1) Interviewing in one place tells you what things are like in one place. Nothing else. You have to get enough interviews. That means knowing how many people you could interview, then calculating how many you need to interview. Quantifying the universe. Segmenting the sectors. Getting results you can trust. It’s quicker, cheaper, more reliable and altogether better to get the interview sampling right the first time. You cannot analyse results that don’t mean anything. Although people still try.
2) If your target market or audience is online then web-based research is a good idea. Or is it? What matters isn’t how many replies you get, but whether they represent the people who didn’t reply. Online surveys can suffer from very low and unpredictable response rates.
3) If you want to research how people use postal services, try a postal survey. Otherwise, use a proper research method. Such as face-to-face interviewing, or a telephone survey. Whatever you choose, make sure your research agency interviews direct, either by telephone or face-to-face. You want the interviewer to be able to say: “What do you mean by that?”
4) Use multiple sources – you need information from all the stakeholders. And make sure you keep their identity confidential.
5) Once you’ve hired a research company, let them do the research. If you want to design questionnaires you’re probably in the wrong job.
6) If you use a commercial company to do your research their existence depends on doing it properly. Students or your sales team might have other things to do.
7) Use an independent research organisation. Not a sales or marketing company. Respondents will answer researchers more fully, more honestly, without being afraid of being sold something. Gilmour Research interviewers abide by the Market Research Society Code of conduct. Sales and marketing companies do not.
8) You get better value if you buy answers, not more questions.
9) One chance remark can be more valuable then 10Mb of Excel tables. You need solid data. You also need insight. It isn’t just a new word for research.
10) Above all, listen to your customers, clients and end-users. Phone your own organisation and see how you sound. But if you ask your own customers or suppliers and other people with an investment in you how they like what you do, they may not give you a straight answer. Best to use an independent. Best to use Gilmour Research.