Work:
BCCC
Understanding SME needs to shape a place‑based business support hub
The challenge
The Black Country Chamber of Commerce, working alongside City of Wolverhampton Council and the University of Wolverhampton, established iGNITE as a city‑centre hub designed to support start‑ups, microbusinesses and SMEs across Wolverhampton.
As iGNITE moved from concept to reality, partners needed robust, independent evidence to ensure the offer was genuinely aligned to local business needs. In particular, they needed to understand:
- Levels of awareness and engagement with the new iGNITE facility
- The real‑world challenges facing local SMEs in a volatile economic climate
- Attitudes towards training, skills development and business support
- How needs differed by business size, sector and professional membership
The research needed to be credible, inclusive of hard‑to‑reach microbusinesses, and immediately actionable to guide service design, marketing priorities and future funding decisions.
The solution
Eureka! designed and delivered a mixed method business sentiment study focused exclusively on SMEs and microbusinesses located within the City of Wolverhampton Council metropolitan area.
Given the known limitations of online response rates among busy business owners, professional telephone interviewing was used as the lead methodology, supported by an online survey distributed via Chamber and partner channels.
Key elements included:
- Telephone depth interviews with SME decision makers
- A concise, jargon free questionnaire (c.10 minutes) appropriate for time poor businesses
- Coverage across a broad mix of sectors, business sizes and growth ambitions
- Careful sub group analysis to highlight contrasts between sole traders, micro firms and larger SMEs
The quantitative study was supported by analysis of iGNITE’s own operational data, allowing findings from the survey to be validated against real world visitation and sign up behaviour.
The research delivered a clear, evidence‑led picture of the Wolverhampton SME landscape and how iGNITE could best serve the communities interests now and in the near future.
Feedback:
“Having thrown them a curve ball regarding the number of participants and format, the guys were slick and adaptive to deliver us an excellent piece of research that responded to all of our research objectives. We have taken the digestible outputs and shared across the business and are using the findings in our tactical marketing plans.”
Let’s bounce a few ideas around
If you’d like to talk through a challenge or explore what might work for your business, we’d love a chat. Get in touch, or feel free to have a further look around the site to see how our research helps solve real‑world business conundrums.