CATI stands for Computer Assisted Telephone Interview. So a CATI software is the survey module that helps companies conducting telephone interviews with an online-based support. This is a clear move forward for telephonic interviews while still maintaining the merits of a person to person interaction.
Many companies are now completely disregarding CATI, thinking online surveys are better, but that’s a mistake. Online surveys are strong, but there are merits to a more traditional and personal approach too.
How does a CATI software help your data collection?
A CATI software is the perfect integration between human interaction and technologic data collection. It consists of a series of questions posed to the consumer through the phone. Interviewers have both questions and answers on display and can easily collect them in a precise and correct way. That certainly helps reduce human errors in data collection, which may happen with the traditional written transcripts.
Also, a CATI survey software can be completely customizable based on the client’s needs. For instance, it can lead interviewers to different questions based on the previous answer, creating a more flexible and accurate collection of data. It can also mix open-ended questions and multiple choice. The human factor helps people navigate the questionnaire with ease and respond more spontaneously than they would in written form.
The main difference between CATI and online surveys
There’s a logistical difference between these two data collection methodologies. While an online survey provides you with as many responses as many people freely choose to answer, a CATI survey works in a different way.
Besides creating a one-to-one interaction with your consumer, it also allows you a great deal of targetization. With the right contact list, you can reach your exact target audience and manage their questionnaires in a flexible way.
Reading from the script they have on their display, interviewers can lead the conversation one way or the other, aiming for the exact information you need. This is perfect in encouraging a genuine response and a natural conversation.
CATI softwares features
This kind of survey software is getting more and more useful by the day. Technologies expand their reach and sharp their precision in order to get you the most accurate data collection ever.
The most efficient CATI software will have some (or all) of these features:
- interviewers and results statistics, immediately ready for analysis;
- a click-to-dial system to make calls quicker and more efficient;
- an automated predictive dialing way to transfer calls to the first available interviewer.
A good software is also easy to use and doesn’t need a particularly long training for staff and managers. All calls and responses systems are intuitive and quick to grasp. Same goes for the collection and storage of useful information and for keyword shortcuts that help you conduct and save conversations.
Do you have a neat contact list?
If not, your CATI software-based survey won’t be very useful. However, most softwares help you in this regard too. They come with an easy and intuitive segmentation of prospects and leads and will help you creating valuable lists. This way, both managers and staff can easily reach the right people at the right time.
Speaking of which, taking time zones into account is another great feature. You can also have integrated calendars with scheduled appointments and automated systems for managing InBound and OutBound calls.
If your company needs a great number of data, turn to a multiple language CATI software and create an organized system to collect each response. This way you will have a great quota of interviewed people and a tidy collection of information for each market.
Safety and privacy are essential for data collection
You can never collect data in any way without reassuring users of their safety and privacy. No one is going to leave you their personal data if they don’t completely trust you and your company.
That’s why you need to choose a CATI software with a perfectly secure system. When searching for the right software, make sure it uses:
- a safely hosted and protected space;
- best practices for data protection, privacy and security;
- a constantly upgraded data collection system for avoiding hackers.
This way you will be compliant with national, European and international safety measures for personal data.
Data collection and analysis in a CATI software
While collecting data is your main goal in conducting a CATI survey, you surely need to be able to analyze them right away. So the most efficient softwares give you immediate, easy to read and save reports for each campaign.
You can set a quota to reach and go on interviewing people until your sample size is big enough for your needs. Then proceed with analyzing data and use them to the betterment of your company’s productivity, marketing activities and, ultimately, sales.
