Market Three Secrets: A Must-Have Handbook for Efficient Corporate Market Operations

Author: Wodi Market Research Center / Country: Mainland China
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-01-01
Features:
Key Process 7: Training the Company's Own Frontline Data Surveyors
Sometimes, a company does not need a professional market research firm to provide survey reports. Instead, it only needs to collect some basic data. From a practical and cost-saving perspective, basic data with a narrow scope and low professional requirements, as well as less critical survey plans, can be completed by the company's internal staff. Alternatively, internal staff can lead the project planning and recruit temporary surveyors on an external basis, but the premise is that the participants or project leaders must possess certain professional knowledge. By hiring a professional market research company to train internal staff, they can quickly master professional, practical, and efficient skills and methods. From a developmental perspective, this approach can save costs, shorten the survey cycle, and improve the practical operational level of the company's personnel. At the same time, it also reserves talent for future surveys, facilitating the conduct of subsequent work.
Process 1: The Purpose and Content of Training
The purpose of training is to enable interviewers, verifiers, and sampling personnel to collect valid questionnaires accurately and promptly in accordance with operational requirements. On one hand, it controls time and costs, and on the other hand, it ensures the quality and quantity of questionnaires. The content of the training includes:
Key Point 1: Basic Training
All new project participants must undergo a certain period of basic training to master questioning, recording, and handling unexpected events. The key is to build their confidence and teach them how to communicate effectively. The specific content includes:
1. Attitude Training. The purpose is to make interviewers understand the objective and scientific importance of the interview work in market research. Through training, they are encouraged to be meticulous and follow all requirements in their future interviews.
2. Skill Training. The purpose is to improve the interviewer's ability to interact with strangers to effectively complete the survey tasks.
(1) Survey Overview: Includes survey name, department and leader, contact information, and the number of interviews each interviewer is responsible for.
(2) Survey Date, Inspection Date, and Collection Date.
(3) Basic Precautions. Includes adhering to instructions and familiarizing with the questionnaire content.
(4) Items to Bring. Includes respondent roster, questionnaire, survey manual, ID card, and gifts.
(5) Interviewer Precautions. Includes paying attention to attire and wording, clearly identifying identity and survey purpose, and confirming the respondent's identity.
(6) Handling Unsuccessful Interviews. Includes situations where the respondent is not available, refuses to participate, or the survey is terminated.
(7) Clarifying Questions for Respondents. Explains sampling methods and the principle of anonymity.
(8) Questionnaire Structure. Includes an overview, special precautions, questioning methods, and recording methods.
(9) Interview Precautions. Includes not showing respondents information outside the survey, creating a good atmosphere, recording answers, avoiding omissions, and making respondents comfortable.
(10) Deadline for Completion. Completing and returning the questionnaire and required items by the deadline.
(11) Compensation for Interviewers.
3. Problem-Solving Training. During the interview process, interviewers often encounter various issues, such as uncooperative respondents or difficulty locating samples. If trained, interviewers know how to handle these situations; otherwise, improper handling may negatively impact sampling and survey results. For sampling personnel and verifiers, supervisors will also provide basic training to master effective sampling and verification methods.
Key Point 2: Project Training
1. Questionnaire Explanation. Provided by the survey supervisor (professional research agency or market research company), the supervisor explains how to ask questions, follow up, record, and pay attention to the logical relationship between questions to ensure interviewers fully understand the questionnaire content and interview techniques.
2. Simulation. Pair interviewers and set up scenarios for them to practice specific operations, simulating the Q&A between interviewers and respondents, identifying problems during the simulation, and providing guidance and corrections to further master the techniques.
3. Accompanied Visits. To personally understand potential issues during interviews and boost interviewers' confidence, supervisors will accompany some interviewers to consumer locations for trial visits and record any problems or special incidents. The purpose is to improve interviewers' skills and techniques through hands-on experience.
4. Follow-up Visits. For some interviewers, after training, they are required to conduct an actual interview, and supervisors will record any issues that arise during the process.
5. Trial Visit Summary. After all interviewers complete their trial visits, a meeting is held to review and discuss the questionnaires, addressing individual issues or shortcomings and providing solutions for common problems.
Process 2: Errors Caused by Respondent Mistakes
1. Due to respondents providing inaccurate answers. Reasons for inaccurate answers may include: unfamiliarity, fatigue, boredom, or forgetfulness; poorly formatted questions, unclear content, or other factors.
2. Due to respondents' unwillingness to provide accurate information. Reasons for intentionally providing incorrect answers may include avoiding trouble or deliberately misleading for personal gain.
Process 3: Errors Caused by Interviewer Mistakes
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1. Errors in questioning or not further inquiring for additional information. For example, the interviewer does not fully follow the wording in the questionnaire when asking questions.
2. Recording errors due to listening, understanding, or recording respondents' answers. For example, a respondent provides a neutral answer, but the interviewer mistakenly interprets it as a positive one.
3. Deception errors caused by interviewers fabricating some or all answers. For example, the interviewer does not ask a respondent about a sensitive belief-related question but later fills in the answer based on personal judgment.
4. Substitution errors, where the information needed for the survey differs from the information collected. For example, the survey requires information about consumers choosing a new brand, but the interviewer collects information about consumer preferences because the choice process is not easily observable.
5. Measurement errors, where the information sought differs from the information generated by the measurement process used by the interviewer. For example, when measuring consumer preferences, the interviewer does not use a preference measurement scale but instead uses a concept measurement scale.
6. Population definition errors, where the true population related to the research question differs from the population defined by the interviewer. For example, to understand a hospital's image in patients' minds, the true population should be patients in a certain region, but the interviewer defines it as all residents in the region.
7. Sampling frame errors, where the population defined by the interviewer differs from the implied population of the sampling frame. For example, using a telephone directory as a sampling frame may not represent the overall potential consumer population, as some numbers are unlisted, some are unreachable, and many are outdated.
8. Data analysis errors, which occur when converting raw data from the questionnaire into survey results. For example, using an inappropriate statistical method leads to incorrect interpretations and results.
P81-83