For many businesses, understanding what customers really think can be invaluable. It helps shape strategy, strengthens marketing and provides reassurance that products and services are meeting expectations. Yet for many SMEs, market research can often feel like a luxury reserved for large businesses with sizeable budgets.
MMC Research is challenging that perception with its Pick ‘n’ Mix Customer Research service. A flexible, affordable solution that gives businesses meaningful customer insight without the cost of a fully bespoke research project.
Starting from just £1,200 + VAT, the service allows businesses to select from a range of professionally pre-designed research questions, tailoring the survey to suit their objectives while avoiding the time and expense of commissioning a completely bespoke piece of research.
One business to benefit from the service is Sunderland-based Oculus HR, which wanted to better understand how its clients viewed the business and the value of the services it provides.
“We wanted to gain a deeper understanding of what our customers really think about us,” explains Managing Director, Louise Kennedy. “Whilst we receive regular feedback, we wanted independent insight that would validate our approach, identify what matters most to our clients and provide evidence we could use within our marketing.”
Oculus HR was able to build a research programme that met its specific requirements using MMC Research’s Pick ‘n’ Mix approach.
“The whole process was incredibly straightforward,” says Louise. “MMC provided a selection of questions for us to choose from, allowing us to tailor the research to what was most relevant to our business. Communication throughout was excellent, clear, responsive and flexible and the team worked closely with us to make sure everything met our needs.”
Customer participation also proved easier than expected. After sending a simple email containing the survey link, followed by a reminder a few days later, around 60% of customers took part.
While every business hopes for positive feedback, independent research often uncovers valuable opportunities for improvement. In Oculus HR’s case, the findings reinforced that the business was delivering exactly the experience it strives to provide.
“We were genuinely delighted with the results,” says Louise. “It was incredibly humbling to see how positively our customers view us and the impact of the work we do. The findings gave us confidence that we’re staying true to our values and delivering what’s most important to our clients.”
The value of the research didn’t end once the report was delivered. Instead, Oculus HR has used the findings extensively across its marketing activity, creating an entire campaign based on the insights.
“We developed a dedicated customer insights campaign, including a ‘Peace of Mind’ campaign across LinkedIn and Instagram which generated fantastic engagement. We’ve also incorporated the findings into blogs, newsletters, videos, social media, our website, exhibition stands, marketing literature and printed materials.”
Commenting on the service, Natasha McDonough, Managing Director at MMC Research, said, “Many small businesses know they should be listening to their customers more regularly, our Pick ‘n’ Mix service makes market research accessible to them.
It gives businesses access to professional, independent customer research that’s tailored to their objectives without the cost of a fully bespoke project. It’s an affordable way to gather meaningful insights that can shape business decisions, strengthen marketing campaigns and provide independent evidence of the value businesses deliver to their customers.
Whether a business is looking to improve its customer experience, generate testimonials, refine their messaging or simply understand what clients think, the insights gained can support the business long after the research has been completed.”
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