COMPASS RESEARCH

Background

Since its inception in 1981 as WS Cummings Economic Research Services, the firm has been carrying out market research. Compass Research was registered in 2002 as a trading name for the specialist delivery of these types of services

Services

The firm:

• Has carried out extensive work throughout eastern and northern Australia from Sydney to the Torres Straits and across to Alice Springs & Darwin.
• Is highly experienced in assembling and training teams, and carrying out work away from home base.
• Is specially experienced in tourism surveying, including for market information and establishment of feasibility of new projects, etc.
• Is specially experienced in surveying at domestic & international airports.
• Is experienced in interviewing visitors in non-English languages and has experience in telephone interviewing in ATSI areas where non-English languages are extensively spoken in households.
• Is highly experienced in “executive” interviewing/information collection among businesses in quantification of industry sizes, markets, policy attitudes.
• Carries out a regular 400 household “Omnibus” telephone survey in Cairns .
  

The extensive range of services available includes :

• Telephone surveying.
• Interviewing at set locations.
• Household surveys.
• Visitor surveying.
• Executive interviewing.
• Assembly of and carrying out Focus Groups.

Personnel

All projects are personally supervised by W S (Bill) Cummings (see key personnel) whose original degree included a trilogy of Pure Maths 1, Statistics and Statistical Mathematics and who has had over 20-years of experience in organising and carrying out market research tasks. For Focus Group moderation, suitable experienced persons are brought in for specific jobs. The firm is a regular employer of a team of highly experienced interviewers but is also highly experienced in organising and training interviewers for jobs in centres away from its base area.

Clients

Over the years, clients have ranged from Sydney to the Torres Straits and across to the Northern Territory and Western Australia . Although the firm has carried out a great deal of work for federal and state governments, it has had a particularly strong orientation to private enterprise clients, regional organisations and local government. In its home base region (Cairns/Far North Queensland), the firm’s regular client list reads like a Who’s Who in business, organisations and government operating in the area.

Charges

By and large, the firm charges at an hourly rate for the different personnel involved. These rates are set at reasonable regional and not capital city rates. The firm is happy to assess the time involved to complete a project and provide a cost estimate/quotation.

Confidentiality

Client confidentiality requirements are strictly observed.

Professional Associations

The firm is a long standing member of the Australian Market & Social Research Society.