ICM utilises newvistalive the in-house consumer panel for many projects but also deploys surveys to client lists and web-sites as well as mobile phones through text messages and smartphone browsers.

Survey experience is paramount and the team use a variety of engaging survey tools to keep things fun and clear for respondents. Contact the team for a demo of our capabilities.

• Tables
• Dashboards
• Client Portals

The team provides support for many of the industry’s most complex studies and ICM Direct acts as an outsource data processing department for a number of research agencies. Please contact us to find out more.

We take a consultative approach to ensuring your fieldwork success, with a dedicated team that adds value at every step. Our expertise covers a wide range of sectors, accommodating simple to complex methodologies, to deliver quality data on time.

We have national coverage with a local presence enabling us to access hard to reach audiences. Find out more about the success we’ve shared with our clients in case studies.

ICM-Direct is a full-service data collection expert taking care of all your operational research needs. We help both large and small research and insight firms to:

• Diversify your methodology offering through outsourcing to us
• Increase your capacity without any additional investments by partnering with us
• Benefit from our hard earned reputation for quality data collection and accuracy by using our experts
• Simplify your operations and free up the valuable time of project managers by letting us do the hard work
• Add additional expertise to your business by working with our team of specialists as an extension of your business

Since 1998 we’ve built a solid reputation for delivering quality data on time.  We are the trusted partner for a number of big name research and insight firms having built great working relationships through repeated high quality delivery.

ICM Direct continues to support clients across the three modes of online, face to face and telephone. We thrive on challenging projects and our operational experts pride themselves on finding the best solutions for client challenges.

Quality systems run throughout the business, ensuring that all parts of the research process are subject to rigorous check points and governance. This level of detail supports our ‘right first time’ ethos and even more importantly, ensures that our clients can be confident they are buying robust and reliable research data.

ICM Direct is accredited with ISO 9001:2008 and continually improves the quality processes.  All ICM Group Companies are members of ESOMAR and abide by the MRS code of conduct.

Each research mode has its own quality needs – here are some examples of how we put this into action:

Online

Online panel recruitment

ICM Direct recruits panellists for the newvistalive panel through a network of online affiliates. Potential panellists are brought to the panel recruitment page and are required to register with specific personal details that can be verified. The CAPCHA system is used to prevent robotic attempts to join the panel.

Once registered with a verification email, panellists are required to complete a minimum set of profile questions. Once these are complete, initial surveys are verified against the profile questions. Each on-going survey is used to validate profile information.

Third-party sample

If niche target groups are not available from ICM Direct’s own panels, a select group of external suppliers are used. The quality of these suppliers in monitored in exactly the same way as internal sample.
ICM Direct is always open with clients when external partnering is necessary.

Survey experience

A number of measures are in place during the survey to ensure high quality data collection. Firstly most surveys are programmed with a graphical overlay that makes the survey engaging, but also allows the speed at which the survey can be completed to be reduced.

Each questionnaire has a set of ‘check’ questions at the beginning and end of the survey. The answers to the pairs of questions allow logic checks to be carried out and panellists to be excluded from the dataset.  ICM Direct operates a ‘three strikes’ policy that removes panellist permanently if they fail these checks repeatedly.

Face to Face

At ICM Direct, we provide the highest quality services, in compliance with the clients’ specified requirements for all Face to Face projects.

In order to enhance the existing reputation of quality standards ICM Direct recognises the genuine commitment to understand the present and future needs of clients within a quality control setting.

With a field force of 1,000 trained interviewers spread across the whole of the UK and 200 qualitative recruiters: representative national and local audiences can be targeted.  The field team are managed by 22 regional supervisors ensuring consistency and a high level of quality deliverables.  Where additional training is needed this is achieved in combination with Head Office and supervisors.

The Quality Management System is described in the Quality Assurance Manual and detailed in a Procedures Manual.  To further the quality aims, it is ensured that all employees understand and adhere to the requirements of this policy and the contents of the Quality Assurance Manual.

The Quality Control Manual and subsequent manuals are published as a direct response to the requirements defined by ISO 9001:2008.

Where additional quality controls standards need to be met, such as interviewers having CRB checks, this can also be facilitated.  We can assure confidentiality is maintained, especially with regard to New Product Development (NPD), where we use dedicated couriers and where necessary, security guards.

Standards are ensured further by validating interviewers and recruiters by contacting respondents directly.  More than the 10% recommended industry standard are contacted.  This then feeds into quality control procedures to implement improvements as appropriate.

Professional Membership
• Members of MRS Company Partner Service – Code of Conduct
• AQR Association of Qualitative Research
• BS ISO 9001:2008 accredited

Telephone

Interviewer training

ICM Direct’s interviewer training programme is industry-leading and has been developed over many years.

Candidates are subject to an initial interview and those who successfully pass are invited to attend a training and assessment session. At the end of this session an additional candidate review selects the trainee interviewers.

Both new interviewers and those joining from other agencies receive the ICM Direct training. This approach ensures that all the interviewer teams have been trained to the high standards our clients expect. Topics covered include: An introduction to quantitative research, the Market Research Society Code of Conduct, research terminology and jargon, different question types, Data security and privacy, the need for different approaches for specific audience types, sampling methodology, quota control, the importance of neutrality, respondent anonymity, consistency, accuracy, demographic coding and interviewing techniques.

Interviewer quality

The IQCS quality standard is that 5% of completed interviews must be monitored. ICM Direct greatly exceeds this and is amongst the highest in the industry.  Feedback is given to interviewers as part of their on-going assessment and ultimately performance management.

ICM Direct assesses a minimum of 95% of interviewers at least once in any single month. The current rolling 12-month average is 99% assessed. Assessments are conducted to a reach and frequency model that indicates at the start of each interviewing shift the number of assessments an interviewer has had in the last 30 days and the number of days since the last assessment.

ICM Direct monitors specific points such as adherence to the exact wording of the questionnaire, accuracy of data capture and control of the overall pace of the interview but also the ‘softer’ skills such as negotiation or refusal handling and setting and keeping of appointments.

This approach ensures a high interviewer quality, but also demonstrates our serious commitment to interviewer development. On-going performance appraisals are given to each interviewer and one-to-one coaching and training sessions are provided where necessary.

ICM Direct is registered as a Data Controller under the Data Protection Act 1998. Data Controller Registration No: Z5242749

Why you should be considering outsourcing:

• Cost control is not always easy to achieve. In a tougher economic climate, research agencies are increasingly outsourcing to specialists. ICM Direct’s scale enables us to deliver high quality projects cost-effectively allowing our clients to focus on their areas of expertise.
• Increase your turnover and grow your business even faster without investing in additional operational resources, simply by extending your operational capacity into ours.
• Add research capability to your organisation by using our experts and confidently quote on a wider range of research projects, which ICM-Direct  will handle for you.

ICM offers multi-mode capability means, our clients will:

• no longer need to break the project up to outsource to multiple agencies
• have key point of contact throughout the project the life-cycle
• save time by working with one agency
• save energy and effort by letting ICM Direct  do the hard work!

During his 10 years at ICM Direct, Neil’s focus has been on CAI production excellence, quality standards, governance and resource management. Neil leads the ICM Direct team from the Camden office.

You can contact Neil on at Neil.Sykes@icm-direct.com or on 020 7428 7863.

The vital stats 100 FMCG brand awareness interviews of 30 minute’s duration across 5 high level B2B sub-quotas – Government, Academia, Media, NGO and Trade Associations.

The challenge Our interviewers applied their exceptional powers of persuasion to secure phone time with these very busy professionals, including scheduling and often re-scheduling when required.

The results Although this project ran into summer, a challenging time to reach businesses, we achieved the quota and our client said:

(testimonial to be submitted)

The vital stats We conducted 1000 interviews of 15 minutes duration amongst nationally representative UK consumers on the topic of information searches.

The challenge The x factor for this survey was the 100 pilot interviews conducted to test the approach and provide extensive insight for more effective time in field.

The results At 85% incidence we closed field in 10 days.