News Archive 2005

Postwatch survey confirms Royal Mail's first class stamped and metered performance has improved

13 December 2005

Postwatch announced today that independent research undertaken by Andrew
Lester & Associates into Royal Mail's quality performance across first
class stamped and metered mail confirms 'excellent progress'.

From 26 September to 22 October 2005 the on time delivery performance of nearly 20,000 letters was tested. The survey shows that 95% of first class
letters arrived the next day, 2 percentage points above the minimum target
set down by Royal Mail's licence.

For further information on the results of this survey please click here.

Andrew Lester & Associates complete fieldwork for IT research project
7 November 2005

Andrew Lester & Associates completes the fieldwork for a large research
project conducted across various industries in the UK for a leading global provider of IT research and market intelligence.

The research involved interviews with IT managers, non-IT managers and
end-users about printing rationale and habits with a view to the
deployment of Multi-Functional Printers (MFPs) and other peripherals.

Andrew Lester & Associates win Palletline contract

3 October 2005

Andrew Lester & Associates have won the contract to manage the field
research of the business confidence index research on behalf of
Palletline. The research is conducted on a quarterly basis and involves
interviews with managing directors and business owners from within the
company's own membership of pallet carriers.

Palletline offers a range of services developed to provide customers with
a distribution channel for palletised goods. For more information on
Palletline please follow this link http://www.palletline.co.uk

New Project Director joins the team at Andrew Lester & Associates

30 September 2005

Andrew Lester & Associates are pleased to announce that David Lindsay has joined the company as Projects Director.

David is taking over from Karen Boyce who, after almost 10 years at Andrew Lester & Associates, has decided to leave the company to pursue personal interests.

With a 30 year history in the market research industry, including the post of International Research Director for TNS, positions with the Mars Group and Kraft Jacob Suchard, and the experience of running his own market research company for 15 years, David brings with him knowledge and expertise to support and strengthen the client focused project management team.

Managing Director and Senior Partner Andrew Lester comments, “With David on board Andrew Lester & Associates can continue its drive to excel in providing high quality, cost effective marketing research services to our clients.”

With David's arrival the company has taken the opportunity to re-evaluate its project management structure with a view to increasing levels of customer service and improving internal communication. The Board of Directors, however, remains largely unchanged and as of September 2005 will read as follows:

•  Andrew Lester - Managing Director and Senior Partner

•  Kjetill Howard - Marketing Director and Partner

•  Bernadette Kozlowska - Operations Director

•  Helen Daniels - Business Development Director

•  David Lindsay - Projects Director

David Lindsay will be a full time member of the team at Andrew Lester & Associates from September 2005.

The 2005 Business Customer Survey Published

29 September 2005

Andrew Lester & Associates conducted 1,500 interviews with UK mailers to feed Postcomm's 2005 Business Customer Survey with significant data. The report was published today and reveals that all businesses expect sustained growth in mail volumes over the next five years. Eight out of ten business mailers expect the competitive market to reduce prices, improve choice and improve the quality of Royal Mail's own service. They also believe the postal market should be opened up to full competition as soon as possible.

The project was delivered in co-operation with LECG, an economic/financial consultancy company and one of the consultancy companies appointed to The Postal Services Commission's advisory panel.

For further information on the report please click here.

New Service Contract and Opportunities

20 July 2005

In partnership with Strategia Group (www.strategiagroup.net), Andrew Lester & Associates have won an important part of a contract to conduct a quality of service measurement survey for mail.

“This is an exciting opportunity for us and takes the company into a new activity area where our insight into the postal market is essential”, said Kjetill Howard, Marketing Director.

Testing New Internet Communication Technology

27 May 2005

Andrew Lester & Associates has carried out live tests of new internet communication technology. The technology emerged a few years ago and due to the success of broadband is now growing faster than ever. It allows for free global telephony over the broadband connection.

As long as both sender and receiver have installed the peer-to-peer software, calls can be made over the Internet. This basic service is offered by a number of telecommunications companies free of charge. Making telephone calls from a PC to a fixed line against a charge is relatively new.

“Our tests show that the technology works and is simple and cheaper than traditional telephone services. However, the sound quality is not yet good enough for business calls. We are dependent on reliable high quality sound, which the technology is not yet able to provide”, Bernadette Kozlowska, Operations Director at Andrew Lester & Associates, said.

Andrew Lester & Associates will continue to carry out further tests on the use of internet telephone calls in the future. “It is extremely important that a company like ours, which conducts thousands of telephone interviews every month, follows these developments closely”, Ms Kozlowska concluded.

Partnering with LECG and Winning Postcomm Survey Contract

14 April 2005

Andrew Lester & Associates partner with LECG, one of the UK's leading economic/financial consultancy companies.

LECG have offices in all major regions of the world and are one of the consultancy companies appointed to The Postal Services Commission's advisory panel.

By combining the strategic know-how and analytical expertise of LECG with the significant data collection capabilities of Andrew Lester & Associates, the contract was won to conduct Postcomm's 2005 Business Customer Survey. The report will be published in October 2005 and covers 1,500 interviews with small, medium and large business users of mail services in the UK.

More information about LECG can be found at www.lecg.com and about The Postal Services Commission at www.postcomm.co.uk.

Expanding Research Capacity

13 April 2005

Prompted by an increase in demand, Andrew Lester & Associates have expanded the research floor to 50 CATI stations. This expansion is in line with expectations and involves an increase in the number of fixed telephone lines.

The stations use the latest technology from Dell and are networked and equipped with sophisticated CATI technology.

Andrew Lester & Associates Win Contract to Conduct Large Tracking Study

8 April 2005

Andrew Lester & Associates have won a contract to conduct a large tracking study on behalf of one of the leading European parcel delivery companies.

"I think our 20 years experience researching the European parcels and logistics market was a major factor in the decision", said Helen Daniels, Business Development Director. "We have a proven track record that combines with our ability to offer cost efficient and creative research solutions for our clients".

New Telemarketing Contract

18 March 2005

Having just finished a major contract to provide list cleaning and telemarketing for a European postal operator, Andrew Lester & Associates have won a similar contract for one of the new players in the deregulated UK business mail market.

After an initial trial period, the contract will involve screening of a specific market sector and the identification and generation of qualified prospects.

Andrew Lester & Associates on a Steady Growth Path

1 February 2005

Andrew Lester & Associates grew its business in 2004 for the third year running with total sales growing by 18% to £980,000 compared to 2003. Continuous research business remained more or less the same as the year before while new clients accounted for exciting new revenue streams.

Despite relatively difficult trading conditions with many companies delaying planned marketing investments, the financial results are more than satisfactory. It shows that the company is on the right track to achieve its strategic goals of growth in new and existing markets.