UK churches see the light!
December 2006
In an increasingly competitive market, UK Churches are converting to market research to stay one step ahead of the game. Having recognised the value and power of research, they have started consulting their stakeholders to maximise funding, aid marketing and evaluate services. Many Churches around the UK have turned to Snap survey software after discovering the constraints of using Word and Excel to design and analyse surveys. Read on to find out how The Dean & Chapter of York Minster, Salisbury Cathedral and The Churches Conservation Trust are using Snap to pioneer research within their sector.
The Dean & Chapter of York Minster, the largest Gothic Cathedral in Northern Europe, recently bought Snap software to primarily evaluate the services they provide. The Minster has applied for a £10 million heritage lottery fund so needs to consult with its stakeholders to aid this application. Vicky Harrison, Assistant to the Collections Manager, explains that after using Snap software on a Museum & Heritage Management Course at Nottingham Trent University, she recommended and instigated the purchase of Snap. “I knew that once we had Snap on board we’d be able to design surveys quickly and manipulate the data, providing us with more useful feedback.” In recent months, consultation has significantly increased with the introduction of a staff & volunteer survey, an education and a family day feedback survey. All have proved to be extremely successful in the evaluation of services and have achieved high response rates. Therefore, market research will continue to play an integral part in the Minster’s future plans. By utilising Snap software they hope to secure lottery funding in the near future.
“Our research objective is to generate a steady pattern of research that will help us increase the length of stay and spend at the Cathedral.”
Samantha Richardson
This year, Salisbury Cathedral, another famous institution and one of the finest medieval Cathedrals in Britain, bought Snap software to help them conduct research among its visitors. They realised that they needed a survey software package to help them construct and analyse their visitor survey and chose Snap because it is so user friendly. The survey, which is currently being piloted, is designed to demonstrate visitor satisfaction, improve marketing, and confirm and develop interpretation for visitors. Samantha Richardson, Deputy Head of Visitor Services at the Cathedral, explains, “Our research objective is to generate a steady pattern of research that will help us build up a profile of visitors to the Cathedral and improve visitor facilities. We chose Snap’s integrated package to help us achieve this.” The paper survey will be available at various points around the Cathedral plus face to face interviews will be randomly conducted. The results of the survey will aid the Cathedral’s long term planning to ensure it remains a leading world class heritage attraction.
However, it is not only Churches that are realising the benefits of conducting research. The Churches Conservation Trust, the leading national charity that conserves 338 historic churches no longer used for worship, is using Snap to spearhead consultation amongst volunteers. The Trust has over 1,000 volunteers nationwide so wanted to gain an accurate profile of these supporters in order to assess their current and future support and resourcing needs. They realised that to produce and analyse their survey seamlessly they would need a software package. A member of staff who had previously used the software recommended Snap. The survey has been piloted in one region and because of its success will be extended to the other five regions. Paper surveys were posted to the target audience as most of the volunteers are retired and generally have low technological awareness. The survey, which was sent along with paper communication and a pre-post envelope, received a good response rate of 60%. The pilot survey met all outlined objectives by generating constructive and useable feedback. Verity Stroud, Development and Special Projects Officer tells us “Using Snap, we were able to design a professional, yet reader friendly survey, which no doubt contributed to the success of the project.”
For further information on how Snap software can help your research projects call one of the team on 020 7747 8900.