How did you find the process of getting the feedback?
I contacted Tribe Research to provide urgent feedback for a key survey we were asked to run. They were so understanding, which meant that there was no anxiety that Tribe Research would miss the business deadline for their feedback on our proposed questions.

Was the feedback useful?
The feedback was very useful as we could easily reframe some of the questions to get the best response.

Was the report easy to understand?
The report was easy to follow and it was easy to amend the feedback suggestions within the original survey.

Did you implement the changes?
We implemented the changes because we wanted to ensure that we were framing the questions as per the professional advice and expertise of Tribe Research.

Would you recommend the survey design review product to your colleagues?
Yes. It is always difficult, especially for longer surveys. For me, it is important to know that you are getting the best out of a question and that it will provide meaningful data. Sometimes being too close to a survey you are creating can impact on the question structure. Having a set of expert eyes as a second opinion was reassuring and helpful.

What was your overall impression of the Survey Design Review?
The Tribe Research team are professional, extremely helpful, understand what your objectives are and make you feel assured that your timelines will be met. Most of all after the feedback, you feel like you are sending out a great survey.

Case Study – Survey Design Review – Musica Viva

Musica Viva is an independent non-profit arts organisation, sharing the delights of chamber music with audiences throughout Australia, and  presenting over 2400 concerts in capital cities, regional communities and schools.

They offer a special experience for professionals new to Musica Viva at the Sydney and Melbourne concerts. Young Professionals network before the concert, and meet a guest speaker giving insights about the music they are going to hear. The guest speakers have included composers, musicians and educators. Young Professionals also receive an exclusive invitation to attend interval drinks with other special guests.

The following day a feedback survey is sent to understand their views of the event and if they would attend again.

Musica Viva asked Tribe Research to review their survey.

The survey was set up in Survey Monkey and consisted of six screens, as following.

Below that is the feedback we provided as part of the Survey Design Review. The feedback is provided as a PDF document so Musica Viva could make changes they’d like to adopt.

Dear Musica Viva,

Thank you for requesting Tribe Research’s Survey Design Review. We’re pleased to be presenting you with our feedback.

You’ve decided to do the survey online and we feel this is appropriate as the majority of your target population have supplied their e-mail addresses and are used to receiving information in this format. We’ve provided feedback with this methodology in mind as certain questions are more and less suited to certain methods of data collection.

The report is on the following page. There are three key sections:

1. Must Change [Red] are aspects that must change in your survey for it to be beneficial for you.
2. Recommend Change [Orange] are aspects that we recommend you change for your survey to have a better outcome.
3. Strengths [Green] are aspects that we recommend you don’t change.

For each of the key sections, we’ve broken it into five themes so it is easier for you to follow.

1. Cover Letter that we recommended you send to us for review
2. Order of the questions and flow so that participants remain engaged
3. Questions that we have specific comments about
4. Thank you to your participants and acknowledgement of their input
5. Other aspects

If, after you’ve collected your feedback, you would like the data professionally analysed, contact us for a quote.

We also have tools for you to analyse your data yourself in a visual format that is easier to absorb and interpret. CloudMaker makes word clouds, similar to tag clouds, where common words are large and less common words are small. This enables you to clearly see the language your tribe uses. Also, for rating questions utilising importance and satisfaction or performance scales, you can import the data into ActionMap which will present the results on a grid or map so you can see the priorities for marketing and business planning.

If you would like to design your next survey in a Masterclass environment then Kate Tribe hosts these for small business and member organisations.

We’d love your feedback – both positive and negative (so we can improve). If you have any comments, please let us know by return email or phone +61 2 8096 2546.

Happy exploring!

Tribe Research

Their feedback

Kate and her team conducted a Survey Design Review for a campaign to the Musica Viva Young Professionals. Young Professionals guests are brand-new initiates into our world of chamber music concerts, so it’s of utmost importance that we get to know them asap, and thanks to Kate and her crew, we’ve gained vital insights into tightening up our survey campaigns. Now we can move ahead knowing that results are clear, concrete and consistent. And the Tribe Research folks are great to work with!

Safe Summer Survival is an annual health promotion campaign. Bi-annually Shire Wide Youth Services and Waverley Action for Youth Services conduct a survey at the same time about the sexual health behaviour of 12 to 25 year olds in southern and eastern Sydney.

Explore | The survey design and data collection is managed by Shire Wide Youth Services and Waverley Action for Youth Services. Tribe Research undertakes the data entry.

Uncover | The sexual experience of young people at different ages, the prevalence and influence of alcohol/drug use on sexual behaviour, changes since previous surveys and differences between demographic groups.

• In 2004, 32% said they would go to a doctor or nurse for information about sexual health issues. In 2006 about a fifth of the participants had discussed recreational drug use, mental health issues and/or sexual health issues with a local doctor.
• The average age for first experiencing oral sex was 14.5, and for sexual intercourse it was 14.8.
• The most common response for number of partners was 2 to 4, for both oral sex and sexual intercourse.
• Over 50% of those who have had sexual intercourse use condoms always or most of the time.
• There was an increase in the proportion reporting they’ve had sex while affected by alcohol or drugs from 2004 to 2006, even though participant average age decreased in the period. Other than alcohol, the main recreational drugs were cannabis and ecstasy.

Clear-Head | Presentation of results to the HIV/AIDS & Related Programs unit at the Prince of Wales hospital.

Drive Change | The results identified areas of importance and at-risk groups to target in future youth education through the Summer Survival team. They are being used to develop sexual health services and education programs.

The Sexual Health Survey is conducted every 2 years by peer educators from Waverly Area Youth Services (WAYS) and Shire Wide Youth Services Inc (SWYS). It is funded by South Eastern Sydney and Illawarra Area Health Service’s HIV/AIDS and Related Programs Unit. The sample is collected through a convenience methodology and therefore analyses of bias can’t be undertaken. The survey is also collected in social environments and it is possible that some participants were influenced by peer pressure.

The above post is extracted from our newsletter, Tribal Voice Spring 2006 which is no longer available.

The 2008 report can be downloaded from the WAYS Website.

Tribe Research has done the analysis in 2004, 2006, and 2008.

Robert Gerrish, Sam Leader and Peter Crocker have developed www.flyingsolo.com.au from an e-zine and website with articles to an online community with forums and directory.

Understanding Micro Business Survey

In reference to the first Flying Solo ‘Understanding Micro Business Survey’ in 2008, Flying Solo founder Robert Gerrish said:

“Kate and the team at Tribe Research helped us with our ‘Understanding Micro Business Survey’ earlier this year. We were mightily impressed with the service and look forward to working together again in the future.”

In 2010 Tribe Research was again requested to setup the backend of ‘Understanding Micro Business Survey 2010-2011’ and analyse the data. The backend support included designing the survey, and the generation and maintenance of the survey online. Following the distribution of the survey to their community via their weekly e-zine and promotions on their website, we analysed the data and prepared the report.

You can download both reports yourself, just head to: flyingsolo.com.au/understanding-micro-business.

The report assisted Flying Solo in positioning themselves as experts in the anatomy of Australia’s micro business owners, and provided valuable statistics that they can use when talking to potential advertisers. They now understand their existing tribe better.

Project in collaboration with Age Communications.

TRIPS software data collection over the Integrated Health Related Community Transport Co-ordination Trial and survey individuals involved in the trial.

Explore | Design of four brief satisfaction surveys for passengers, providers, volunteers, and health professional secretaries on the cost, timeliness, ease of access, met and unmet needs, and service quality.

Uncover | Analysis in SPSS and reporting of 136,000 TRIPS data collected using the software package TRIPS and provide report on data inconsistencies and changes in trip information throughout the trial period. Strengths and weaknesses for Integrated Health Related Community Transport.

Drive change | The results were used to guide improvement of Integrated Health Related Community Transport.

Launching in 2004 with 12 designs, LaRoo needed to undertake market research to identify designs to produce for the next Mocks season. Whilst LaRoo CEO, Lara Solomon, had a background in marketing and a general idea of creating questionnaires she was lacking practice.

Masterclass hosted by Kate Tribe

LaRoo CEO, Lara Solomon attended our Customer Feedback: for small business workshop in 2006.

The challenges for LaRoo were:

• to increase understanding of survey design; types of questions and how to ask them
• to create a survey to see if LaRoo’s monthly store newsletters (mailed at a cost of $150 plus time each month) were really valued and used by the retailer recipients
• to develop an alternative to face-to-face research on the popularity of potential Mock designs, as these could only be collected in Sydney hindering nationwide predictions

Lara came away from the day with the tools for several new initiatives she has since implemented in her business, including:

• A survey for retailer customers, to explore their thoughts on service, the newsletter and promotional items. It has become an annual barometer of business performance and confirmed their newsletter was valued and service levels to retailers were about 90%. Since the workshop the survey has been instrumental in deciding on point of sale materials for stores.
• Redevelopment of an existing Mock design range survey, with improved questions and an online survey tool. The new survey had increased survey participants from about 100 to 300, broadening the range of participants and making it easier, cheaper and quicker for LaRoo to collect and analyse their research.

Overall, Lara’s attendance at our Masterclass increased LaRoo’s productivity, reduced their risks and enhanced their sales.

Lara has since sent other LaRoo team members to the Masterclass, to ensure that as Lara moves into other areas of the business, she maintains consistency when conducting research and their surveys are still designed to produce optimum results.

Lara was the 2008 NSW Telstra Micro Business Award winner and has published the book, Brand New Day.

The Instilling International Entrepreneurship in Emerging Enterprises program started in 2008. After the first time the program ran, ABITS wanted to get feedback about the program from the participants.

Gaining feedback from participants for program development and marketing

Christine Gibbs Stewart, General Manager said:

“Tribe Research did an excellent job for us.  They put together the research so it was easily understandable and helped us to draw valid conclusions.  The project was delivered on time and was great value for money.  We will continue to use Tribe Research for our research needs.”

Explore | Development of a survey to understand the level of business development, international business focus, business interests and mentoring needs of participants in the IIEEE program. Development of the survey online using Tribal Tool-Kit software.

Uncover | Analysis and reporting of the participants’ level of business development, international business focus, business interests and mentoring needs.

Drive Change | The results will be used to improve the IIEEE program by tailoring to the interests and needs of participants.

The Australian Marine Pilots Association and New Zealand Marine Pilots Association wanted to have a better understanding of the safety practices of Australian and New Zealand marine pilots and compliance with safety regulations on ships.

Associations need to understand member compliance for development of their organisation

Explore | Two separate surveys were developed for the safety and compliance aspects of the project. The online survey was developed online using Tribal Tool-Kit software. A personalised link emailed to all marine pilots in database and Tribe Research managed data collection.

Uncover | Data analysis and reporting to uncover the use of safety equipment such as helmets and personal flotation devices, experience with different transfer systems, satisfaction with pilot ladders and other ship equipment, changes to equipment design, pilot assessments of compliance with safety regulations on ships.

Drive Change | The results identified areas to be addressed to ensure the health and safety of all marine pilots, and how these areas can be improved.

How do you turn your tribe into raving fans? Most small businesses know they should be doing things like feedback forms, identifying trends, understanding your best and worst customers… but they often find it’s still on the “to do list”. Song Division knew they needed to do these things, and enlisted our help in developing a Know Your Tribe Strategy.

Song Division is a unique employee bonding experience where people – usually a group of employees – get to work with real musicians in professional venues.

Their clients bond by composing and recording their own song: no musical experience is required, but all employees get to act like rock stars!

Their first year focused on getting themselves out there, bringing in clients and coming up with ideas. However, Song Division soon realised that they needed feedback systems and procedures to ensure the continued growth of the business.

This is a common realisation in small business! While Song Division is a unique company, their business issues aren’t.

First, we had a great day at a Song Division session with staff from a large corporate. After reviewing the existing systems and procedures with Andy Sharpe (Managing Director), we discussed where he wanted the business to go, and who Song Division’s important stakeholders were. These are all crucial steps in developing a plan for collecting meaningful data.

Next, we set to work developing a strategy that Song Division could implement immediately. We went through the following steps:

• analysed how their clients moved through the buying cycle (looking at both the client company and their employees who participate, as well as event companies on-selling Song Division)
• designed separate surveys to collect relevant and usable data from each important stakeholder group
• developed a plan of when and how to conduct surveys for each of these groups
• designed a database plan to match the strategy so the data could be recorded in an easy and practical way

Song Division can now set up a database to be sure that their data will be collected and recorded in a consistent way. Now they won’t overlook changing client needs, and their knowledge will be continually updated.

Building a data strategy into your ongoing systems and procedures means you won’t have to go out of your way to get important information about your tribe – you’ll already have it!

Explore | The direct and indirect costs of Rett Syndrome in Australia, using a national database of every known case. This included regular and acute medication, hospital procedures, health professional visits, therapy, respite and long term care, nondurable medical products and durable medical equipment.

Uncover | The economic impact of Rett Syndrome on families, the community and government.

Drive Change | The results of this analysis will be published in several journal articles, and will be used to support government submissions.

Services performed | Data cleaning, database development, matching Rett data to published figures for PBS medication, hospital procedures and health professional consultation rates, adjusting monetary figures to the 2005 Consumer Price Index, written document outlining assumptions and methods used in calculating specific costs, health economics analysis of costs, calculating specific costs required for article publication.