Technology has changed the way we interact with data. We have more data on everything, data is always available and insights on data can be generated with a push of a button. However, it’s often very different where research data is concerned. It takes days if not weeks to launch a survey and weeks for the results to become available.
But this just isn’t good enough any more for many research buyers. That’s why NIPO, a leading supplier of survey data collection solutions for professional market researchers, is helping top research agencies to change their offer to deliver faster, more agile surveys with higher response rates which deliver faster turnaround times.
“The challenge is to enable researchers to create high-end surveys that produce good, detailed, actionable information, while ensuring the technology is intuitive and simple to use and allowing for high levels of automation,” explains Jeroen Noordman, managing director at NIPO.
“Speed and cost are increasingly important factors, and we find that clients appreciate the high level of automation we offer – a feature that also reduces errors, of course,” says Mr Noordman. “We have APIs [application programming interfaces] that are appropriate for every system because customers expect to be able to integrate our solutions easily. With these APIs, our customers are able to automate large parts of the research process in a way that is tailored for their organisation.”
The parts that are not automated should be really easy to use, so researchers no longer have to depend on the valuable time of specialists such as scripters of sample managers. “Market researchers have been telling us that for them complex interfaces are a major bugbear, so we decided to get rid of all the extra buttons and options that can be confusing or distracting,” says Sjoerd Gras, product director at NIPO. “As a result our system has a shallow learning curve and customers say their surveys make it from desk to field within a couple of hours – that’s essential when you need to be quicker than ever to market.
“Engagement is another major key to success for researcher effectiveness. If you can’t deliver an engaging survey experience, surveys will feel like a chore and respondents will drop off. This means that it takes longer to collect the data.
Speed and cost are increasingly important factors, and we find that clients appreciate the high level of automation we offer
“People come to our booth at trade shows and say ‘Wow, why don’t my surveys look like this?’ That’s because our framework allows you to make projects appear really engaging and also to format them so they stand out on any device the consumer is using.
“Our clients use interactions such as a deck of cards, drag-and-drop facilities or animations and visualisation. They know their audience and they know what will work best for them. Similarly, clients could have short, fun, engaging questions or they can develop others that are more typical and standard.”
NIPO’s solutions are offered as software as a service or SaaS. This means clients don’t need to make an IT investment and can take full advantage of NIPO’s cloud capabilities, such as better price performance, always-available capacity and a transfer from capital expenditure to operational expenditure, thereby improving cash flow. These are benefits that only NIPO, which has more than 200,000 users and whose 250 customers include Kantar, GfK and Ipsos, can offer.
“It’s really rewarding to see our customers win projects on our technology and then to know they’ll also be able to execute on them well,” says Mr Noordman. “That’s why we do what we do.”
For more information please visit www.nipo.com
