Types of Research

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Business to Business Research

Our business-to-business experience covers a wide range of business sectors, including IT, industrial, financial and training and development. Whether the respondents be large corporates or SMEs, we tackle very challenging studies. Research with business clients, suppliers or channels requires specialised methodologies and our projects use Research Box's ingenuity, commercial acumen and analytical rigour.
We have experience in researching IT buyers, brokers, SMEs, independent financial advisors, community leaders, shipping agents, train operators, buyers of training and many more.

Often more strategic in nature, types of projects have included:

• customer or client satisfaction

• supplier relationships

• corporate identity

• online interfaces

• new product or service development

• advertising concept testing

• forecasting trends.
  

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Consumer Research

Through group discussions, extended creativity sessions to large quantitative surveys, our consumer research provides a real understanding of consumer psychology or behaviour in a way that gives our clients the ability to make decisions. We are committed to helping businesses and organizations improve and move forward successfully using research.
Whether examining customer satisfaction or looking at growth strategies, we have the tools to help and believe that methodologies should be tailored to every specific research question rather than applying blanket solutions.
The principals of The Research Box have conducted numerous consumer projects for clients who range from major blue-chip clients, advertising agencies and design houses to small business start-ups.

Our consumer research capabilities cover many areas, including:

• branding

• new product development

• market potential

• pricing studies

• advertising research

• attitudinal and usage studies

• customer perception or satisfaction research.
  

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Employee Research

Research amongst employees requires a great deal of sensitivity and organisational understanding.

The qualitative and desk research skills of the principals of The Research Box have been employed in the following example projects:

• A project to understand the reasons for low satisfaction ratings in an annual quantitative employee satisfaction poll for a large international bank. The company had scored badly in areas such as communication, management feedback and performance-related pay. Qualitative research highlighted the underlying feelings of employees.

• In another project, the client wanted to test internal perceptions of a recently-introduced programme of openness in the context of equal gender and race opportunities. Depth interviews and groups were used to examine whether the programme had been viewed as a success and how it should be taken forward.

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Public Sector

Research Box regularly conducts research and public consultation in the public sector. Our experience includes studies for governmental departments, Regional Development Agencies, and County, District, and Unitary Councils. Whether understanding stakeholder perceptions or gauging the public's response to a particular policy or strategy, we understand the need to reach all types of audiences and develop strategic insight from diverse populations.

We are members of LARIA, the Local Government Association of Research and Intelligence.

Projects examples include work relating to:

• budget consultation:
  • council tax & business rates
  • budget planning
    
• developing community plans
  
• customer or stakeholder satisfaction studies
  
• understanding resident priorities for local strategic partnerships
  
• parent priorities for education
  
• waste and recycling studies
  
• land use development:
  • visitor and resident priorities for new builds
  • testing of proposed developments with public to examine demand and gauge reaction
    
• policy evaluation:
  • assessing the success of a project or investment
  • measuring the impact of specific schemes or regeneration programmes.
    

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Consultancy Services

The work undertaken by the professionals of The Research Box often goes beyond market research into consultancy advice and implementation.

Examples include:

• the briefing and selection of a design agency, commissioned to undertake the re-design and re-branding of retail space, plus responsibility for the subsequent interface between the agency and the client. This commission followed exploratory qualitative research

• providing ongoing advice, in the role of Specialist Advisor to a governmental committee, examining strategies for the ongoing support of endangered wildlife species. The role included overseeing the work of academic consultants

• providing a client-side project-management capability for a multi-disciplinary study into the strategic options for the development of the sub-surface lines of the London Underground.

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Supporting Agencies and Consultants

The Research Box is often asked to provide specialist input to studies being undertaken by other agencies and consultants.

As a result, we understand the special requirements of acting in a supporting role and have developed the working practices which are necessary to complement the work of other specialists.

We have experience of working in this way with:

• advertising agencies

• design agencies

• marketing consultants

• planning consultants

• property developers

• direct marketing consultants.

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