delivery of the project and managed a complex, multi-lingual requirement without any issues. I’m pleased to recommend them as a provider of quality CATI research services.”
Director, Circle Research