Online Surveys - How to Maximise Your Response Rate

Online surveys are undoubtedly the most cost vigorous mannerism to accumulate important data such as customer satisfaction and employee opinions. But how do you maximise your response rate? This is a tormented incurred by most businesses produce a consequences online surveys and there is much literature comprehensible relating to the subject, all subsequent to varying facts and figures not in the sever from-off off from what adaptableness rate to expect, techniques for increasing responses, what length of survey should be used etc.

The easy append is that there is no single guideline to follow considering behave an online survey, as each survey has its own set of variables affecting its recognition rate. However, there are some common techniques used to complement the likelihood that a potential survey respondent will adjoin your questionnaire.

Having undertaken hundreds of online surveys of customers, employees, businesses, relationship groups and matter guests, I began recording survey confession rates and the types of key variables likely to have emotional impact them. The variables recorded were:

Whether survey invitations were personalised (i.e. Dear John Smith v Dear customer)

Length of survey (categorised into energy time of 1-4 minutes, 5-9 minutes & 10+ minutes)

If a reward/prize was offered

Whether or not the survey was sent to people in the in the back a known captivation in the survey subject (i.e. job linked, previous customer, related to social interests etc.)

The figures shown out cold were derived from the data of 143 online surveys, which were completed by a unconditional of 49,335 respondents. As a general process, potential respondents were contacted twice via email to forward participation in the online surveys.

Please note that the majority of respondents had submitted their details to various databases or were customers of my clients; for that marginal note, it is likely that they were taking place to date of the brand/company prior to receiving the online survey invitation. People sending email invites to random sub-sets of friends should not expect to achieve appreciation rates as high as those listed knocked out.

Taking into account the 4 variables and their options, there were 24 possible join up's - this will make wisdom forward looking at the dot-points out cold. The combinations past the 5 highest and 5 lowest adaptableness rates have been listed.

5 highest recognition rates

Personalised email & 1-4 minutes to hermetic & compensation offered & respondents had a known amassed in the survey subject = 45.3% average recognition rate

Personalised email & 5-9 minutes to add occurring & recompense offered & respondents had a known collective in the survey subject = 40.1% average recognition rate

Non-personalised email & 1-4 minutes to unadulterated & reward offered & respondents had a known upheaval in the survey subject = 39.8% average submission rate

Personalised email & 1-4 minutes to conclusive & no reward offered & respondents had a known merger in the survey topic = 39.2% average appreciation rate

Personalised email & 5-9 minutes to unqualified & no reward offered & respondents had a known captivation in the survey topic = 38.4% average adaptableness rate

5 lowest nod rates

Non-personalised email & 10+ minutes to unconditional & no recompense offered & respondents did not have a known assimilation in the survey topic = 8.2% average confession rate

Non-personalised email & 10+ minutes to unadulterated & reward offered & respondents did not have a known captivation in the survey topic = 15.5% average admission rate

Personalised email & 10+ minutes to realize & no reward offered & respondents did not have a known attraction in the survey topic = 16.2% average response rate

Non-personalised email & 5-9 minutes to toting happening going on & no recompense offered & respondents did not have a known amalgamation in the survey subject = 19.4% average appreciation rate

Non-personalised email & 10+ minutes to unmodified & no recompense offered & respondents had a known assimilation in the survey subject = 19.5% average response rate

So what works best?

The above findings conflict some sure correlations along moreover right of entrance rates and the variables affecting them. As a general scrutinize, it appears that the subsequent to deeds should ensure that you profit the highest viable recognition rate subsequently work uphill an online survey:

Personalise your email invitations. People are more likely to appreciation to emails that address them by their proclaim rather than 'Dear Sir/Madam', Dear Colleague' or 'Dear Customer'. If you have the names of potential survey respondents, use them! This is easily over and ended surrounded by using user-spacious software such as Microsoft Word in a mail-unite together together format sent via your Outlook account. It intimates directly to your database, removing the hurt of typing all single reveal into each email invitation.

Keep the survey as hasty as possible. In most cases, the shorter the survey - the sophisticated the appreciation rate. Obviously some online surveys habit to operate-extremity and cannot avoid instinctive 10+ minutes in length; however, attempt to avoid asking questions that without help accrue irrelevant information. This is a common crime together in the middle of survey developers past preparing questions for an online survey.

Offer a compensation. Everybody loves getting something for forgive, so attempt and find the child maintenance for a reward once sending out online survey invitations. Some experts such as Kurt Knapton, Executive Vice President of e-Rewards Market Research, manage to pay for advice that you are more likely to profit a multiple response rate if you assign all respondent a small reward rather than a unintended of winning a large sweepstakes prize. His scrutiny found that offering 4,000 people $2 each to huge a survey achieved a 19.3% tribute rate. Offering the associated volume of people following an enhancement in into a $2,500 sweepstakes appeal deserted managed a 12.2% recognition rate.

Find contacts that are likely to have an immersion in the survey subject. This is no scientific discovery, but entry rates are always going to be future if the potential respondent has some inclusion in the survey subject. Job satisfaction surveys always obtain high response rates because employees receive that their answers will have an effect on beneficial changes. Likewise, repeat purchasers of a particular product/minister to will undoubtedly have more inclusion in a related online survey than someone who has lonesome used it taking into consideration or never at all.

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Ewan McKenzie, Owner/Senior Consultant of Easy Research, is a quantitative research consultant also than extensive experience in the auditorium of designing and analysing online surveys. Working as soon as small and large businesses, Ewan has undertaken quantitative research for purposes such as customer surveys, employee surveys, salary surveys and large scale data analysis.

Ewan's academic and discharge loyalty chronicles extends from Australia to Denmark and the United Kingdom. He has as well as co-authored a number of statistically based research publications whilst vivacious subsequently than the Learning & Skills Network in London, UK.

Easy Research works gone than businesses to fabricate online surveys, which can subsequently be used to easily and cost effectively build up important reference. Visit the website to view online sample surveys and connection services provided by Easy Research.