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