Research For Success: What Do Your Customers – And Teachers – Think?

Finding out what your customers – and teachers – really think about you is crucial to the success of an educational business, and the key to successful research starts with outlining a clear set of objectives.?

Don’t try to address everything at once, ask yourself why you are doing the research. Think about your business goals, what are the key pieces of information that will help you focus on the most important parts of your business??

Once you have the objectives defined then you need to think about the audience you are going to talk to, what method are you going to use and, most importantly, how are you going to use the results.?

You also need to think about the resources you will need and make sure everyone who needs to know about the research does. This helps with the second most important part of the project: being clear about how you are going to use the feedback.??

Here are two examples of how research can have a direct impact on an education business.?

1. Customer insights and experience?

Your customers may be students or parents, and research can help you gain insights into their experiences and needs. By understanding these needs, you can ensure that your services align with their expectations, fostering customer loyalty and advocacy.?

Effective methods to uncover what your customers truly think can include:?

• Surveys: Sending out surveys to your audience, especially if you have a healthy email list, provides direct feedback. Ask relevant questions to gain insights into their experiences and preferences.?
• Focus Groups and Interviews: Conduct focus groups or one-on-one interviews to explore why people feel the way they do. These sessions allow for in-depth discussions and interactions, providing valuable qualitative data.?
• Suggestion Boxes and Quick Polls: For a quick solution, introduce suggestion boxes, feedback forms, or run polls. These simple methods help gather insights and encourage participation.?

Knowing your customers’ perceptions and preferences allows you to tailor your marketing messages effectively. You can reach the right audience - those most likely to become customers - by addressing their specific interests and concerns.?

Regardless of the method you choose, take action based on the research findings. Summarize your results, create action plans, and communicate back to your students and parents. Active listening fosters engagement and loyalty.??

2. Help teachers’ well-being and improve staff turnover?

Research isn’t limited to customers, it can also be a great tool to help understand your employees. By assessing their feelings, motivations, and any issues they face, you can have a positive impact on wellbeing, job satisfaction, and reduce potential staff turnover.? There are a number of steps you can take to facilitate this:?

• Colleague Feedback Surveys: Conduct annual colleague feedback surveys covering topics like engagement, job satisfaction, leadership, and well-being. Regular repetition helps track improvements and areas needing attention.?
• Staff Focus Groups and Interviews: Use focus groups or one-on-one interviews with teachers to explore well-being concerns. Identify stressors, workload challenges, mental health issues, and effective practices. Structured discussions guide this process.?
• Building Trust: Transparency is key. Be open about research goals and ensure confidentiality. Consider external researchers for sensitive topics. Trust encourages participation.?
• Action and Communication: Share insights with teachers. Even if you can’t solve every problem, evidence of improvement and active listening matter.?

Remember, research isn’t just data - it’s a pathway to better support a positive environment for educators.??

Using feedback and applying it?

Research is most valuable and effective if it is going to influence a decision or drive action – it’s this action that measures the success of the research. As we have seen, you can start small with research, for example: use it to explore a key business question or to gauge teachers’ thoughts about something.?

Once you see the impact think about putting together a research plan for the year or even the next two years, this will help you build a joined-up approach so you can measure the impact of any changes you make and stay focused on what’s really important to the business.?

Interested in finding out more? Watch Katherine's Research Strategy tutorials, here:

Katherine Bishop is the Director of Global Research & Insight for English Language Teaching (ELT) at Oxford University Press.? Katherine's career has been centered around market research and consumer insight, spanning various industries before moving to healthcare where she worked for over 20 years.? Katherine has extensive experience in understanding customer problems and needs, putting customer insight at the heart of decision-making to support faster and better business results.??