Frequently Asked Questions

What is a shared cost research study?

How many questions can I ask? What can I ask? What demographic information is made available? Who conducts the interviews at kadence? How will I receive my information? How much will all this cost? How long does it normally take to complete a project? What are our terms of trade? What quality controls do you have?
Kadence organise almost 100 of these surveys each year across a wide range of business markets.Iin these surveys our planning managers put together non competing companies that are interested in gaining information and feedback from the same market e.g Architects. A shared cost research study normally consists of, two to three companies sharing the cost of a fifteen to twenty minute telephone survey, with a specific respondent, in a particular industry. this allows for high quality work at reasonable prices. There are some general demographic questions which everybody has access to but the main point of the research is to allow each company the opportunity to ask their own questions relevant to their own products and services. At the end of the research each company gets back a full, bespoke report based upon their initial objectives. In many markets the costs of getting hold of the respondent is prohibitive for one company, especially if they only have a few questions to ask. By combining resources between 2 -4 companies Kadence can make the research affordable. Do the participating companies share the answers from the respondents? No. the participants only share the prescribed demographics. All other specific questions are proprietary and are only reported to the company purchasing that portion of the interview time.

How many questions can I ask?

Kadence try to limit any survey too less than 20 minutes. Generally, when a study is split between two clients, they can ask approximately 15- 20 questions each. The type of question (open ended, closed ended, verbatim response) will influence the number of questions that can be asked in each companies allotted time.

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What can I ask?

You decide the topic. However in previous research some of the following objectives are common:

Identify what coverage your company / main competitors have in the market Gain feedback from the market about various products / distributors / services Evaluate effectiveness of marketing initiative Assess awareness of recent advertising / promotional activity Establish new trends and attitudes in the marketplace Identify areas of potential growth and expansion By gaining cost effective, accurate and up to date information from the market place, the client will be able to use the information to assist them in their short and medium term marketing strategies and planning. In a shared cost project of this nature, each of the members will have their own needs and objectives that can be met by this form of research. Companies able to understand the trends and attitudes of this market will be best placed to predict changes, and therefore grow with the market by producing goods and services that meet customer requirements.

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What demographic information is made available?

This will obviously vary from market to market but generally the following information will be gathered on behalf of all the syndicate members to assist in accurately profiling their market:

Title of the respondent Size of business - number of full time employees, annual turnover Areas of specialisation Geographic location Details of I.T./Internet access In addition qualifying questions will be asked to ensure that the respondent has specification authority over syndicate members products and services. What if the two companies are asking totally different types of questions? As long as both companies are targeting the individual with the same position and responsibility, we expect the questions to be different. We only join non-competing companies in a shared study and anticipate different informational needs. In fact respondents find it much more interesting to answer questions on a number of topics

and this means we can increase the overall length of the interview.

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Who conducts the interviews at Kadence?

We conduct all survey work in house with researchers trained to ICQS (Interviewer Quality Control Schemes) standards. Kadence is currently working towards ISO9001 certification. The research process is controlled by KAD-Q (copyright Kadence UK1997) a series of software programmes written by Kadence to cover the development of the questionnaire, the cleaning and analysis of data and the final reporting framework.

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How will I receive my information?

From an analysis of the results each syndicate member will receive a full report on the research based upon their initial objectives. Reports are generally 50-100 pages in length, containing a summary of the objectives of the research, an executive summary, a full display of all the data (including graphs), complete cross tabulations of relevant questions, an appendices of non coded responses, and, a copy of the questionnaire. Any open ended or verbatim answers that are normally coded by the research analysts are still recorded in full and included in the appendix. These assist marketers in gaining an invaluable insight into the thoughts of the market place. The data is also available on floppy disc in a format suitable for import by the client.

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How much will all this cost?

Each study is different and a variety of factors can affect the overall cost (e.g. sample size and level of respondent). The proportional cost paid by each client depends on the actual time taken up on the interview. Depending on the market Kadence expect an interview to last up to 20 minutes maximum. This normally equates to approx. 30 - 35 questions in total. Most clients can expect to save 50 - 70% of what they would have to pay an agency to carry out the research on a bespoke basis. Kadence would expect clients to budget USD $5,000 - $20,000 per survey depending on the number of questions they require and the market being researched. there is normally a minimum entry level of USD $4,000. this would generally cover a minimum of 200 - 300 interviews.

The costs always includes:

Assistance in development of questionnaire Answers to demographic questions Staff training, phone and data-entry costs Full analysis of the results in accordance with client requirements Written report (data on floppy disc if required) Delivery of results

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How long does it normally take to complete a project?

Kadence generally allow a month from questionnaire design stage to delivery of the final report. Kadence has the capacity to make approx. 10,000 phone calls per week, so with callbacks, etc., the research normally takes approx. One week to complete. The analysis and report preparation takes up to two weeks to complete depending on the length and complexity of each syndicate member's involvement.

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What are our terms of trade?

Kadence's terms of trade are strictly payment upon delivery unless agreed in writing with the client before the commencement of the campaign. For first time clients, or, with an order value of more than $20,000, a deposit of 50 % of the order value is required within one week of placing the order. The remainder is to be paid within 7 days of delivery of the final report. Kadence guarantee that all information gathered on behalf of the client becomes the proprietary right of the client once full payment has been made. the information will not be passed on in any form to third parties unless kadence receives express, written permission from the authorising officer of the client company. All information gathered by kadence on behalf of clients is done so under the strictest confidence. Both the client and the respondent are guaranteed anonymity during research campaigns. For clients supplying databases to kadence for the purposes of research, database qualification, merging, or any other purpose still retain the proprietary rights to that database. databases supplied to, or, sold by kadence are for multiple use by that client, but not for resale to a third party, nor for the use on an online system.

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What quality controls do you have?

Kadence is currently working towards ISO9001. Kadence (UK) ltd is a member of the British Market Research Association (BMRA), the British Pharmaceutical Market Research Group (BPMRG), the Business & Industrial Group (BIG), and the Association of European Market Research Institutes (AEMRI). It has senior staff who are full or associated members of the Market Research Society (MRS) and the European Society for Opinion and Marketing Research (ESOMAR). Kadence is part of the Kadence International Business Research Group with offices in Boston, London, and, Sydney. All members of the group operate under the same strict codes of practise and TQM systems to ensure clients obtain the same level of service no matter where the research is being undertaken. in order to minimise costs and utilise local knowledge, in multi country studies Kadence may request input and expertise from the local office. This process enhances the quality of the research as well as reducing the overall costs by minimising travel and telephone charges.

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