Client presence in the international questionnaire surveys

If you are conducting a multinational study, then it is possible that the commissioning organization, or client, has a presence in most if not all of the countries that are to be covered. However, the extent and expertise of that presence may differ between countries, depending on the size and the nature of their operation there. If the research is to assist in determin­ing whether or not the client should enter the country, then there may be no presence.

This is significant because the extent of the client’s knowledge of each country and its market will affect the information that the questionnaire writer has about each country, and how it is similar to or different from the same market in other countries.

With a strong presence in each country it is likely that much is already known about the market, and certain assumptions can be made when writing the questionnaire. If little is known, then the questionnaire may need to be more open in the way it addresses topics, because of the danger of making wrong assumptions.

The amount that is known about each market will have an impact on the way in which the same approach can be adopted across countries.

Source: Brace Ian (2018), Questionnaire Design: How to Plan, Structure and Write Survey Material for Effective Market Research, Kogan Page; 4th edition.