Whether you are a PR and Comms agency or an in-house department of a brand, research will likely form an element of a considerable number of the campaigns that you run each year. Many organisations and individuals are accustomed to procuring the research on a case by case, or campaign by campaign basis, but there are some compelling reasons why buying your research in large question bundles is an intelligent and affordable move for both individuals and businesses.
Here's why you should have it in your plan for 2023
Make your life easier
2023 is likely to be a challenging year physically, mentally, and financially. You’ll be challenged to do more with less in both your professional and personal lives and you’ve probably already seen a little of what that looks like with smaller budgets from clients and rising household costs.
Buying research in question bundles allows for a whole step to be taken out of the normal process for campaign planning, implementation, and delivery. This is an excellent way to save both resources and stress at a time when the pressure is on. It’s one less thing to worry about!
Peace of mind
When client budgets need stretching, often the first thing that organisations do is go shopping for the cheapest options. Invariably, being forced down this road comes with compromises. From a significant reduction in access to Market Research Society qualified research experts, to lower quality research and having to use sample sizes that don’t provide robust results.
This however, need not be the case. Research bundles are designed to protect you from having to take this path by allowing you to decide how many questions you need for each campaign, knowing that you already have the questions bought and paid for through an earlier bulk purchase.
It also gives you peace of mind in being confident that you are working with a respected research agency.
Reduced costs
In these challenging times, costs are unsurprisingly top of mind for research buyers. Typically, a standalone 20 question UK nationally representative survey, conducted by an agency that is officially registered with the Market Research Society, will cost around £180* per question. This brings a total research cost of more than £3.5k.
Depending on the size of the questionnaire bundle purchased, buying research in bulk can bring those costs right down, saving as much as £50 per question if the question bundle is really big!
Future proofing
You would have to be either under 18 or living in a hole not to have noticed the huge jumps in inflation in recent months. Combine that with the fact that the cost of nearly every product and service has increased during that time and the future looks uncertain to say the least.
At a time when every business is subject to these inflationary pressures, buying a research bundle makes a whole lot of sense. Budgets can only attempt to forecast what may happen in the future, so why not take the route of lowest risk with a research bundle and safeguard the budget against these unpredictable cost implications.
Making a big spend at the beginning of the year, rather than small spends across the year on a case-by-case basis, may leave you baulking. However, with uncertainties around the economy, you could well be spending more across the year with inflation rates rising and research companies offsetting increased staffing costs etc. by increasing their prices. A bulk deal at the beginning of the year not only provides protection, but also gives you a clear indication of what you’ve spent in your research budget, at a time when it’s most likely to reflect your budget forecast.
Guarantees
The final reason to buy research in a bundle is because it provides ownership up front. As a business that conducts research on behalf of 550+ organisations, there are moments when unfortunately, due to volume, work must be turned away.
These moments often line up with the periods in the annual calendar, when agencies need fast, flexible, and fuss-free research the most. This places them in the position of having to find a research supplier, at a time when they least need the hassle. Buying a research bundle means the organisation already has those questions ready and waiting to use.
So, as you can see, if an organisation engages regularly in research, they really should investigate the merits of buying an affordable research question bundle.
Get in touch to discover more about how a research bundle could help you in 2023.
*Average costs correct at time of publication.