Covid-19 Business Research

Covid-19 Business Research

Following a tender process, Mackman Research was commissioned by Essex County Council to conduct a time sensitive and important business support survey during the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. Essex County Council needed to know how they could better support the Essex business community in challenging times. The research gathered would help to shape Essex County Council’s business support and economic growth strategy, helping its businesses to survive and recover from the effects of the pandemic.

Results

A total of 837 Essex business representatives took part in the mixed-method survey via online responses and telephone interviews. The research identified key themes, allowing ECC to prioritise support initiatives. In-depth comments collected during interviews enriched the quantitative findings with valuable insight. The final deliverables included a comprehensive report with sector-specific analysis, twelve individual district reports for local dissemination, and a strategic summary report for ECC’s economic development team.

Brand Facts

• The county of Essex is multifaceted, with many characteristics amongst its towns, people, and landscapes
• Essex County Council has the citizens of Essex at the heart of everything they do and are committed to helping people who live in the county of Essex to prosper
• The Council has one of the strongest local authority brands. They are dedicated to investing in it, developing it, and ensuring it remains relevant for its residents and partners
• Sustainable economic growth for businesses and communities across Essex is the number one priority for Essex County Council’s economic strategy

Research Aims

The research aimed to gather insight from a representative sample of at least 500 businesses across the twelve Essex districts, covering all sizes from micro to large enterprises. It sought to assess the impact of COVID-19 on business operations, explore anticipated challenges such as Brexit, and identify priority support areas focused on job retention and skills development.

The Research Challenge

The research took place during extremely difficult times and needed to be completed meticulously and managed according to a quick time scale. The Mackman Research team balanced the project’s requirements with a need for sensitivity and compassion at this difficult time. To that end, our team engaged with respondents in lengthy conversations over the telephone in order to ensure that their stories and desire to be supported were recorded with accuracy.

Using data provided by the ONS, a sample quota was first applied across twelve districts, followed by industry sector, and then the size of the company (based on the number of employees). Once the research project went live it was evident that many businesses had already been targeted by a number of other organisations seeking information relating to the impact of Covid-19 on business. In order to overcome the challenge of research fatigue, our team had to explain the full purposes of this project, show outward compassion and be prepared to listen to comments falling outside of Essex County Council’s research objectives. Whilst this meant that at times conversations lasted up to an hour, it was clear that respondents appreciated our attention and time and we were thanked on numerous occasions for our approach and line of questioning.

The Research Design & Methodology

In collaboration with Essex County Council, Mackman Research designed a methodology that included a literature review audit of existing business research, as groundwork to the business engagement project. Collating and summarising research that had been completed in recent months, along with qualitative telephone conversations with Essex organisations, the literature review aimed to identify any gaps in data and themes that were worthy of further exploration. This was used to plan and design the fundamental areas of the questionnaire design.

In accordance with Essex County Council’s needs, Mackman Research proposed a mixed methodological approach to data collection. This comprised of telephone interview techniques where respondents answered questions when prompted by our telephone researchers, and an online version of the same questionnaire was available to those who requested self-completion. A link to the online questionnaire was also emailed to contacts where an email address was available.

In addition to Mackman Research’s call for participation, we ran several PR activities and encouraged direct district communications which helped to entice participation in the survey.

Research Outcomes

Essex County Council used the findings as a critical foundation for shaping its business support response during the pandemic. The data informed the immediate allocation of resources, ensuring targeted interventions for sectors and districts most in need. Twelve individual district reports were delivered, giving local economic development officers the ability to respond to specific, area-based challenges.

The insights guided ECC in launching a suite of business support initiatives, including emergency funding schemes, business resilience workshops, and communications tailored to key concerns identified through the research—such as cashflow pressures, remote working challenges, and Brexit-related uncertainty.

At the strategic level, the research underpinned the development of ECC’s long-term economic recovery framework. It helped identify gaps in service provision, informed the council’s approach to skills investment, and provided a benchmark for ongoing monitoring of business health. The findings also supported cross-departmental coordination, enabling ECC to align its business support services with wider public health, education, and employment strategies during a critical period of recovery.