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> Profs Libs
MULTI-CLIENT SUSBCRIPTION RESEARCH
Why are professional service firms worth examining?
What is a professional service firm, or a "liberal profession", as they say in French?
There's no legal definition.
We've concentrated on the definition most usually accepted, that of the (French) National Consultation Commission for Professional Service Firms:
"We consider to be "Liberal" any person or legal body exercising a fully independent civilian activity, either individually or as a society. The activity must be of an intellectual service nature, requiring both a high level of specialized knowledge, and that the person or legal body exercise his/her art or science in a professionally responsible and ethical manner, while respecting confidentiality".
"Liberal professions", or professional service firms, are also a target group of 638 000* firms – 24.4% of French firms in 2006. They employ 1 739 000 people, and represent 12.1% of added value. Their collective income is almost 200 billion euros.
About 55 000 new professional service firms are founded every year. There was a high point in 2007, when over 64 000 firms, or 10% of existing firms, saw the day.
Professional service firms are most numerous in the health sector, which accounts for almost 52% of professional service firms in France. However, the health sector accounts for only 37% of the added value of these firms, and just under 40% of revenue.
On the other hand, professional service firms who sell services to other firms make almost 50% of total professional service firm revenue, and 56% of added value, although they represent only 35% of total professional service firms
Who is Profs Libs Research for?
Marketing managers, to adjust their offer
Sales and merchandising managers, to fine-tune their arguments
Product and Group managers, for product positioning
Communication managers, to add weight to talks
General managers, for strategy orientation
How Profs Libs Research Works
This is multi-client, subscription research. You may subscribe for all liberal professional services, or for just one main category of services. You will have the possibility to ask specific questions, tabulated using typology. You may subscribe until 1 June 2009, and preliminary results will be available from the close of June and through July 2009.
Profs Libs Methodology
Three research stages:
A statistical framing stage defining stakes
A qualitative stage with 3 group meetings giving structure and direction to the research
A quantitative stage with 1600 telephone interviews
The statistical framing stage
Why conduct a stat framing stage? To get an idea of what's at stake, to size up the target, to frame sampling and to help us size up the relationship between research results and market data. Framing also means that a study is a coherent whole and can stand on its own.
You receive the framing stage report first. It contains:
The main socio demographic data on professional service firms
Charts presenting this data synthetically
The qualitative stage
Conducted to collect information and to draw up the questionnaire, this stage is comprised of 3 focus groups of 10 persons each.
Each group includes the whole range of professional service firms (health, law and technical sectors). Two focus groups are held in Paris and the third in another region of France.
A qualitative report is part of the deliverables.
The quantitative stage
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1600 investigations |
600 health sector professionals |
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600 technical sector professionals |
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400 law sector professionals |
600 Health sector professionals
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200 Doctors |
General practitioners |
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200 Paramedics |
Nurses |
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200 Other Health-Related Professionals |
Dentists |
600 Technical sector professionals
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300 Construction-related professional service firms |
Architects |
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300 Management-related professional service firms |
Accountants |
400 Law sector professionals
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200 Lawyers |
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200 Other law professionals |
Solicitors |
Within each profession we have designed 2 further sampling criteria:
Company size in number of employees, with 4 segments:
Zero employees
1 to 3 employees
4 to 9 employees
10 to 19 employees
Geographical region, with 5 segments:
Paris and surrounding area (the Île de France region)
North East
North West
South East
South West
Profs Libs Themes and Content:
Three chapters are devoted to general behavior and values, four are devoted to specific themes, products and services, and one conjectural chapter is devoted to crisis behavior.
Chapter 1: Who are these people? What do they do?
How do they refer to themselves?
How long have they been in their field?
What subjects interest them most?
What are their attitudes founded on?
Do they tend to be risk-taking or cautious, and in which domains?
How do they perceive both modernity and tradition, and what aspects of their work do they consider as governed by one, or by the other?
How do they feel about new technologies?
Chapter 2: What is their purchasing pattern, both personal and professional?
Consumer modes: Types of shop they patron?
Professional and personal spending frequency?
How do their personal and professional spheres intertwine?
What are their typical behavior patterns, concerning: Purchase and use of equipment, of consumer goods, and of services?
Do they tend to favor subscription, package price deals, after-sales service deals, or hiring equipment?
How does the Internet figure in their buying habits?
Chapter 3: What influences them?
What is their decision-making process and who or what intervenes?
What influence have professional organizations, advertising, colleagues, husband/wife/partner, suppliers, or the Press?
Relationship to the media: Preferred media according to research nature, professional use of the media, professional press and Internet weight...?
What are the main decision-making criteria, and how do they vary with the nature of the decision at hand?
How long is the decision-making time, and how is this period experienced?
Chapter 4: How do they communicate?
Telephone and Internet operator rating?
Computer/office equipment manufacturer rating?
Intent to acquire new equipment, and why?
Main communication tools used?
Which means of communication do they use with different categories of people, or in different situations?
What communication equipment (computer-related or office-related) do they possess, and how do they use it?
What telecom equipment (cell/landline, voice mail/data) do they have, and how do they use it?
How often do they use information and communication technologies? In what way (personal habits and trends...)?
In which situations?
Chapter 5: How do they get around?
How do they classify different automobile brands?
What's important to them in choosing a car?
What type of car do they own (Professional vehicle - new or second-hand? Make? Model?)
Date of vehicle purchase, and average yearly distance driven?
Intentions and considerations regarding future purchases?
How do they finance automobile purchase, and what do they think of different means of financing such purchases?
How do they go about vehicle maintenance, and how do they regard different mechanics/maintenance firms?
What are their mobility tendencies and patterns, both in private and professional situations?
What other means of transport do they use, and how do they choose the means of transport best suited to a given situation?
Chapter 6: What is their financial behavior?
How do they rate financial establishments?
Are they considering changing banking institutions, and if so, why?
What is their financial behavior in managing their business, and what are their firm's needs, investment criteria, etc.?
What is their financial behavior in managing their own personal funds, and how do they position themselves as regards money; how do they feel about savings, risk, and the link between private and professional finance?
Who helps them with finance issues: Accountants, lawyers, solicitors, bankers, the Press or others?
What means do they make use of in managing finance?
Chapter 7: Insurance
How do they rate insurance companies according to product type?
Are they considering changing insurance companies, and if so, why?
What selection criteria do they use in choosing insurance?
What are their insurance trends?
What do they feel about different insurance policies ("good to have" or "not necessary", etc.), and to what insurance have they subscribed?
What influence do insurance agents hold with them, and do they take advice from others, to choose insurance?
Chapter 8: Professional service firms and crisis
How has their purchase behavior evolved - have purchases been cancelled or postponed, and has their general purchasing behavior changed?
Any problems related to purchasing power?
Have their financing and estate management choices changed?
How do they perceive the future, and what is their present behavior regarding the future?
Fieldwork
Fieldwork will be carried out using InfraForces' own ground and our fieldwork manager and team leaders will be in charge. It will be conducted using the CATI Converso system.
Since the questionnaire is quite long, some interviews will be on appointment, and others will be conducted over two meetings. For the qualitative phase, participants will receive an incentive. For the quantitative phase, the incentive will be used as necessary, with specific professions.
Data processing
Frequency tables. Crossed and sorted tabulations crossed by signposting and also by "in between" questions. Multi-varied analysis. Typology according to behavior and attitudes. Brand rankings. Purchasing plans and how they perceive brands. Customer development potential. Tabulations by Standard Industrial Classification code possible.
Profs Libs Deliverables
Statistical framing paper
Qualitative report
Detailed quantitative report including numerous charts on the behavior and values of professional service firms, both overall and by category
Report on your additional queries, taking the behavior and segmentation/typology of professional service firms into account
Basic tabulation charts
Analysis proposing marketing/communication orientation, integrating qualitative and qualitative results
Oral presentation of results, customized as to your own specific queries
A 3-hour hotline three months after result delivery, giving you the possibility to request additional tabulations should you so wish
Research-conducting particulars
Regular communication with subscribers
Subscribers enjoy total anonymity. As soon as the qualitative phase is completed, a draft questionnaire is sent to subscribers, and their feed-back is requested. The questionnaire may then be modified, except in the case of extremely short-reaching modifications.
How May I Subscribe?
Profs Libs is subscription research.
Only enterprises that have subscribed to the study, totally or in part, will be allowed access. This means that results are the property of enterprises who have subscribed, and that InfraForces stops commercializing the research once the quantitative field has started. InfraForces also commits to not communicating results in the four years that follow delivery.
Specific queries
They will be of a relatively low number, so as not to weigh down the questionnaire: 12 queries in all. They are attributed in the order of subscription. They may be simply booked or reserved, to be formulated later on. We can help you formulate your queries. Specific queries will be tabulated by typology.
Subscription Budget
The full study: 17 900 euros, not including taxes
The full study for just one profession: 6 900 euros, not including taxes
One specific question: 1 200 euros, not including taxes
