Market research case study:
Understanding local business perceptions of training and support services

St Helens College

The challenge

St Helens College currently offers a range of services to local businesses, including:

  • SkillsNorthwest: Training solutions designed to meet skills gaps.
  • Skillworks: Funding towards training and development.
  • Conference facility.

The College is currently designing a strategy which will pull together the different services offered to businesses.

The overall objective was to establish how businesses in the St Helens borough currently perceive St Helens College, incorporating the following sub-objectives:

  • To ascertain generally how the College is perceived by local small to medium sized businesses (SMEs).
  • To establish the extent to which SME’s associate the College with services to businesses and their awareness of the different services offered.
  • To gauge perceptions of the College in relation to services to businesses.
  • To identify what local businesses expect from a supplier of business to business solutions and specifically what they would expect from St Helens College – how is good service defined.
  • To establish how businesses view training in general e.g. is it a priority to invest in training.

The approach

DJS Research conducted 150 telephone interviews with users and non-users of the College.

Users were recruited from lists provided by St Helens College, while non-users were recruited independently.

Interviews were conducted with the individual responsible for training within each organisation and lasted approximately 10 minutes.

The results

Recommendations from the research focused on:

  • Increasing external communication to promote the College’s services.
  • Specific sector marketing.
  • Promoting the experience of teaching staff and highlighting less traditional services, such as funding, brokerage, and consultancy.
  • Given the relatively high proportion of satisfied users, testimonials or survey results could be used to promote the College’s services.

 

Understanding local business perceptions of training and support services case study image 1 Understanding local business perceptions of training and support services case study image 2

Client testimonial: St Helens College

Education, Quantitative, Business to business (B2B), Market research project design & management, CATI (Computer-Assisted Telephone Interviewing), Brand health, Advertising effectiveness

"We have used DJS Research for a number of projects over the last two years and every time they have provided us with both an efficient and friendly service, and clear and actionable research findings, which have illustrated a good understanding of our sector. We will definitely use them again."

Understanding local business perceptions of training and support services case study image 2
Understanding local business perceptions of training and support services case study image 3
Understanding local business perceptions of training and support services case study image 1

Case study:
Understanding local business perceptions of training and support services

St Helens College

The challenge

St Helens College currently offers a range of services to local businesses, including:

  • SkillsNorthwest: Training solutions designed to meet skills gaps.
  • Skillworks: Funding towards training and development.
  • Conference facility.

The College is currently designing a strategy which will pull together the different services offered to businesses.

The overall objective was to establish how businesses in the St Helens borough currently perceive St Helens College, incorporating the following sub-objectives:

  • To ascertain generally how the College is perceived by local small to medium sized businesses (SMEs).
  • To establish the extent to which SME’s associate the College with services to businesses and their awareness of the different services offered.
  • To gauge perceptions of the College in relation to services to businesses.
  • To identify what local businesses expect from a supplier of business to business solutions and specifically what they would expect from St Helens College – how is good service defined.
  • To establish how businesses view training in general e.g. is it a priority to invest in training.

The approach

The numerical, measurable and objective outputs of quantitative research are critical to building robust data-driven insights. An essential research methodology for monitoring KPIs, from sales figures to satisfaction rates, we use an extensive range of quantitative techniques to deliver robust, scalable datasets for our clients to strengthen business resilience and support future growth.

From tightly structured, closed-question online surveys with thousands of participants, to highly targeted on-street questionnaires, we have the skills and resources to deliver the scale and depth of responses you need.

We craft bespoke quantitative solutions, selecting the best channels and routes of engagement to reach your audience, and often recommend a mixed-mode approach to maximise success. For example, adding targeted postal and self-completion ‘top-ups’ onto a predominantly online survey to ensure less digitally engaged cohorts, who may have limited internet access, are included in research outputs.

Our most frequently used quantitative services

Some of our most frequently used quantitative services include:

As a full-service market research agency with a dedicated Field and Data Services team, we have the scale to provide end-to-end solutions and the agility to deliver specific quantitative services to support specific business needs. For example, clients and research consultants who have their own datasets come to us for specialist support with processing, tabulation and reporting.

Whether you wish to engage a small, clearly defined group – such as 25 senior SME decision-makers in a particular field – or thousands of consumers across a single region or multiple global markets – we can deliver the insights you need.

To find out more about our quantitative research capabilities, and discuss how we could craft a tailored solution to meet the specific needs of your organisation, contact us today. 

 

The results

Recommendations from the research focused on:

  • Increasing external communication to promote the College’s services.
  • Specific sector marketing.
  • Promoting the experience of teaching staff and highlighting less traditional services, such as funding, brokerage, and consultancy.
  • Given the relatively high proportion of satisfied users, testimonials or survey results could be used to promote the College’s services.

 

Understanding local business perceptions of training and support services case study image 2

Client testimonial: St Helens College

Education, Quantitative, Business to business (B2B), Market research project design & management, CATI (Computer-Assisted Telephone Interviewing), Brand health, Advertising effectiveness

"We have used DJS Research for a number of projects over the last two years and every time they have provided us with both an efficient and friendly service, and clear and actionable research findings, which have illustrated a good understanding of our sector. We will definitely use them again."

Understanding local business perceptions of training and support services case study image 2
Understanding local business perceptions of training and support services case study image 3