
Online
Online data collection is the most adopted data collection method for consumer research and makes up a considerable proportion of our work.
Lake benefits from having a dedicated in-house hosting facility for online research projects. We conduct scripting, hosting and panel fieldwork for online surveys and manage, process and deliver the data. This ensures that our executive team and project managers retain full control over the process of launching and running surveys. Our online software and programmers can deliver a range of capabilities including complex routing, sophisticated research techniques (e.g. conjoint and maxdiff exercises).
Recent projects include:
An online survey targeting 30,000 professional and student members of a professional accountancy body to assess opinions on their website and magazine content.
An annual survey of 2,000 motorists exploring their driving behavior, attitudes to driving safety and views on general motoring trends.
Face-to-face
We are advocates of face-to-face interviewing, believing that expertly sampled, in-person, surveys provide the very best data.
Our national field-force of 500 interviewers can deliver projects at scale and speed using handheld tablet devices. Our streamline structure allows us to offer very competitive fieldwork rates.
We invest appropriately in this method. We take the time to recruit interviewers with strong inter-personal skills who can build rapport with respondents. Our interviewers are trained to either IQCS or the ISO 20252 international standard and are managed and motivated by our long-standing team of local area supervisors.
Ongoing, our interviewers are individually appraised, coached and mentored by their experienced supervisors, who accompany them regularly to check adherence to quality standards on live projects. We also gain invaluable feedback from our interviewers to improve our working processes.
Recent projects include:

A nationally representative study of 2,000 consumers to understand levels and types of news and media consumption. This study required the most stringent sample frame and data robustness with data and reports published.
A three-year resident survey assessing council performance and local area issues. We interview 2,500 residents in home each year in line with population statistics; 125 interviews per ward. Consistent project and interviewing team across the three-year contract

Telephone
Telephone research remains a tried and tested data collection method for business-to-business market research.
We conduct thousands of interviews from our on-site telephone unit. We use the industry-leading software, Confirmit, allowing for centralised management of sample, appointments, callbacks, open-end comments, and reporting. All call outcomes are logged to provide statistics on screen outs, refusals, terminates and any other call outcomes for monitoring purposes
Our vast pool of retained interviewers, all trained to ISO 20252 standards, ensure that we deliver projects in a fast and efficient manner. They are experienced in building a rapport with potential respondents and are skilled in negotiating and scheduling appointments to maximise response rates.
Recent projects include:
An annual tracking survey of 1,000 SMEs exploring awareness, usage and satisfaction with company pension schemes. The study interviews those with decision-making responsibility for pensions within the organisation.
A customer satisfaction survey for a housing association gauging feedback from 500 residents on all aspects of the service they receive. The findings were used to focus initiatives and prioritise investment in areas deemed most important for residents.
Mystery Shopping
We have extensive experience in recruiting for and conducting mystery shopping programmes. This tried and tested method provides invaluable insights to clients be it to evaluate a specific aspect of their service, the entire customer journey or to validate against compliance.
Recent project includes:
An ongoing mystery shopping programme on behalf of a building society to assess compliance and customer service across all elements of the mortgage application process.
Mystery shopping on behalf of a leading office machinery manufacturing company to explore product offerings and prices offered to customers.

“Start a conversation today. Contact Michael Botley on 01622 357065 or michaelb@lake-research.com”
Whether you have a research project in mind, have a specific business challenge or simply want an informed point of view on an issue, get in touch.