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Why phone interviews are better for data collection and market research than online customer surveys

Companies of all sizes conduct telephone surveys to measure customer satisfaction levels.

They also benefit from:

  • valuable customer feedback on proposed new products and services
  • knowing which areas of after-sales service could be improved, and
  • new sales opportunities which present themselves during calls.

A telephone interview also has clear and valuable brand building benefits.

It demonstrates that your company genuinely cares about how clients perceive it and the quality of the products and services offered.

Telephone surveys versus more traditional methods of data gathering

Telephone surveys offer distinct advantages over any other survey method.

Many view the face to face interviewing in shopping centres and major shopping streets as an unwelcome distraction. They are often concerned that the person stopping them to talk is only interested in making a sale.

Telephone surveys offer distinct advantages over any other survey method.

Web surveys, although convenient, are hampered by low participation rates.

With phone interviews the answers to open ended questions during a conversation are more in-depth and expressive.

People filling in an online survey, however, rarely stretch past one sentence when asked the very same questions.

It does seem that the personal touch offered by a phone interview really does make the difference.

A telephone survey is more cost effective to finding out more about your clients and your role in their businesses.

You get higher engagement levels and response rates from your clients.

This result is shown in the answers and information clients give to your questionnaire.

How to order a telephone survey with More Than Words

To deliver the best results for clients from phone surveys, each campaign must be given careful consideration prior to launch.

We need to agree with you every aspect of the survey design, including the questions we’ll ask each respondent.

Once we understand what you want to achieve from your telephone survey, we’ll be able to advise you on the questions to achieve the outcome you want.

Using our in-house survey software, we’ll then create survey templates. Our trained interviewers will use the template to input the data they collect accurately and quickly.

Generating a high response rate and collecting consistent data quality through telephone interviewing often depends on the script and the order of questions.

Together with the creation of the brief for the interviewer (so that they fully understand the aims of the campaign), we will phrase each question and structure the order of conversation.

Every question asked will be aimed towards the needs and wishes of the survey respondent, as well as our client.

This ensures that we are able to keep potential respondents on the phone for as long as we need.

Phone survey benefits

According to B2B International, online surveys conducted from contact lists that combine both customers and prospects typically generate response rates of between 2% and 5%.

Meanwhile, the same list will generate 10% – 25% response rates from telephone interviews.

Response rates are important, but our clients also benefit from the fact that the survey sample we speak to is highly targeted in the first place.

This means that these high response rates are always coming from the clients and prospects that most benefit your business goals.

telephone survey benefits

As part of our survey methodology, More Than Words often creates focus groups tailored to our clients’ campaign goals.

A focus group is a group of people and companies who are likely to be buying products and services from your competitors – that is, they are your potential customers.

With this approach, you get to gather information about your potential clients so you can target marketing messages.

We’ll ask prospective clients about their hopes, pain points, price tolerance levels, awareness of companies and more in each of the phone interviews.

Our conversations will provide you and your sales and marketing teams with valuable audience information.

Find out what your clients really think

Running a business is hard and finding the time to discover what your clients really think of your products, services, and after-sales support is difficult.

But in clients’ answers lie real opportunities.

A customer satisfaction survey is often the most effective way to capture the opinions of clients least likely to respond to other forms of market research.

Examples of such customers include the elderly, the disabled, and those who are unable to access the Internet easily.

In addition, online and postal surveys tend to be answered the most by customers who are at either end of your customer satisfaction spectrum. They are either extremely happy with your service, or those with a serious complaint.

A skewed sample can lead to skewed data that can make it difficult to know what the average customer thinks.

  • What do they like most about your company?
  • Do they feel looked after when they need?
  • Do you take too long to answer calls or emails?
  • Does your product/service still solve problems?

Uncover new product/service opportunities

Your clients, particularly the ones who have been with you for years, understand the quality of the products and services you offer.

But is something stopping them purchasing more from you? Find out with phone survey research.

  • Which related products do they buy from others?
  • Would they consider buying it from you?
  • What price points would they consider attractive?
  • How many sales would you be likely to make?

Engaging telephone survey interviewer with conversation skills

We’ve got up to 5 minutes to make an impression.

5 minutes to find out the information we need and to make customers feel valued and included by contacting them for their opinions.

The first thing to remember is that you should have a good mix of qualitative and quantitative research questions.

Start with a simple survey question asking a customer to rate an element of your business, leading them to a place where they are thinking about the right area, and follow this with an open-ended question in which they can tell you a story about their experience.

Allowing customers to lead the conversation, adding just prompts for further information, is the best way to gather the data you need.

Why should you choose More Than Words for your telephone service?

  • Bright, attractive people to represent your brand
  • Great opening to engage recipients from the off
  • Our people know when to talk and when to listen
  • Quick, effective, efficient information extraction

Get live and to the minute campaign updates

For More Than Words, transparency is paramount to providing the highest possible return. You’ll be able to track your campaign in real time and access full notes from all calls made on your campaign

  • Log in live to monitor campaigns progress
  • No technical expertise needed to use system
  • Meticulous, detailed notes from every conversation

Phone Survey FAQ

Trained interviewers are better at creating more positive responses from potential respondents on each call.

For the past decade, most of our researchers have graduated from customer service and telemarketing backgrounds meaning that they’re better able to steer conversations in a way which doesn’t affect the opinion of your customers to the telephone survey we’re conducting.

In our experience, the main phone survey advantages are accurate data collection and the ability to leave the people we speak with on your behalf with a positive impression of your company.

As with all other phone survey providers, the main disadvantage is getting through to clients in the first place to conduct their telephone interview. In addition, time is a factor – if we keep someone on the phone for more than 5 minutes, then they may begin to view the call as unwelcome. This demonstrates why detailed planning of a campaign is so important.

Telephone surveys cost money – a telephone survey is one of the most expensive forms of data collection available to a company.

However, what we learn during the telephone calls we make for you will positively influence the future shape, direction, and profitability of your company.

The key to creating the most successful telephone surveys is to know what you want from it prior to launch, making sure that the questions asked are most likely to elicit the information required from clients. Thanks to our survey software, you’ll be able to view in real time the information we’re gathering and, if needed, we can switch course part way through a campaign to either change focus or to focus on particular areas.

We don’t used computer assisted telephone interviewing technology on your campaigns. We focus on clear and precise communication with your customers – real human-to-human contact.

Yes. The telephone numbers displayed on recipients’ handsets when we call is a landline number – normally an 0191 or 0330 number.

As a B2B-focused marketing agency, we only call during office hours normally to the direct dial number we have for them.

Let us carry telephone interviews with your customers on your behalf

Get in touch with More Than Words Marketing

If you want us to conduct public opinion research among the general population and specific business audiences, please click for our telephone market research service.

To find out more about conducting phone interviews with your clients and customers, please call us on 0330 010 8300, or click here to email us.

Find out more about our telephone survery service

Call us now to receive more info on 0330 010 8300, click here to email us, or fill out the form below.