Knowing Your Vendors

Partnership -- it's our approach to each vendor relationship. We don't just want a fieldhouse to open the phone lines and make thousands of calls, or a focus group facility to call through their database searching for the right person. We want to partner with each vendor to map out a research plan, review the most practical and cost-effective way to conduct the study, and work together through the entire lifecycle of the project.

Forming partnerships is important for two reasons:

1) Top-notch results -- our experience on both easy and challenging studies with our vendors has given us insight into pooling our collective research minds to deliver top-notch data on each project; and

2) Trust -- even on the tough studies, we know our vendors will stick with us and do what it takes to get qualified focus group participants or continue making calls on a low-incidence telephone study until every complete is achieved.

Each vendor we work with -- on both qualitative and quantitative projects -- goes through a rigorous initial review process and is continuously monitored. All quantitative vendors provide information about their operating procedures and practices, including interviewing staff/supervisors and their experience, how sample is handled in the field, and quality control measures. Online vendors also provide information about their panel, how it's maintained, their programming capabilities, etc.

On the qualitative side, knowing the facilities we work with helps on many fronts. When we discuss a project in the RFP stage, our facility contacts offer guidance on how to reach a tough segment, whether their market can support the research, and how to move forward. During the recruiting phase, our relationships with facility directors help tremendously when we run into problems. Facility directors and project managers will work with us to brainstorm creative recruiting techniques (such as advertising spots, referrals, e-mail blasts, etc.) and pull out all the stops to ensure we have full groups.

We've found that knowing our vendors, and nurturing and valuing these relationships, has many times made the difference between research that just meets expectations and a project that exceeds expectations.