In today’s digital world, automated approaches often dominate market research recruitment, offering speed and scalability. However, traditional methods like phone recruitment remain vital, particularly in niche or challenging markets.
At m360 Research, we have observed the success of phone recruitment in engaging hard-to-reach respondents, improving feasibility by up to 30% on targeted list studies. As a valuable complement to digital strategies, phone recruitment delivers richer insights and more successful research outcomes.
In this blog, we will explore what phone recruitment is, when it is most effective, and how it benefits our clients’ projects.
What is Custom Phone Recruitment?
Custom phone recruitment involves contacting potential participants by telephone to engage them in market research studies. Unlike email campaigns and other mass communications, it offers a highly personalised approach that allows recruiters to address participants’ concerns directly, answer questions, and build rapport. As you can imagine, this method relies heavily on experienced recruiters who possess the skills to navigate complex conversations, overcome objections, and persuade participants to join a study.
When to Use Phone Recruitment
While phone recruitment may not always be the first choice, it excels in specific scenarios:
- Targeted List Recruitment: Best used when working with predefined lists of potential participants
- Niche Markets: Particularly effective in smaller or niche markets, such as the Nordics or Canada, where participant pools are limited
- Complex Criteria: Ideal when studies require participants to meet specific qualifications or demographic criteria
- Cold Calling: Useful for reaching new contacts who have not previously engaged with your research
- Personalised Engagement: Crucial when high-value participants, such as specialist physicians, require personalised engagement
- Follow-Up and Reminders: Helps to increase participation rates with follow up calls or sending reminders for upcoming studies
Benefits of Phone Recruitment
While digital communication can often feel impersonal, resulting in one-sided interactions, phone recruitment offers several distinct advantages that enhance the success of healthcare market research studies:
- The Human Touch: Phone recruitment enables real-time, direct communication with healthcare professionals (HCPs) and patients, fostering a personal connection that builds trust and encourages participation.
- Effective Gatekeeper Navigation: Phone recruiters can directly engage with administrative staff or gatekeepers, overcoming barriers that digital recruitment may face.
- Enhanced Targeting for Niche Audiences: When a study requires highly specific participant profiles, such as those with rare disease or specialist medical expertise, phone recruitment allows for precise screening and tailored outreach. Recruiters can ask the right questions to ensure only qualified individuals participate.
- Higher Response Rates: Unlike digital methods, which may go unnoticed or be filtered into spam, phone calls typically result in more immediate and higher response rates.
- Customisation and Flexibility: Phone recruiters can adjust their approach based on real-time feedback from participants.
- Improved Data Quality: With phone recruitment, recruiters can immediately clarify responses, ensuring participants fully understand the questions. This reduces the risk of misinterpretation, leading to higher-quality data collection.
A Case in Point: Enhancing Client Impact through Custom Phone Recruitment
m360 Research partnered with a dental device manufacturer to conduct a healthcare market research study targeting Canadian dentists and dental hygienists. Discover how m360 Research leveraged its team of 50 skilled phone recruiters to achieve 250 completed surveys, including 95 exclusively from phone recruitment.
Conclusion
In an increasingly digital world, phone recruitment remains a powerful tool for healthcare market research. Its ability to offer personalised, real-time communication, navigate gatekeepers, and achieve higher response rates makes it a valuable recruitment strategy for niche markets and complex studies.
By integrating phone recruitment into your overall research approach, you can ensure greater richer insights and more successful outcomes. As you plan your next project, consider how phone recruitment might provide the human touch necessary to elevate your research efforts.
Interested to learn more? Share your study requirements with us at info@m360Research.com.
