Posted By madadmin on 2nd August 2013
Oakham Research featured as the Member Spotlight in the January 2013 edition of the FSB “The voice of Black Country” (Newsletter of the Federation of Small Businesses, Black Country Branch covering Wolverhampton, Walsall, Sandwell & Dudley).
The article can be read below or for the full magazine download click on here
Dudley based Oakham Research specialises in delivering value for money research on behalf of small businesses. Many small businesses do not undertake market and customer research which leaves them at a competitive disadvantage when competing with larger organisations. Most large organisations place the customer experience at the heart of their service offering and as such have a dedicated market research budget to deliver this intelligence.
The reasons why small companies don’t engage professional market research agencies fall into one of the following categories:
a) We can’t afford it! – Can you afford not to? How much will it cost to make the wrong decision? This includes wasted staff and management time, ineffective marketing and any print or production costs
b) We do it in-house using Survey Monkey! – There is a hidden cost of developing the questionnaire and programming it. The survey forms part of your communications strategy and a badly organised and scripted survey can damage your brand. Although there are a number of “free survey” suppliers, they often charge for logo’s and graphics to be used and will restrict the number of free responses (additional responses are charged per response).
c) We don’t see any value in it! – The value lies in godd decision making. It is the opportunity cost of ‘doing the wrong thing’ because you didn’t effectively predict the outcome. There is also the unquantifiable value of showing your customers that you value them enough to ask their opinion.
d) We already know what our customers think! – You may know how your customers have behaved in the past, but the market place can change. Understanding the current market and what the future requirements may be, is fundamental to long term stability.
If you would like to learn how Oakham Research can help you, contact John Poole on 01384 353910 or email john.poole@oakhamresearch.com
Oakham Research | The Old School House | St John's Road | Kates Hill | Dudley | West Midlands | DY2 7JT
