Respondents Know MR From Sales Calls, says GfKMH

A recent study by GfK Martin Hamblin suggests that UK consumers do understand the difference between market research and telephone sales calls, and are still happy to respond to MR. Around 1 in 5 of those interviewed for the Britbus survey were registered with the Telephone Preference Service (TPS) but had completed the interview happily.

Around 18% of respondents had never heard of the TPS, but according to current information, 1 in 4 households are registered with it. By registering, households request that they should not receive unsolicited direct marketing calls and legislation now deems this unlawful if the consumer has indicated such a preference.

The legislation currently excludes market research, but whether respondents can tell the difference is a moot point, so the findings will come as good news to many in the industry, according to David Finney, Head of Telephone Operations at GfK Martin Hamblin. 'Some companies are now asking us to screen their sample to remove households registered with TPS. This finding suggests that, whilst we are happy to accommodate them, they need not be concerned about doing this. There are a small number of respondents who are confused about what TPS covers but we have found that by explaining the difference between direct marketing and market research, most respondents are happy to continue with the survey.

'It would be a shame if the market research world accepted TPS screening, thereby removing 1 in 4 potential respondents, when this research suggests it is unnecessary' continues Finney. 'The fewer people that are screened out in this way, the more representative research will be'.

GfK Martin Hamblin included the following question in its Britbus Survey which talked to 1007 respondents across the UK:

And finally, we are conducting a check into whether the people we interview for market research are registered with the Telephone Preference Scheme. This is the scheme which is designed to protect the public from direct marketing or SALES calls and of course does not apply to genuine market research interviews. Is your household on this register?

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.

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