Through a special arrangement, presented here for discussion is a summary of articles from MarketingCharts, which provides up-to-the-minute data and research to marketers
Garnering survey responses can be a notoriously challenging task, facing headwinds such as general dissatisfaction with market research and survey fatigue. Consider that telephone survey response rates plummeted from 36 percent in 1997 to just nine percent in 2012, the Pew Research Center has found.
Yet new Gallup data on the use of incentives offers some hope.
In a recent blog post, Gallup outlined the results of a study it undertook with a large university in the U.S. to measure the effectiveness of pre-paid and post-paid incentives for a web-based survey. Fielded among the university’s alumni, more than 10,000 were assigned to a group that received no incentive; 1,000 were assigned to a group that was promised a $5 gift card after completing the survey (post-paid incentive); and another 1,000 were assigned to a group that received a $5 gift card in the survey invitation (pre-paid incentive).
The results showed that post-paid and pre-paid incentives averaged response rates of 20 percent and 19 percent, respectively — roughly 50 percent higher than the group not receiving the incentive (13 percent).
It is interesting to note that the demographic profile of respondents is consistent across all groups, suggesting that the incentive didn’t have a higher appeal to any particular income group.
A wide-ranging global survey that arrived early last year from GreenBook found that most consumers were highly dissatisfied with surveys in general, but particularly so with telephone surveys (72 percent dissatisfied) versus mobile surveys (17.3 percent).
Survey design mattered most to mobile survey-takers and more than 35 percent reported a negative impact on the quality of their responses tied to a mobile survey’s length.
But financial incentives were also seen at the heart of a majority of respondents’ reasons for participating in a survey. Cash was the preferred way of receiving a reward for participating for the largest share (40 percent) of respondents. Virtual gift cards and prepaid cards (22 percent) were next, followed by redeemable points (21 percent).
It is interesting to note that the demographic profile of respondents is consistent across all groups, suggesting that the incentive didn’t have a higher appeal to any particular income group.
A wide-ranging global survey that arrived early last year from GreenBook found that most consumers were highly dissatisfied with surveys in general, but particularly so with telephone surveys (72 percent dissatisfied) versus mobile surveys (17.3 percent).
Survey design mattered most to mobile survey-takers and more than 35 percent reported a negative impact on the quality of their responses tied to a mobile survey’s length.
But financial incentives were also seen at the heart of a majority of respondents’ reasons for participating in a survey. Cash was the preferred way of receiving a reward for participating for the largest share (40 percent) of respondents. Virtual gift cards and prepaid cards (22 percent) were next, followed by redeemable points (21 percent).
- A $5 Incentive Sure Seems to Go A Long Way in Boosting Online Survey Response Rates – MarketingCharts
- What Are the Best Incentives for Web Surveys? – Gallup
- Telephone Survey Response Rates Dropping; Accuracy Remains High – MarketingCharts
- Market Research Participants Aren’t Satisfied With the Process. What Can Be Done? – MarketingCharts