Age Concern Customer Research
Project Background
Age Concern Suffolk is an independent local charity, established in 1948 and is a full member of the Age Concern federation. The charity works with and for senior citizens in Suffolk, campaigns on their behalf and is a provider of direct services and support across the county.
Type of Research
Customer Questionnaire
Introduction
Age Concern Suffolk enlisted the support of the Mackman Group to help provide a solution to a customer questionnaire problem, which arose due to an unprecedented level of response. The questionnaire had been sent out with a twice yearly magazine they produce to approximately 15,000 readers and they received 1,300 back. These were paper questionnaires and they quickly realised that the time and skills needed to input and analyse this data was not on hand within the organisation. Bearing this in mind they decided to look for a reputable agency that could help them deal with this effectively on a pro-bono basis, as they didn’t have funds available to enable them to cover the cost for this work.
Methodology
The research team at Mackman Group provided an online data management tool, which enabled their administration team to input data quickly and easily and allowed the data to be managed and worked accordingly. Mackman also worked to produce the insight and data from the questionnaire in terms of data analysis and reporting. Importantly, the data was quality checked and all the work undertaken by Mackman strictly adhered to Market Research Society guidelines.
Sample Size and Confidence Interval
From a population of 15,000 magazine readers, 1303 respondents took part in the survey. This achieved a confidence level of 95% and a confidence interval of +/- 2.5%. The survey consisted of seven closed questions and three open-ended questions.
Testimonial
Not only has the exercise helped us better understand the needs of older people in the county, but it also raised some important questions, which will help our organisation drive forward new ideas in the future.
Jonathan Skermer - Marketing/Development Manager
Question Example
Actual figures have been altered to keep client confidentiality.
Do you live alone?
1303 respondents. The results below are shown as percentages of the total number of respondents per age group. For example, 40.7% of a total of 27 51-60 year olds surveyed, live alone.
Conclusion
The level of response was fantastic, and mainly from frail older people in Suffolk, who need extra support and assistance to live independently. The research has helped to ensure that Age Concern Suffolk is being as customer-centric as possible.
