Page 250 - DENG401_Advance Communication Skills

Unit 15: Business Report Writing

(vi) An incentive, such as "10 percent off your next purchase," to complete the Notes
questionnaire.

Even applying all the guidelines direct mail responses are very low. Phone surveys
are generally the most cost-effective. Some telephone survey guidelines include:
(i) Have a script and memorize it-don't read it.

(ii) Confirm the name of the respondent at the beginning of the conversation.
(iii) Avoid pauses because a respondent's interest can quickly drop.
(iv) Ask if a follow-up call is possible in case you require additional information.
In addition to being cost-effective, telephone interviews are speedier. One of the
most effective forms of marketing research is the personal interview. They can be
either of these types:

(i) A group survey. Used mostly by big business, group interviews or focus groups
are useful brainstorming tools for getting information on certain issues.

(ii) The in-depth interview. These one-on-one interviews are either focused or
nondirective. Focused interviews are based on questions selected ahead of
time, while nondirective interviews encourage respondents to address certain
topics with minimal questioning.
(b) Secondary Research: Under secondary research, researcher gathers information from
the secondary data. Secondary research is done on already published data. So, it is
the cheapest form of research because the data already exists for the use. Secondary
research occurs when a report requires a summary or collection of existing data. As
opposed to data collected directly from respondents or "research subjects" for the
express purposes of a report, (often called "empirical" or "primary research"),
secondary sources already exist.

Secondary research can be split into internal and external research.
Internally an organisation has access to a wealth of information, which can be a
useful tool for writing business report if it is related to the functioning of the business.
Information available may assist the organisation in discovering the many truth for
example, a sales report is likely to include, why sales are decreasing, why customers
are not satisfied, customer usage rates and so on. Sources of internal research may
include:

(i) National product sales.
(ii) Regional product sales.
(iii) Customer usage rates.
(iv) Guarantee cards.
(v) Customer comments or complaints.

(vi) Sales people, research and development staff.
(vii) Past research conducted.
Clearly as this information can be generated internally the only cost implication
will be of staff time obtaining the data.

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