Full Profile : ibd Advisers have real and extensive experience, coupled with deep business skills, enthusiasm and access to a rapidly growing UK and international network. With over 300 Advisers, you are never far away from the support and problem solving power that our network provides.
Whatever you need, we help by:
• carrying out diagnostic reviews to analyse the causes of problems
• delivering practical, independent advice to solve problems quickly
• delivering ongoing support
• identifying causes of problems rather than dealing with symptoms
• injecting new ideas to keep your business sharp
• providing strategic advice for the longer term development of the business
• rolling up our sleeves and getting involved and giving the management team the support they so often lack
We are focused on adding real value to the business that you have created. And we don’t stop thinking about your problem when we leave your office. Our ability to call on other specialist skills from within our network means that whatever the question, we can quickly find the answers and expertise that your business needs.

Services : ibd can help with every aspect of your business:
• business growth
• business efficiency
• business control
• general management
• interim management
• management consultancy
• mentoring
• non-executive directorship

Testimonials :
Practical, straight talking and affordable
"ibd is the most practical, straight talking and affordable resource that I have found for small businesses. It operates a network of Business Advisers across the country that specialise in small to medium size businesses and nothing else."
"It ensures that all its advisers have real-life experience of running a business. This means that they can roll their sleeves up and help, if you want them to, as well as offering advice. It also means that behind each Adviser is a central resource, with expertise in everything from raising funding to avoiding insolvency".
"ibd will give you a free one-hour Business Health Check, and they are flexible in how and when they charge for their services".
Anna Hopkiss, Teach Yourself Books, "Small Business Health Check"

Professional
I would like to thank PH and PK for the professional manner in which you delivered the two day "Business Plan Rectification" workshop. It was exactly what was needed and was of great value.
As you are aware I have spent a long period of time researching and writing the Lifestyle Vouchers International Business Plan and had been assisted by a number of other Business Advisers along the way. You, however brought with you considerable business experience and have developed the Plan into a document that can be implemented in the real world and one that gives us confidence for the future.
Neil Rinaldi, MD - Lifestyle Vouchers International Ltd

Full Profile : 20/20 Research is a professional market research agency, with offices in Sheffield and Milton Keynes. We are experienced suppliers of both consumer and business to business research.

Our consumer research has involved us in a wide range of markets including retail, sport and leisure, financial services, telecoms, media and publishing. The business to business research has similarly seen us work with a wide range of industries including manufacturing, pharmaceutical, vehicle management and leasing, professional services, and building and construction.

Our Directors each have over 15 years’ experience in market research, with senior roles both agency and client-side. They are able to bring this perspective to each project, to ensure that we deliver value and insight to address our clients’ objectives.

Telephone research is conducted from our recently refurbished research centre in Milton Keynes. This offers latest facilities for call monitoring and quality control, including digital recording. There is also a viewing facility, from which client are able to see and hear a sample of interviews as they are being conducted.

Our analysis function is able to offer more advanced statistical solutions where these are required. These include market segmentation and pricing techniques, trade-off (conjoint) analyses, concept testing and simulated test markets.

We would be happy to supply a research proposal in response to your research needs.

Services : Telephone interviews, street interviews, hall tests, in-home interviews, focus groups, qualitative depth interviews, tele-depths, postal surveys, online surveys, mystery shopping

Testimonials :
Market research is by nature confidential and we work at all times within the Market Research Code of Conduct. References are available on request.

Full Profile : Lake Communications is a full service research agency providing both quantitative and qualitative research using all interviewing media.

Lake Communications was previously known as Sample Surveys and was one of the largest independent market research companies before its sale to Aegis Marketing and its re-branding as Synovate one of the largest research groups in the world.

Lake has a national field force of 500 interviewers which are led by a team of 14 local area supervisors. Our interviewers are trained to either IQCS or the ISO 20252 international standard.

We also specialize in online research and have extensive online software. We work with professionally recruited panels of respondents as well as affinity groups and membership panels. We use mixed media whenever it is advantageous to do so, particularly online quantitative followed by CATI to selected individuals. We can import and export raw data for analysis as well as run comprehensive reports on the results.

We also conduct and project manage research for other market research agencies and consultancies and offer data only services if required. In addition we conduct depth interview, group discussions, and deliberative or collaborative depths and groups involving more than one ‘stakeholder’. We also have considerable experience in incorporating a qualitative element into conventional quantified surveys.

Services : Online surveys, Face to Face, Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI), Focus Groups, Mystery Shopping, Postal questionnaires, research consultancy, analysis, reporting

Full Profile : Swift Research is a full service research agency, currently employing 65 permanent office based staff, including a 17-strong team of Research Executives supported by a team of 15 Data Specialists, fully conversant with all aspects of data handling & various analysis packages.

We work according to your requirements, on both an ad-hoc and a continuous basis. Some of our current continuous contracts include annual contracts for public perception and user satisfaction studies with 14 Police Forces across the UK (some of whom are joined together as a consortium). We are also an approved supplier to various other public sector organisations, such as Leeds City Council with whom we have a 3-year Framework Contract Agreement.

In addition we are suppliers to many large blue chip companies, such as Procter & Gamble, Masterfoods (Mars), and Audi, and we regularly track B2B customer satisfaction for organisations, such as vehicle leasing companies, the insurance industry, furniture manufacturers and various public sector organisations.

Our in-house telephone unit is fully equipped with CATI facilities and geared to studies demanding close monitoring or fast turnaround. A seven-day week, 24-hour operation enables us to maximise the effectiveness of business-to-business, international and domestic surveys. We employ a combination of regular and occasional (to allow for specialist topics, language specialists etc) interviewers. All interviewers are trained to MRS guidelines.

Services : On-line surveys, Web 2.0, CATI, Street Intercept, Door to door, Exit surveys, In-store observation, Focus groups, Panel work, B2B & B2C depth interviews, Sensory Lab, Field and tab, IT consultancy.

Testimonials :
‘Swift have always proven to be an efficient, reliable and flexible company to work with, producing high quality work to strict deadlines. The staff are readily available to answer queries, offer innovative solutions to any problems which may occur and take a genuine interest in the projects they undertake.’

Leeds City Council

‘Swift always provide us with a fast, reliable and professional service. They are always willing to assist with ad hoc requests and together we continuously look at ways of improving the survey process.’

Suffolk Constabulary

'A very efficient and effective team who provide a customised approach to West Yorkshire Police's business requirements. Always willing to help and always deliver as promised'

West Yorkshire Police

"Quality work, professional and helpful staff. A real pleasure to do business with."

North Wales Police

‘Thank you all for the great work you have done for BASES. I always enjoyed working with you so much . . . your commitment to client service and market research excellence has always been outstanding!’

BASES (The Nielsen Company)

The service from Swift is always excellent. The team embrace the projects as if they were their own. They question and probe to ensure the brief is met and the results are delivered. Would we recommend them - definitely yes!

Jackel International

Full Profile : Shelton Associates specialises in making marketing work within our client companies, supported by professional market research. We provide a comprehensive range of marketing services and in many cases act as our client’s external marketing department. We were established in 1990 and have high level marketing experience that we apply to our client large or small in a practical, results-oriented way.

Services : External Marketing Department Option or other adhoc services such as: Market Research Marketing Planning PR Direct Marketing Telemarketing Promotional MateriaWebsites and online marketing

Testimonials :
The professional guidance provided by Shelton Associates helped us to define a sound marketing strategy. That we increased our sales by 50% in the following year is no coincidence, proving that professional consultancy was for us, a profitable investment’
Steve Bell-Jagged Globe

Shelton Associates helped me look at my business from a different perspective. The costs were saved many times over by making more effective use of my marketing budget
Hallam Hotelware

Full Profile : Warwick Equest provides robust, high quality market research that delivers clear and insightful results – at exceptionally competitive prices.

We are a full service agency, offering a comprehensive range of traditional and innovative research techniques, methodologies and practices. We provide a fully bespoke service to exactly match your needs, budgets and timescales, and we love a challenge.

We were established in 1990 and now count some of the world’s largest brands as our long term clients, including P&G, Lidl, Unilvere, RoDO, Parker Foods and Sunderland and Richmondshire Councils. These clients use Warwick Equest to stay in touch with their consumers on an almost daily basis, relying on us to provide critical information about the buying habits, needs, preferences and opinions of both current and prospective customers.

In the past 12 months alone we have completed more than 8,000 individual product tests, interviewed around 10,000 consumers and received the answers to over a quarter of a million questions - and we don’t just report back, we analyse and interpret, delve and discuss to find results that will both surprise and challenge you.

We manage a network of over 500 qualified and experienced field interviewers, providing full UK coverage and they operate to the highest industry standards, with ISO9001:2000 and BS7911 accreditation.

We have a flexible, creative approach and a passion for delivering pragmatic and actionable results.

Services : We conduct face-to-face interviews, online research, postal and email surveys, telephone research, focus groups, in-depth interviewing, panel recruitment, product tests, hall tests and in-home placements.

Testimonials :
"Warwick Equest were very responsive to our initial brief, ensuring they fully understood what we were trying to achieve before quoting. Not only was their quote very competitive, we were very pleasantly surprised to see just how much our research budget could achieve and how pro-active Warwick Equest were. The project was executed to agreed schedule and we were delighted with the quality of results we obtained, which provided valuable insight and steer to a number of areas of our product development programme."

Marketing Controller, RoDO Group

"The Committee wish to thank you for a job well done. The help and advice given from start to finish was excellent. The resultant report you presented was very comprehensive and enlightening and gave a sound basis for the recommendations as well as an innovative idea to explore work in partnership with the National Park. All recommendations were approved by the decision makers."

Resource Services, Richmondshire District Council

"Warkwick Equest offered a friendly, professional service. The interviews were carried out as requested, to a high standard and on-time."

Performance Improvement Team, Sunderland City Council