Many companies in different fields use telephone surveys to conduct surveys. This is a very popular survey method for collecting data. This method is excellent for companies looking to better position themselves in the market. What are the pros and cons of a telephone survey? What are the steps for carry out a telephone survey ? We tell you everything.
What is a telephone survey?
A telephone survey or telephone survey is a study carried out by telephone by a company that operates in a specific field with a previously selected sample that is representative of the population. A telephone survey can be conducted, for example, before the launch of a product during a market study or after the marketing of the product to probe the opinions of consumers and collect their feedback. The objectives of a telephone survey are numerous:
- carry out market research;
- study the price of the product;
- make improvements to a product or service;
- choose the means of communication within the framework of the commercial strategy;
- position yourself in the market;
- increase its turnover.
What are the steps to conduct a survey?
A good phone survey is a survey that goes through several stages before being launched. If any company wishes to carry out a survey to collect information, it will be called upon to respect the following four steps:
- set goals;
- prepare the questions;
- determine the sample;
- analyze the survey results.
What do we want to know through the telephone survey? This is the first question to ask yourself before launching your investigation. The objectives of the telephone survey should be specified here. Do you want to collect answers on a product, a service, an advertising campaign, a current topic or an event to lead? If, for example, you are conducting a telephone survey to survey customers' opinions on a product, the questionnaire will not be the same as if you were trying to find out the level of customer satisfaction or assess your brand image.
Telephone survey: we prepare the questions and the target
Before making your telephone survey, prepare your questions. Relevant and targeted questions are the two criteria for setting up a quality survey.
Don't get bogged down in pointless questions. By respecting your objectives, your questions must be clear. It's up to you to choose the type of questions: open, closed or qualitative.
Don't forget to determine your sample as well. The people selected should be representative of the population for your questionnaire to be reliable. The last step is the analysis of the results. This is done with analysis software that allows counting, comparing and analyzing the results.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of telephone surveys?
In the connected world in which we live, conduct a telephone survey seems like an outdated traditional method. However, this is not the case! This method has several advantages. The first advantage of the telephone survey is to favor human contact, which is very important.
In fact, telephone contact makes it possible to collect precise answers, thanks to a direct interview which favors the collection of in-depth information. A second advantage is that of collecting reliable answers. The inquirer can seek deeper answers, and the interlocutor clarifies their answers.
The quality of the answers also depends on the level of training of the telephone interviewer and his ability to lead a relevant discussion. The telephone survey also makes it possible to maintain the anonymity of the people interviewed, which plays in favor of the survey. A final advantage is the accessibility of the telephone. In fact, 95% of the French population owns a mobile phone. The choice of this method is therefore relevant. A telephone survey does not require any logistical preparation as for example in the face-to-face survey. It is an inexpensive method for the company.
Disadvantages of telephone survey
The telephone survey however, is not something easy to achieve. You have seen the complexity of the steps required to prepare it. The investigator must also be well trained to be able to cope and collect the right information. A telephone survey takes a long time to set up. Moreover, the investigation time is very limited, because it is done by telephone and it is impossible to mobilize the target for too long.
