Our IT market research company recently worked with an advertising agency and national network provider to conduct a survey with C-level IT decision-makers. This IT industry case study details the objectives, audience, approach, and outcome of the interviews.
Drive Research was able to assist the brand in qualitative recruiting, moderating the interviews, and preparing a top-line summary report of the IT industry survey findings.
Drive Research recently completed a project, conducting surveys and IDIs with C-level IT decision-makers. Here is what we learned.
Objectives
The objectives of the market research were to help the network provider understand:
- Enterprise-level experiences with networks and network providers
- Associations and perceptions of brands
- Decision-making process for new technologies
- Sources of information and content used by C-level IT decision-makers
The results would be used to help the advertising agency and the network provider better understand the market, identify opportunities for growth, and help them strategize a new marketing campaign.
Approach
Prior to beginning the qualitative recruit, Drive Research held a kickoff meeting conference call with the advertising agency. This call reviewed recruitment criteria, questions, and overall goals for the market research in the IT industry.
As any market research project, it is always a good idea to begin with a kickoff meeting between the market research company and the client. This ensures both parties are on the same page with project objectives and goals before moving on to fieldwork.
This qualitative market research for the IT industry included a total of 7 in-depth interviews (IDIs). Each telephone interview lasted 60-minutes. Being that this was a longer interview compared to other types of research methodologies, participants received a $250 honorarium processed by Drive Research at the conclusion of the research. This served as both an incentive for participation and as a thank you for their feedback and time.
The recruitment utilized panelists and an email database of C-level decision-makers. These potential participants were pre-screened through an online survey before receiving a follow-up phone call to re-screen on key criteria. Participants also received plenty of follow-up communication including reminder emails and phone calls to verify their participation. A constant follow-up helps encourage a 100% participation rate. An excel file of recruited participants with screener data was shared with the client on a regular basis.
The interviews were scheduled over the course of 2 weeks. Drive Research was responsible for recruiting and scheduling all 7 IDIs. Although Drive Research can prepare the moderator’s guides for studies, this moderator’s guide was prepared by the advertising agency in conjunction with the network provider.
Five of the interviews were moderated by George Kuhn, President of Drive Research. Two were conducted by research staff at the advertising agency. The interviews were digitally recorded and files sent out for transcription.
Here is an outlined view of our qualitative recruitment process:
Audience
The C-level IT decision-maker audience was a difficult and highly targeted segment to reach for our qualitative recruiting company. The target audience for the interviews were screened to ensure they were:
(1) Decision-makers or influencers for the purchase of network related managed IT solutions
(2) had a location presence within the provider’s footprint (specific ZIPs and states)
(3) had more than 1 year of experience in their current role
(4) had company revenues of more than $10M
(5) had more than 100 employees
(6) and had at least some familiarity with the network provider.
A mix of industries and products used were recruited. With a target being placed on enterprise level companies, all participants far exceeded these minimal levels for qualification (e.g. much more revenue, many more employees, larger IT budgets, etc.)
Several of the interviews conducted were with the network provider’s customers. The majority of the interviews were conducted with non-customers. A mix of industries and products used was recruited.
Outcome
Our IT industry market research firm completed a top-line summary report of the findings. The goal was to provide a summary of all feedback to draw commonalities and themes across the interviews.
Significant details from the interviews were available in the digital recordings for each interview. Those recordings offered additional context, examples, and data not found in the top-line summary.
Drive Research is a market research company located in Syracuse, NY. Our team has the knowledge and tools to design a robust market research study, should it be the right fit for your business.
Interested in learning more about our market research services? Reach out through any of the four ways below.
Message us on our website
Email us at [email protected]
Call us at 888-725-DATA
Text us at 315-303-2040