So what do they really think? – Opinion research

How far do you know what your customers and other key target audiences (including your staff) really think about your organisation, its products, its services and its performance? Is the evidence purely anecdotal? Or have you tried to evaluate those opinions in a more systematic and scientific manner?

For example, do you routinely invite a randomly selected sample of your service users or customers to fill in a short questionnaire about their experience? Do you act upon the results by making changes that will improve people’s experience in the future?

Do you ever use small ‘focus groups’ as an opportunity for qualitative research that will help to flesh out underlying perceptions and concerns?

Do you pre-test posters, leaflets and other publicity materials before publication to make sure that they are understood by, and strike the right chords with, their intended recipients?

If you are planning a major campaign to inform and influence specific target audiences, do you commission pre-campaign research to help you decide how best to fashion the messages you want to put across, and post-campaign research to measure what impact it has had on people’s attitudes and behaviour?

We have experience in helping and advising organisations how best to plan and conduct their opinion research. Depending on the scale of your requirements, we can design questionnaires and organise focus groups, or assist you in commissioning a major study across a randomly selected sample of your key target audience.