Getting The Most From Telephone Market Research

You know the drill. The phone rings, you answer it and a monotone voice says:

'Hi, I'm calling from ABC Limited. Do you have a couple of minutes to answer some market research questions?'

At this point, it's tempting to hang up. Surely this kind of approach doesn't work - everyone is fed up with these calls so no one will answer the questions.

Well, you are partly right. There are a proportion of any target audience that will not be interested in answering telephone market research questions.

However, with the right approach and careful selection of the target audience, tthis kind of research can be very successful.

Here are four of the most critical factors to consider:

1) You need to understand what you are trying to discover before you start. Obvious, but you'd be surprised at how many projects commence with no structure or understanding of what's needed.

2) Telephone market research needs to have a target audience. The selection of the target audience is the single biggest flaw. Bad selection will never make a successful project.

3) The quality of the telephone interview must be top notch. Cutting cost and getting the office junior to make the calls may seem like good sense - but it's not. Telephone market research needs careful telephone skills and subtle techniques to guide the call along.

4) The length of call is important. The quality of the information gained and the motivation of all involved will wain after 15 to 20 minutes. Ideally, the timescale should be 8 to 10 minutes with an opportunity for the call to expand - if the respondent deems it so.

For more information on telephone market research, please click the link below:

telephone market research nottingham

Nottingham is a city in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire in the East Midlands whose prosperity was founded on the textile industry; in particular lace manufacture.

Very little textile manufacture now takes place in Nottingham, but the City's heyday in this sector endowed it with some fine industrial buildings in the Lace Market district. Many of these have been restored and put to new uses.

Nottingham is home to two universities: the University of Nottingham and Nottingham Trent University. Together they are attended by over 40,000 full-time students. The University of Nottingham's teaching hospital, University of Nottingham Medical School, is part of the largest hospital in the UK, the Queen's Medical Centre.

Nottingham is home to the headquarters of many well-known companies. One of the best known is Boots the Chemists, now Alliance Boots, founded in the city by Jesse Boot 1st Lord Trent in 1849 and substantially expanded by his son John Boot (2nd Lord Trent).Other large current employers include the credit reference agency Experian, the energy company E.ON UK, the tobacco company John Player & Sons, betting company Gala Group, engineering company Siemens, sportswear manufacturers Speedo, high street opticians Vision Express, games and publishing company Games Workshop, and the American credit card company Capital One, whose European offices are situated by the side of Nottingham station. Nottingham is also the home of HM Revenue and Customs and the Driving Standards Agency.

Until recently bicycle manufacturing was a major industry, the city being the birthplace of Raleigh Cycles in 1886 and later joined by Sturmey-Archer, the creator of 3-speed hub gears. However, Raleigh's factory on Triumph Road was demolished in Summer 2003 to make way for the University of Nottingham's expansion of Jubilee Campus.

Nottingham receives a considerable volume of tourism, with almost 300 thousand people visiting from overseas in 2005 alone. Many visitors are attracted by Nottingham's nightlife and shops, by its history, and by the legend of Robin Hood, visiting Sherwood Forest, Nottingham Castle and The Tales of Robin Hood on Maid Marian Way. Popular history-based tourist attractions in central Nottingham include the Castle, City of Caves, Lace Market, The Galleries of Justice, and the City's ancient pubs.

Nottingham is close to the M1 motorway and major roads the A52 and the A46. To the west of Nottingham through to Derby, the A52 is known as Brian Clough Way.