Big businesses know that good market research can transform your products, services, and marketing strategies. For small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), partnering with telephone market research companies can provide the insights needed to grow and adapt over time.
This article will look at why telephone market research remains one of the most effective tools for understanding your audience - and why outsourcing to experts like More Than Words makes sense for UK businesses.
What’s the Point of Market Research?
At its core, market research ensures that your business aligns with prospect and customer expectations. It allows you to:
- Identify customer needs: Understand what your customers value most to create highly targeted, personal solutions.
- Refine your marketing: Make sure your messaging reaffirms the value offered by your products.
- Stay competitive: Learn how your product/service stacks up against competitors and where you can gain an edge.
Market research helps SMEs connect with their audience on a deeper level, turning insights into actionable strategies that drive sales and loyalty.
Telephone Market Research: A Unique Advantage
For gathering insight from your target audience, telephone surveys are a valuable tool. Unlike in-person interviews or online surveys, telephone research strikes the perfect balance between engagement and efficiency.
1. Deeper Insights Than Online Surveys
Online surveys, while convenient, often produce more superficial responses. They lack the personal connection that can encourage participants to share meaningful feedback.
In contrast, a telephone interview allows researchers to engage respondents personally. Skilled interviewers can ask follow-up questions, probe deeper into responses, and clarify ambiguous answers, leading to richer data.
2. Less Pressure Than In-Person Interviews
Face-to-face interviews can make participants feel uncomfortable or pressured to respond in a certain way. A phone interview creates a more relaxed environment where respondents are more likely to open up and share honest opinions.
3. Better Engagement Rates
With telephone interviewing, potential customers/existing clients are less likely to feel distracted compared to an online survey. This focused interaction leads to higher engagement and more reliable data.
How Telephone Market Research Companies Work
Telephone market research companies specialise in conducting professional, structured interviews that extract valuable insights. The process typically involves:
- Phone Survey Design: Experts design questions tailored to your business objectives. These could include quantitative research (yes/no or scaled responses) or qualitative research (open-ended questions).
- Participant Recruitment: Companies use their databases or yours to identify and contact relevant participants, ensuring a high-quality sample.
- Data Collection: Skilled interviewers conduct marketing calls, build rapport with respondents, and gather meaningful feedback.
- Analysis and Reporting: After the data is collected, it’s analysed and presented in a clear, actionable format.
For SMEs, outsourcing this process ensures professionalism, accuracy, and efficiency.
Primary vs. Secondary Research: Which is Your Best Option?
When conducting market research, you can opt for either primary or secondary methods - or a combination of both.
Primary Research
Primary research involves gathering data directly from your target audience. This includes surveys, focus groups, and interviews. While this method generates unique and detailed insights, it can be time-consuming and costly to manage in-house.
Secondary Research
Secondary research involves analysing existing target market data collected by third parties. It’s faster and more affordable but might lack the specificity your business needs.
Telephone market research often falls under primary research but can also incorporate secondary data for a well-rounded approach. By outsourcing to professionals, SMEs can combine the strengths of both methods without the hassle of managing the process themselves.
How Telephone Market Research Helps SMEs Stay Competitive
1. Identify Customer Needs and Preferences
Surveys conducted by telephone allow businesses to dig into what their customers truly value. For instance, research from Deloitte shows that 84% of customers prioritise technical content from suppliers. Knowing this can guide your messaging and product development.
2. Improve Service Delivery
In saturated markets, standing out requires more than just a good product. Understanding what sets you apart - faster delivery, better pricing, or unique features - enables you to emphasise your competitive edge.
3. Build Stronger Customer Relationships
Telephone surveys are personal and interactive, fostering a connection with participants. This not only improves the quality of responses but can also strengthen your relationship with potential and existing customers.
The Role of SMEs in B2B Market Research
B2B market research differs significantly from B2C.
In B2B settings:
- There are no large panels: Unlike B2C, there aren’t vast databases of willing participants.
- Targets are niche: Finding the right decision-makers, such as executives or managers, can be challenging.
- Telephone surveys are indispensable: They allow businesses to directly engage with these hard-to-reach individuals.
For SMEs, relying on a telephone market research service ensures access to these specialised participants while maintaining professionalism and efficiency.
Why Outsourcing to Telephone Market Research Companies Makes Sense
Running a telephone survey in-house might seem appealing, but it requires significant time, expertise, and resources. Outsourcing to a professional company like More Than Words offers several benefits:
1. Expertise and Experience
Professional researchers know how to ask the right questions and engage participants effectively.
2. Cost-Effectiveness
For SMEs, building an in-house research team can be expensive. Outsourcing allows you to access expert services without the overhead costs.
3. Access to Databases
Telephone market research companies often maintain extensive databases of contacts, making it easier to reach your target audience. More Than Words can provide contacts from the UK business database, UK schools database and UK public sector database.
4. Actionable Insights
From survey design to data analysis, outsourcing ensures that the insights you receive are actionable and aligned with your business goals.
More Than Words: Your Trusted Telephone Market Research Partner
At More Than Words, we specialise in helping SMEs conduct effective and meaningful market research. As one of the leading telephone market research companies in the UK, we understand the unique needs of small businesses and tailor our services to deliver maximum value.
What We Offer
- Customised Surveys: We design questions that align with your business objectives and gather the insights you need.
- Professional Telephone Interviewer: Our experienced team builds rapport with respondents to ensure honest and detailed feedback.
- Comprehensive Reporting: Get clear, actionable data to guide your marketing and business strategies.
Whether you want to understand customer preferences, evaluate competitors, or improve your service delivery, our telephone market research services provide the insights you need to succeed.
For more information call 0330 010 8300 or click here to email us.
