gfs-befragungsdienst

What gfs-befragungsdienst does

gfs-befragungsdienst AG is a Swiss professional-services company specializing in market and social research fieldwork. Headquartered in Rümlang with a registered office in Zürich, the firm conducts CATI, CAPI, online, and face-to-face surveys on behalf of research institutes, municipalities, pharmaceutical companies, banks, political organizations, and educational institutions. It operates as the exclusive field-research partner of gfs bern and gfs zürich, two of Switzerland's principal applied-research institutes in politics, communication, and society.

The company's technical foundation is a centrally controlled CATI system introduced in 1995 that allows interviews from any internet-connected location, unified with CAPI and WAPI modes on a single infinitely scalable workstation architecture. Quality controls include live monitoring, automatic full-call recording, offline review, and 10% random post-survey verification. Field operations are supported by CAPI-equipped mobile interviewers distributed across Switzerland, an online survey platform with adaptive questioning and multimedia support, and the Polittrends online panel — a jointly developed longitudinal asset providing recurring access to Swiss public opinion data. An international survey data-processing laboratory in Kosovo extends operational capacity beyond Switzerland.

Commercial model is B2B project-based: custom-priced survey engagements sold directly to enterprise and government clients through a small internal sales channel, with the gfs bern and gfs zürich partnership providing the principal referral flow. Pricing is not publicly disclosed and is established per project, with multi-year contract cadences indicated. The firm is a private Swiss Aktiengesellschaft with 100+ specialists covering all language regions of Switzerland, members of VSMS, Schweizer Marktforschung, and Swiss Insights, and reports an annual CATI interview volume of 40,000+ as of 2022 with a stated capacity of 60,000+ interviews per year. Revenue and financials are not publicly disclosed.

Name

gfs-befragungsdienst

Legal name

gfs-befragungsdienst AG

Website

https://gfs-bd.ch

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

gfs-befragungsdienst AG is a Swiss market and social research services firm that delivers CATI, CAPI, online, and face-to-face survey fieldwork as the exclusive execution partner of gfs bern and gfs zürich for Swiss government, pharma, banking, political, and education clients.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Market Research Services

NAICS

Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (518)

SIC

Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)

akta.pro primary industry

Fieldwork & Data Collection (Online Panels, CATI/CAPI, Fieldwork) (MPAAALAD)

Keywords

• Market research services
• Telephone survey operations
• Face-to-face interviewing
• Online survey platform
• Social research

Headquarters

HQ city

Zürich

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Survey Research Services: Professional survey and market research services including CATI telephone interviews, CAPI personal interviews, online surveys, and face-to-face interviews provided to research institutes, municipalities, pharmaceutical companies, banks, political organizations, and educational institutions. Revenue generated through project-based engagements with exclusive partnership arrangements with gfs bern and gfs zürich.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

gfs-befragungsdienst is a Swiss survey execution service company that conducts computer-assisted telephone interviews (CATI), computer-aided personal interviews (CAPI), online surveys, and face-to-face interviews on behalf of research institutes, municipalities, pharmaceutical companies, banks, political organizations, and educational institutions. As exclusive partner of gfs bern and gfs zürich, the company operates a centralized CATI system and the Polittrends online panel to deliver representative survey data across all Swiss language regions.

Product overview

gfs-befragungsdienst is a Swiss market and social research company offering a comprehensive portfolio of survey methodologies. The core offerings include: CATI (computer-assisted telephone interviewing) as the central business field with centralized software enabling global data collection; CAPI (computer-aided personal interviewing) for on-site mobile surveys; Online-Befragung for internet-based multimedia surveys; and Polittrends as a proprietary online panel focused on Swiss society. Additional services include Face-to-Face personal interviewing, Quality Assurance, and Technik CATI as the underlying technical infrastructure. The company serves diverse sectors including municipalities, pharmaceuticals, banking, politics, and education, operating as an exclusive partner of gfs bern and gfs zürich.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• CATI (Computer Assisted Telephone Interviews)
• CAPI (Computer Aided Personal Interviewing)
• Online-Befragung (Online Surveys)
• Polittrends Online Panel
• Face-to-Face (Persönliche Befragung)

Named customers6 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• gfs berncoreStrategic or Co-development Partnergfs.bern provides applied research in politics, communication, and society. They conduct empirical research in political, communication, and social fields. gfs-befragungsdienst operates as the exclusive survey execution partner for gfs bern.
• gfs zürichcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGfS-Zürich specializes in all areas of market research with particular expertise in economic and social research. gfs-befragungsdienst serves as exclusive partner for field research services.
• VSMS (Verband Schweizer Markt- und Sozialforschung)minorOthersVSMS sets standards for cooperation among research institutes and ensures compliance with framework conditions. Membership demonstrates commitment to high-quality work standards.
• Schweizer MarktforschungminorOthersIndustry association promoting the role of market and social research in Swiss society, helping businesses understand consumer needs and supporting evidence-based decision-making.
• Swiss InsightsminorOthersAs a member of Swiss Insights, gfs-befragungsdienst commits to highest standards in market and social research, following strict quality guidelines and ethical standards to ensure transparent and fair data practices.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Dynata: One of the world's largest first-party data and research operations companies, offering online sampling, CATI, and panel-based data collection. Comparable in CATI/online fieldwork capabilities, but at much greater scale and global reach.
• Ipsos: Global market research company with extensive survey operations, including CATI, online, and face-to-face methodologies. Overlaps with gfs-befragungsdienst as a full-service research provider, though at vastly larger scale and broader geographic reach.
• Kantar: Global market research and insights firm with substantial fieldwork operations, panel assets, and a Swiss presence. Comparable as an end-to-end research provider that also runs proprietary panels and CATI operations.

Others

• Cint: Global technology platform for sample exchange and panel management serving the market research industry. Adjacent comparable as a panel/sample infrastructure provider, but not a direct fieldwork competitor.

Emerging players

• Toluna: Global online panel and survey technology provider enabling real-time consumer insights. Comparable as a panel-driven data collection operator, with a stronger online/mobile focus and less CATI/F2F emphasis than gfs-befragungsdienst.

Regional players

• Sotomo: Swiss social and political research firm producing opinion polling and societal studies. Comparable in serving political and policy research clients in Switzerland, though Sotomo is more of a research brand than a fieldwork execution house.
• M.I.S. Trend: Swiss market research institute providing fieldwork, opinion polling, and consumer studies. Comparable as a domestic competitor focused on the Swiss market, with overlapping methodologies (telephone, online, face-to-face).
• Demo SCOPE: Swiss market and social research institute with fieldwork and panel capabilities. Directly comparable as a domestic Swiss research services competitor, though operating at a smaller scale than gfs-befragungsdienst.

Direct peers

• Bilendi: European provider of online panels and data collection services for market research. Directly comparable as a panel-and-fieldwork operator serving research institutes and brands across multiple European markets.
• Norstat: European data collection company running CATI, CAPI, and online panel operations across multiple countries. Closely comparable business model as a multi-methodology fieldwork provider to research buyers.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/gfs-befragungsdienst

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about gfs-befragungsdienst