Call Center

Each method has its advantages. However, when it comes to gaining a representative view of the population or reaching business customers, computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI) is the number one choice. This is because when respondents are engaged in a one-to-one conversation, they tend to answer even the most difficult questions spontaneously and honestly. Furthermore, the method also has a particularly high response rate. With more than 20 years’ experience in this line of work, we are perfectly placed to refine and optimise our telephone interviewing processes, drawing on over 1000 studies conducted in Germany and abroad to achieve this.

Trust is the basis for any successful market research study. It is crucial that there is trust between the client and the market research institute as well as between the telephone interviewer and the respondent. The success of each interview rests on the interviewer. We train every interviewer and provide them with specific instructions for each project. Moreover, since our maxim is to focus on quality and not quantity, we do not pay our interviewers on the basis of the number of interviews they conduct.

We make our calls from the centre of Germany in perfect standard German, free from any dialect. Having already conducted hundreds of thousands of interviews, we are more than familiar with the manner needed to address our target audience. Genuine, trustworthy and professional. Like your business.

Technology

  • Questionnaire design down to every last technical detail
  • Rotations, randomisation, complex filter skips and branches
  • Selection of samples from ADM samples and sample providers
  • Inclusion and playing of audio files during the conversation
  • Predictive diallers with automatic dialling
  • Automatic follow-up management
  • Time-zone management
  • Online link to the questionnaire
  • Sending of emails during the telephone call
  • Mixed-mode surveys (telephone and online)
  • International languages
  • Online monitoring
  • Results in an SPSS, Excel or dBase file

Services

  • Questionnaire writing
  • Questionnaire programming
  • One account manager
  • Pre-tests
  • Online questionnaire testing
  • Sample selection
  • ADM samples
  • Research of telephone numbers
  • Translation
  • Project-specific training
  • Data set validation
  • Code plan writing
  • Coding of responses to open-ended questions
  • Creation of SPSS data sets
  • Cross-table analyses
  • Correlation and regression analyses
  • Creation of graphs and charts in PowerPoint
  • Online portals
  • Data dashboard

Areas of work

  • International telephone interviews
  • Scientific research in support of projects
  • Customer satisfaction surveys
  • NPS surveys
  • Employee surveys
  • Public opinion polls
  • Mystery Calls
  • Pricing research
  • Branding surveys
  • Competitor analysis
» Questionnaires

The questionnaire, is the starting point of each and every survey. We use our knowledge and expertise from the very beginning to design the best possible questionnaire. We know the ideal way of formulating questions to ensure that you can find out exactly what you want to discover. We do not bore respondents with long item sets when correlations are equally successful in obtaining the key information required. We also know that rotations and randomisation can have a negative impact on the results of the questionnaire. We pay particular attention in the choice of suitable respondents because, after all, only the right people can provide the answers you are looking for.

» Sampling

The need to interview the right respondents is why sampling is so important. Anyone who neglects to carry out proper sampling and only uses the telephone numbers in their contact list, for example, will never be able to carry out representative studies. Whether your project requires samples of customers or samples of the population, explorare has access to high-quality sources of respondents. We work with global sample providers when conducting projects in the B2B sector. Furthermore, we are a member of the Arbeitsgemeinschaft ADM-Telefonstichproben a group of market research institutes responsible for the ADM’s sampling system for telephone interviews. By respecting the codes and guidelines of this professional association, we can access the ADM’s sampling frame, which provides us with a sound and high-quality foundation for carrying out representative population surveys. By using special selection software, we are able to undertake microsegmentation down to community level. Finally, we use the dual frame approach to combine landline and mobile phone samples, ensuring that we can also reach younger people who do not have a landline telephone. As a socially responsible company and in the interest of efficiency, we also make use of ADM’s do-not-call list to ensure that we do not ring anyone who, in the past, has said that they do not wish to take part in telephone interviews.

» Software

In terms of software we use VOXCO. one of the best systems in the world for conducting telephone interviews. This means that we have the full range of features available today at our fingertips. The software supports questionnaires with complex filtering, skips, branches, selections, regional quotas, samples, answer categories and questions. The system is Unicode compatible, meaning that the questionnaires can be localised into Arabic, languages using the Cyrillic script and a number of other languages. This allows us to manage studies conducted across multiple countries in one project. All the operations performed by Voxco’s Command Center 3 can be used online. Before beginning a study, we always make the questionnaire available to our clients to test online, ensuring complete transparency and no hidden surprises. Quotas, reports and updates on progress are made available to you in a protected area, keeping you in the loop at all times.

» Call center management

Effective call management results in a high response rate and, to our clients’ satisfaction, ensures that agreed deadlines are kept right down to the minute. We dial numbers automatically using the Pronto 3 Predictive Dialer. This prevents the interviewers from dialling the wrong number and automatically filters out any answering machines, dialling tones, engaged tones and incorrect numbers, increasing productivity for your benefit. Furthermore, sample and interviewer reports boost the efficiency of your studies and make them easier to manage successfully. We are also able to integrate audio files into the interviews for music-related questionnaires, for example, or email sections of the questionnaire to the respondents and carry out part of the questionnaire online as a mixed-mode survey. We regularly conduct and support academic studies and dissertation projects that look into key issues affecting our profession, using this work to monitor and improve our processes.

» Translations

It goes without saying that we are also able to translate questionnaires into any language required. We work with specialist service providers who, like us, have an excellent command of market research terminology and work quickly and flexibly.

» Data

Data is made available immediately as an SPSS, Excel or dBase file and can also be provided in other formats.

We are also able to integrate audio files into the interviews for music-related questionnaires, for example, or email sections of the questionnaire to the respondents and carry out part of the questionnaire online as a mixed-mode survey. We regularly conduct and support academic studies and dissertation projects that look into key issues affecting our profession, using this work to monitor and improve our processes. Why not put us to the test? We’ve never failed to find a solution, even for the most complex of requests.