Survey Incentives: Response Rates and Data Quality

Many clients are interested in conducting surveys to gain knowledge and insight into not only customers, but potential customers.  The most cost-effective way to conduct a survey is through the email channel.  But, just like emails designed to sell a product or service, the offer will be important for a survey as well.  The recipients time is valuable so they should be rewarded as such. This post outlines survey incentives and how they relate to response rates…

Source: www.nbrii.com

Offering incentives for a survey respondent’s time is one way to increase customer survey response rates. Some people feel a sense of civic duty when approached with a survey, and it is enough motivation for them to know their input will be used to help others. However, the use of a monetary or gift incentive has been proven to significantly increase response rates in many customer surveys. The question is not whether incentives will increase response rate percentages, as this remains true throughout many examples. Instead, what kind of effect does the incentive have on data quality? Are the survey results positively or negatively biased because respondents are given an incentive to participate? How much incentive do I need to include with my survey for it to be effective?

Several studies have indicated that the use of incentives reduces to some extent item non-response and “bad answers”, such as “don’t know” or “no answer”. It was also noted in a study published by Public Opinion Quarterly that respondents who received incentives have (read entire post here)