Online surveys are undoubtedly the most cost-effective way to collect important data such as customer satisfaction and employee opinions. But how do you maximize your response rate? This is a…
Whether survey invitations were personalized (i.e. Dear John Smith vs. Dear Customer)
Survey length (categorized into 1-4 minute, 5-9 minute, and 10+ minute completion times)
When a reward/prize has been offered
Whether or not the survey was sent to people with a known interest in the survey topic (e.g., job-related, previous client, connected to social interests, etc.)
The figures below were derived from data from 143 online surveys completed by a total of 49,335 respondents. In general, potential respondents were contacted twice by email to encourage participation…
Personalized email & 1-4 minutes to complete & Reward offered & Respondents had a known interest in the survey topic = 45.3% average response rate
Personalized email & 5-9 minutes to fill out & Reward offered & Respondents had a known interest in the survey topic = 40.1% average response rate
Non-personalized email & 1-4 minutes to complete & Reward offered & Respondents had a known interest in the survey topic = 39.8% average response rate
Personalized email & 1-4 minutes to complete & no reward offered & respondents had a known interest in the survey topic = 39.2% average response rate
Personalized email & 5-9 minutes to complete & no reward offered & respondents had a known interest in the survey topic = 38.4% average response rate
5 lowest response rates
Non-personalized email & 10+ minutes to fill out & no bonus offered & respondents had no known interest in survey topic = 8.2% average response rate
Non-personalized email & 10+ minutes to fill out & reward offered & respondents had no known interest in survey topic = 15.5% average response rate
Personalized email & 10+ minutes to fill out & no bonus offered & respondents had no known interest in survey topic = 16.2% average response rate
Non-personalized email & 5-9 minutes to complete & no bonus offered & respondents had no known interest in survey topic = 19.4% average response rate
Non-personalized email & 10+ minutes to fill out & no reward offered & respondents had a known interest in the survey topic = 19.5% average response rate
So what works best?The results above show some clear correlations between response rates and the variables influencing them. As a general rule, the following measures should ensure that you get…
Personalize your email invitations. People are more likely to respond to emails that address them by their name rather than "Dear Sir or Madam," "Dear Colleague," or "Dear Customer." If…
Keep the survey as short as possible. In most cases, the shorter the survey, the higher the response rate. Obviously, some online surveys need to be lengthy and cannot avoid…
Offer a reward. Everyone loves getting something for free, so try offering a reward when sending out online survey invites. Some experts like Kurt Knapton, executive vice president of e-Rewards…
Find contacts who are likely to be interested in the survey topic. This isn't a scientific discovery, but response rates will always be higher if the potential respondent has some…
Thanks to Ewan McKenzie | #Online #Surveys #Maximize #Response #Rate