CASE STUDIES

MARKET RESEARCH

Client’s Demand

An international software development company was wondering about the opinion of IT managers working within different companies in different industry sectors, which were all using databases. For this, database management software used had to be surveyed, together with the satisfaction levels of IT managers with currently used products as well as their expectations and eventual need for changes. Such a questionnaire is bound to be diverging and complex, as different questions had to be asked in places where the Client’s software was used, different ones where they knew about this software and had intensions of switching to it. Apart from this, further valuable information had to be retrieved, such as why the companies that are having knowledge of the Client’s software unwilling to switch to it etc.

In order to receive reliable answers to these, strongly specialized questions, it was important to have the interviews done with the IT managers of these companies. General experience shows that it is really hard to get hold of those in managerial positions, and that even in cases of pre-set appointments, something may come up meanwhile.

Solution recommended

We are equipped with such a tool designed for telephone surveys, which makes it possible for us at any point of the telephone survey to adapt the questions to follow to the already received answers. These tools make it possible to decide whether certain questions should be asked at all or not (i.e. if it was already mentioned that “XY” database software was used, later on an annoying question whether they have knowledge of the “XY” software will be omitted) as well to exactly know at each stage of survey which questions should be asked (i.e. if 10 questions earlier it was mentioned that there is a rising discontent with the given software, to ask of the reasons of such rise in dissatisfaction) In this way we rely on the memory of a computer, and not on a surveyor’s memory.

Our experience shows, that it is easier to get a hold of the required person for an interview over the phone, than it is in person. Furthermore, the fact that the surveyor is not in move, but has a static position in his chair in front of a telephone, provides an added flexibility to make appointments. If the moment is not right, a different one will be agreed, moreover, not even the event of the surveyed person having to immediately suspend the survey makes no obstacle: he will be called later on, and the conversation continued from the point where it stopped.

With the method of telephone survey, compared to the surveys conducted in person, we are able to provide more precise information to our Clients, within a much shorter time frame, in other words – provide better quality data for less.