Competitive Advantage was appointed to conduct a study amongst some of the Contractor’s stakeholder - clients, professionals and suppliers. The purpose was to measure perceptions and compare them with those of the principal competitors.
An initial consultation was held with the management team when the key issues were identified, the nature of the questionnaire and the mix of respondents agreed.
The questionnaire format was then developed and tested with a series of face-to-face interviews. The personal approach of a face-to-face interview has the benefit of identifying important nuances and allows in-depth investigation of specific issues which can be important to a survey.
The questionnaire could then be finalised, using a combination of closed and open-ended questions. For the main study telephone interviews were used. Although not as personal as face-to-face interviews these provide a cost effective means of gathering information. Because Competitive Advantage specialise in the construction sector the researcher was familiar with the issues facing the different respondents and could “talk their language” leading to a meaningful discussion.