SPSS Inc. Transforming Market Research Organizations into Modern Survey Research Call Centers

Business Wire, May 27, 2009

PASW Data Collection Software Improves Productivity and Increases Revenue Through Virtualized Environments

CHICAGO -- Innovative market research organizations are turning to SPSS Inc. (Nasdaq: SPSS), the leading global provider of Predictive Analytics software and solutions, to virtualize their call center operations for a competitive edge in an industry with tight budgets, limited resources and shrinking project timelines.

Telephone interviewing continues to be one of the most effective channels for capturing opinions, attitudes and preferences of customers, employees and constituents in call center operations. To lower costs, accommodate a global and increasingly virtual workforce, and give market researchers better control over survey projects, leading market researchers rely on PASW Data Collection (formerly Dimensions) feedback management and survey research software. The outcome for these organizations is higher response rates, accelerated productivity and higher quality results.

Part of the SPSS Predictive Analytics Software (PASW) portfolio of products, PASW Data Collection supports the entire survey lifecycle – from authoring to managing the data collection process to survey reporting and analysis – supporting global, multi-channel research and feedback collection. Specifically, PASW Data Collection leverages sophisticated technology, such as VoIP (Voice Over IP) and virtualized environments, to maximize call center operations regardless of geographic location and time zone, enabling interviewing to take place at any location and operate around the clock with less overhead and a lower overall cost.

Patrick Quigley, global vice president, market research at SPSS, said, “To gain an edge over the competition, market research agencies are shifting toward the modern call center and using PASW Data Collection to boost overall operations and productivity. Success today is defined by customer knowledge and that occurs by effectively gathering the ‘Voice of the Customer’, and using these insights proactively to reduce churn, improve satisfaction, detect fraud and increase marketing campaign results.”

Efficient Project Management, Enhanced Productivity

PASW Data Collection streamlines management of call center operations by providing central control with local execution – ensuring that globally dispersed resources are deployed effectively and insight is readily available.

PASW Data Collection enhances the quality and quantity of telephone surveys with fast, accurate predictive dialing that ensures interviewers always reach a live respondent, resulting in more engaged interviewers and a more productive phone center. PASW Data Collection fine tunes call center efficiency so organizations are able to complete projects on time, within budget and with the least amount of resources.

Opinion Research Corporation (ORC), a pioneering leader in the science of market and social research, uses PASW Data Collection to enhance its research and consulting for commercial and social research clients. PASW Data Collection virtualizes the call center at ORC through centralized predictive dialing from any remote location around the clock – leading to increased survey response rates.

James Weber, senior vice president, information technology and operations, Opinion Research Corporation, said, “PASW Data Collection provides unprecedented flexibility for dealing with and better responding to the unexpected. Whether we need to add interviewers on short notice or in a remote location, or better handle an interrupted interview that needs to be rescheduled or handled via the web, PASW Data Collection allows us to re-allocate resources across multiple centers quickly and better serve our customers and respondents.”

Increased Scale, Better Quality and Less Cost

Market research agencies using PASW Data Collection leverage virtual call centers and easily scale resources up or down in real-time without disrupting operations. Organizations can increase or decrease the number of interviewers easily and re-deploy resources based on current needs without disrupting existing operations. In this competitive environment, flexibility helps ensure profitability.

Morley, based in Saginaw, Mich., is an integrated marketing services agency that uses PASW Data Collection to capture the “Voice of the Customer” across multiple touch-points, including web and phone, to bring data about people’s attitudes into their clients’ analytical decision-making. As various projects arise at the last minute, Morley uses PASW Data Collection in its call centers – leading to more survey projects in less time and with less infrastructure.