Surveys, Interviews, and Advisory Boards
Unlike our competitors that take a more journalistic survey approach, at ThoughtLab our PhD economists ensure the quantitative rigor and analytical acuity of our survey work. Specifically, our statisticians:
- Build statistically valid samples to enable projectable results and deeper segmentation analysis specific to companies, government organizations, consumers, and investors. Gather secondary data to support and enrich our survey analysis.
- Draw on an unparalleled worldwide research panel of executives across industries and management functions; government agencies at the national, regional and local level; and consumers/investors with varying demographic, income, and psychographic profiles.
- Validate the survey tool and results by applying quality testing and statistical techniques. To improve response rates and quality, we translate the survey into local languages. Our survey tool is includes an online reporting facility that allows our team and clients to track results in real time.
- Rely on computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI) to guarantee more targeted, higher quality responses and greater sample controls by monitoring the actual respondents and their organizations.
- Develop diagnostic survey tools that enable deeper segmentation and analysis of data for spotting correlations, generating more specific performance data, building digital maturity frameworks, and facilitating forecasting and model development.
Our research for Cognizant's Center for the Future of Work generated ROI indicators by industry.
- Analyze survey results and other pertinent secondary data using advanced statistical methods, such as regression, cluster, variance, correlation, and factor analysis.
- Transform data output into customer-facing analytical tools, including benchmarking tools, performance impact models, and interactive databases and data visualizations.
This level of quantitative excellence requires a systematic and rigorous survey approach. After the survey is in the field for several weeks, our specialists analyze the interim results with the project team. This allows us to interpret early findings, develop segmentations and correlations, and review the emerging storyline and its alignment with our hypothesis. Once the survey is fully fielded, we prepare full cross tabulations of the data, which can automatically be turned into data visualizations through Tableau and other software packages.
Targeting the B2B, B2C, and B2G Audience
B2B Survey Panel
Our B2B panel is a pre-recruited group of business professionals who have shown their interest in participating in market research studies. ThoughtLab has access to one-and-a-half million global B2B executives. Whether you’re looking to conduct B2B research on C-level executives, IT professionals, marketing professionals, software developers, or business owners, we can help you survey these hard-to-reach respondents. We can screen panel members against multiple criteria to ensure you get your target mix of B2B respondents, including:
- Location (city, region, country)
- Industry and subsectors
- Type of company (private or public)
- Revenue level and growth
- Number of employees
- Job title/role
- Seniority level/decision-making power
- Level of internationalization
- Profit level and growth
- Digital maturity
- Market share
- Number of people supervised
- Age of company
- Name of company
- Purchase involvement/influence
- Employment status
We can source B2B respondents using your own industrial classifications or in conformance with external industry classifications, such as ISIC, MAICS, NACE, SIC, ICB, GICS or UNSPSC.
B2C Survey Panel
Our consumer panel is a pre-recruited group of over three million people who have agreed to participate in market research studies for incentives or compensation. We can provide national representative samples as well as low-incidence respondents globally. Here are just some of the ways that we can profile consumer panelists:
- Age
- Gender
- Household size
- Language spoken
- Annual household income
- Wealth level
- Number of dependents
- Occupation
- Education level
- Marital status
- Location (country, region, city)
- Residence type
- Hobbies and interests
- Shopping habits
- Leisure activities
- Health and wellness
- Destinations visited
- Use of technology
- Cars owned
- Psychographic profile
B2G Survey Panel
Unlike most other research firms, ThoughtLab specializes in public-sector research and analysis. Our team can survey decision- and policy-makers and their staff at the national, regional, state, province, and city levels. Here is an example of the multiple types of survey respondents we can source at the local government level:
- Mayor/Chief executive
- City manager/Chief of staff
- Chief Information officer
- Chief operating officer
- Chief financial Officer
- Chief technology officer
- Policy director
- Director of smart city initiatives
- Director of innovation
- Direct reports to these executives
Professional Interviewers for CATI Surveys
ThoughtLab maintains a trained staff to conduct high-level interviews across multiple industries, with scalable capacity. Interviewers are rigorously trained and have the expertise to conduct C level interviews, with prior appointments scheduled with respondents. Our CATI staff, which speak over 20 languages, conduct telephone interviews in the local language.
In addition, our team of thought leadership specialists and seasoned journalists conduct interviews and peer interchanges with executives across industries and functions on a wide range of business and technology issues.
Survey Incentives
B2B panelists receive reward points, can subscribe to periodicals related to their field, and, where appropriate, receive an executive summary of the study in which they have participated. B2C panelists earn points that they can redeem for cash after reaching a certain limit. The rewards depend on the incidence rate, length of interview, and the target respondents.
Recruitment
We recruit our panelists by telephone from more than 100 sources, including a variety of local public websites, search engines, email providers, customer web portals, and directories, such as OneSource, D&B, Factiva and Hoovers. We employ various techniques to validate the identity of the respondents, including calling executives in their offices. When necessary to fulfill the requirements of a project, we can supplement our panels through the use of partner research panels and private source directories.
Quality Controls
Our survey team follows the rules and requirements promulgated by International Organization for Standardization (ISO) for research confidentiality, project documentation, training, outsourcing, and quality control. Our quality assurance process includes the following four steps.
Rigorous research methodology
- A project-specific research methodology is prepared.
- Relevant research teams are trained on methodology.
- By building knowledge at the local level, we ensure continuous quality.
Voice quality checks
- Dedicated team checks the quality of interviews.
- Team adheres to defined quality guidelines and processes.
- Team has multi-tier checks – auditing of complete interviews, auditing of screeners, back checks, call duration check, and IP address tracking for online interviews.
Data quality checks
- Data quality team reviews the questionnaire for logic checks, skip patterns, and introduces logic checks if required.
- Team prepares the data template and rigorously checks the data before it goes out.
- Team ensures that all the logic checks and the skip pattern were applied at the time of the fieldwork.
Ongoing feedback from team
- Data quality and programmer teams document feedback on quality, as do project managers.
- Project managers ensure that each correction is implemented, and rectified measures have been taken.
- Team solicits client's feedback at the interim delivery stage and at the completion of the project.
360-degree survey management
ThoughtLab has the people, skills, technology, and processes in place to ensure the highest quality surveys and statistical analysis.
