Sector
Charity
Location
Suffolk
Website
ageuk.org.uk
Age UK Suffolk enlisted the support of Mackman Research to help provide a solution to a customer research 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.
Brand Facts
- Age UK is a charity that helps millions of people to know their rights and make the best choices for later life. They tackle loneliness, get older people active, and support people to stay independent for longer.
- Age UK began life as The Old People’s Welfare Committee in 1940.
- Their many services include the Age UK Advice Line, befriending services, Day Centres, and information guides and factsheets.
Project Facts
- Age UK’s Suffolk branch approached Mackman Research to solve a customer research questionnaire issue.
- Extremely high levels of response through paper questionnaires had overwhelmed their capacity to input and analyse the data, and a solution was therefore needed to overcome this issue.
The Process
Organising and sorting questionnaire data
The Mackman Research team 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 customer research 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.
The Challenge
Age UK needed a solution that could accommodate 1,300 surveys that had been completed on paper. In addition, the assistance that they were outsourcing needed to be on a pro-bono basis due to funding restrictions.
The Results
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 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 UK Suffolk is being as customer-centric as possible and the robust facts have helped enforce and support decision making at local government level.
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 – Age UK Suffolk