For ex-ample, a company and its research supplier could brainstorm and set up contingency plans for various situations. Speed is of the essence for such research, says Hankin, because the agency may have only a few days to prepare a presentation that could gain or lose them a major client. The national media often call on suppliers to poll the public immediately after a major event has occurred. Immediately after President Clinton's State of the Union address in January 1996, Chilton Research Services surveyed people about their reactions to the speech. In a custom overnight survey, research questions are typically due to the supplier by noon of the day the interviewing takes place.
Suppliers can either work with a list of names provided by the client, or use random digit dialing.
Depending on the capacity of the vendor, anywhere from 300 to 1,000 interviews can be conducted in a night. Because speed is of the essence, it is advisable to keep the interview short. Since the data are usually meant for immediate decision-making, company researchers usually won't have time for a lot of additional analysis. The person who really needs the information may not be the researcher. The researcher may call us and act as a go-between, but senior management may be involved in this.