The Gazelle Blog

Outsourcing Fieldwork Operations: Running Your Best Race Yet

Written by Gazelle Global | October 10, 2019

Global market research is being done at a quicker pace than ever before. The insights industry is in constant flux about what that means for fieldwork operations. It is good to have a strong team of experts on staff ready for that next project to start. The reality of how unpredictable the workflow is when bidding and winning market research projects makes the proposition of keeping a highly skilled team on the payroll at all times a difficult task. For corporate researchers, it can be difficult to know what skills are needed for the next project.

There are many different reasons clients look to Gazelle Global for operational help.

Growing Specificity of Research Expertise

Increasingly, brands are looking to market researchers for expertise within a certain vertical, methodology or industry. This increased specialization can mean larger project dollars, but it also makes it difficult to maintain a full operations staff in between projects. As these projects expand globally, creating a larger footprint for the study, many expert researchers are expected to hone their focus on the actual project for quality outcomes. But quality outcomes are also dependent on quality operations in the field. Maintaining the operational details over a large footprint is where Gazelle Global can lend a highly trained operational team to complete fieldwork per specifications. In this way, highly specific researchers can be chosen for their expertise, and can continue to operate in their “sweet spot” throughout the study. 

Overflow in Peak Times

The flow of pitching and winning research projects can be unpredictable. Sales cycles that include a request for proposal and extensive vetting with multiple meetings can drag on. Even for large companies who can cash flow through peaks and valleys, sometimes winning more work can be just as hard to manage as losing multiple bids. In the case where many quality bids are won which significantly overlap in delivery time, having options to deal with overflow work can make the winning difference in maintaining quality and reducing the likelihood of burning a team out. Without having to waste time vetting and hiring staff who might not be needed after the peak time, Gazelle Global can be called in as a partner in overflow times. In this way, our team becomes an extension of your team and we hit the ground running.

Increasingly Global Approach to Research

MR firms who have had long-established work partnerships may find themselves being asked to take their quality domestic work global. Many companies, even before they have a global footprint need to know the landscape of the global market. Without having to look for a new MR firm or involve HR in an all-out search for global experts, Gazelle Global’s operational team can quickly offer the kind of international recruiting, translation, focus group facility bookings, and more to help what was a nationally-renowned market research firm break into the global scene.

Bridging a Knowledge Gap

Our team can be a bridge into the global market, but we also can bridge a specific knowledge gap on a team. Sometimes a significant knowledge gap can present when a new piece of work is won. Sometimes these gaps can also appear when an important member of a team is on sabbatical or temporary leave of absence. Likewise, a team may be growing and simply unable to find the right fit for the job long-term. In any case, our large team can step in and be a strong partner no matter the need you need to fill. 

Aggressive Growth Goals

In a season of heavy mergers and acquisitions, we find many researchers heading out to start their own shop. They bring with them high levels of expertise and a full Rolodex. Avoiding a heavy cash outlay in human resources can make all the difference in profitability for a new company looking to grow quickly. It’s not only new companies who look to us to fulfill their operational needs, but established companies with very specific growth goals like the way we can let them test the water in a new vertical, a new methodology or a new geographic area. No matter where the growth, we can provide the operational team for immediate scale.

Getting Help You Need, When You Need It

Our support services are offered à la carte. Our customized approach lets your team retain their focus while we get the fieldwork completed. At Gazelle Global, we’re well-versed in all aspects of fieldwork and our deeply experienced team can complete the entire operation proposition or be available for pieces and parts. We contract work with a customized blend of solutions so you pay for only what you need including:

  • Project Consulting
  • Programmatic Sample Purchasing
  • Partial Source Sample for Quotas
  • Qualitative Recruiting
  • Survey Programming
  • Survey Hosting
  • Project Management
  • Data Processing
  • Translation Services
  • Coding
  • In-Language Coding
  • Tabulation

The Relay Race

With so many moving parts and tasks to be managed, we see a market research project much like a relay race. We don’t run the race for you, but we can insert a key team member when you need it most for a specific purpose. Outsourcing operational components of fieldwork allows your team to play to their strengths.

Need a great runner out of the blocks? We can help you get your global project going.

Don’t have a runner for the second leg? Let our sampling or field management team take the heat.

Is your third runner out for the season? Let our data collection specialists get things done.

Need a strong finish in the last leg? Let our data collection and tabulation experts collect, package and deliver your quality data. 

For many companies, we act as the entire back office to a project from inception to final delivery of data. And we bring the right tools to the project. From Decipher to Dimensions, SPSS, Quantum, to Ascribe, we include technology in our operational solutions

Find out why so many companies rely on Gazelle Global for comprehensive operational solutions for market research. Whether you need a little or a lot, let’s talk about your next project and how we can partner for a big win!

 

Your projects are unique. From qualitative to quantitative, we can match an expert to your project to get it in the field and get insights quickly. Download the Global Market Research Bidding Prep Worksheet and complete the task at hand on time and on budget with full confidence.