Question

Topic: E-Marketing

How To Get A Good Survey Response

Posted by tech_marketer on 6/20/2009 at 1:30 PM ET 250 Points
We are trying to get customer feedback on our product and want to ensure a significant response rate to our survey (delivered via e-mail). We believe that offering a drawing for a gift certificate is the best way to encourage the highest response (correct me if I'm wrong).

What I'd like to know
(1) is it best to offer one expensive prize (e.g., $100 gift certificate)

(2) Or offer many small prizes and advertise e.g., "4 people will win a $25 gift certificate

(3) Or if we can, advertise something like "1 in 10 people will win a $25 gift certificate" (of course we have to be prepared for the cost if we get a good response rate)

and please me know if there are other factors I need to consider

Thanks!
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RESPONSES

  • Posted by Jay Hamilton-Roth on 6/21/2009 at 8:39 AM Accepted
    There's 2 other things you'll want to ensure: that you specify that maximum time it'll take (a 3-minute or a 30-minute survey?) and what's in it for the customer to give feedback (besides the possibility to win a prize). Are you looking to get additional demographic data? Find co-marketing opportunities? Determine how the product performs?

    As for your question, (1) will likely cause the most interest.
  • Posted on 6/21/2009 at 10:56 AM Accepted
    My own experience suggests that a single large reward is better than several smaller rewards. People don't really expect to win, whether there are 5 or 6 winners or just one, so you might as well make the prize sound attractive.

    If you really want a high response rate, offer EVERYONE a reward -- like a $10 gift certificate. It will cost a lot more, but you'll be amazed how many more people will respond.
  • Posted on 6/21/2009 at 3:22 PM Accepted
    I totally agree with wormwood. PLUS I think you need to make sure your survey is NOT long. People will get frustrated. You should also give a reason for why the opinions matter, how the info will be used, who will analyze it. I questioned a group of people who would never respond to surveys (we were in a formal face to face setting) about why they did not respond and it seems that they often do not see the value. How is it valuable for them to answer a bunch of questions that go into a black hole? The certificate might give incentive to some to respond...but if the survey is too long or longer than expected - they're going to start speeding through the questions and not giving accurate responses.
  • Posted by Gary Bloomer on 6/22/2009 at 6:39 PM Accepted
    Dear Wormwood,

    Ask great questions that go beyond "YES" or "NO" answers.

    But make sure everyone is a winner. Everyone. T-shits, baseball caps, stuff like that, with your logo, website and telephone number on them of course: walking billboards!

    This means offering something everyone will want, value, and get something out of. But SHOW people winning in your promotional material. Photos with cheesy grins of winners getting their prizes.

    And don't do this just once. Do it every month. Monthly winners (two, four, six people, I don't know) all get a $50 gift card. All monthly winners get their names put into a hat for a big-bottomed prize quarterly, or half yearly (48" flat screen TV) or something equally BIG.

    And offer prizes for referrals too! Oh, the places you'll go!

    I hope this helps.

    Gary Bloomer
    Wilmington, DE, USA

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