SMS survey helps sailing stay on course

Skandia Cowes Week in August will be using mobile SMS survey technology from eDigitalResearch to gain instant feedback from its 8,500 competitors to improve the quality of racing.

Last year, over a third of the competitors opted to receive the SMS questionnaire, which involved texting their opinions on the quality of the course, the accuracy of weather forecasts and the standard of stewarding at the end of each day.

This year, Cowes Week Limited will be using the technology to action feedback quickly to improve the quality of its courses and the ways its races are managed.

Stuart Quarrie, CEO of Cowes Week, said: "The instant responses to the SMS surveys mean that we can use the feedback to help shape the next day's racing.

"Hosting one of the largest sailing regattas in the world, we take pride in listening to our sailing community in order to improve our event.

"Previous methods of obtaining feedback have allowed us to make annual improvements, while the SMS surveys allows a day-by-day improvement".

All responses are collated using bespoke software developed by eDigitalResearch.

Sailors are given a deadline of 8pm each day to respond.

The system is able to process information from any mobile phone in real time, with each response triggering the next question.

This means that data correlation is instant and a report can be sent to event organisers with immediate effect.

Chris Russell, eDigitalResearch Director, commented: "SMS provides a fantastic way of creating snap polls and getting instant feedback on some key measures.

"We had a great response rate last year at Skandia Cowes Week and we expect two-thirds of respondents to reply within an hour at this year's event.

"It's a great addition to our research tool kit as mobile devices are ubiquitous and the mobile internet is really beginning to take off".

eDigitalResearch has a long-standing association with Skandia Cowes Week and has been an official supplier to the event for the last six years.

eDigitalResearch is a leading provider of digital market research, enabling customers to make critical business decisions with the benefit of comprehensive consumer insight and informed direction.

eDigitalResearch possesses a unique combination of research expertise, marketing background, web technology and knowledge of the cross-channel consumer.

As well as providing invaluable research data, the modules of our fully integrated research system - ratings, surveys, panels and forums - can combine to provide holistic analytics and essential market-leading insight.

This gives our clients the power, confidence and backup to make crucial decisions on key aspects of their business including product range, marketing, customer service, supply chain, even basic positioning.

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