06 Factors that Influence Survey Response Rates

The survey response rate gives weight to the study’s findings and conclusions. A poor response rate may jeopardise the obtained data’s statistical abilities and, as a result, the results’ credibility. As a result, the study is not representative of the entire or wider population.

Survey response rate- Definition

A responder receiving and completing a survey is referred to as a survey response. A survey response is not counted if it is incomplete or if it is dropped. The percentage of total completed survey responses divided by the total number of survey respondents is known as the survey response rate.

The poll can also determine whether respondents are willing to pay for new features and the tool’s top spending limits. The survey replies are the number of responses obtained for this online survey, and they are used to determine the survey response rate.

Survey response rate- Influential Factors

The response rate in a market research survey is influenced by a number of elements such as the target audience, the survey purpose, the incentives presented, the level of personalisation, and so on.

The following things can help you enhance your survey response rates:

1- Survey design: Before a survey is conducted, the survey’s end goal must be clearly defined, and hence the survey design is critical. This makes it easier to schedule each survey milestone and ensures that the data analysis is clear. The following are some basic metrics to keep in mind:

1. Questionnaires: Questionnaires should be simple to comprehend and reply to. This can assist in obtaining a large number of real responses.

2. The length of the survey: This has a significant impact on the survey response. The responder will lose interest if the survey is too long. There is a possibility of uninterested responses if they even complete the survey, lowering the validity of the survey responses and analysis.

3. Logic of the survey: The logic of a survey is an important part of the procedure. There is a considerable chance of survey dropout if the reasoning is unpredictable or the questions are disconnected.

2- Respondent demographics: A sampling method determines the number of prospective respondents for a survey. On the basis of respondent demographics, a sample delivers the best probable respondents for a survey.

This could be a combination of customers or responders who are aware of the survey’s sponsoring organisation. The survey can also be delivered to an opt-in sample of people who are interested in a specific topic.

The response rates of surveys submitted to B2B respondents and surveys sent to B2C respondents are also varied. Finally, some people’s demographics have a higher response rate to surveys than other people’s demographics. The survey response rate is influenced by all of these factors.

3- Study invitation: Respondents like to receive personalized invitations to a survey, even if they have opted in to be a part of that survey. A good survey invite should not only motivate participation but also set the expectations requirement of the survey and the value that the respondent would receive at the end of the survey. Managing expectations lowers the survey dropout rate and boosts the data collection’s usefulness.

4- Theme of the survey: Not all topics appeal to all potential respondents — some topics may be of more or lesser interest depending on each individual respondent. If the research topic is possibly “sensitive,” participation may be low. In this case, it is important to reassure respondents about how the data would be collected and used.

5- Incentives: Most surveys are taken only if the respondent finds some value in it for them. This value could be in the form of a tangible item like vouchers, coupons or the chance to own an object. The other incentive that piques the curiosity of a potential respondent is the chance to have access to the research report at the end of the study or some snippets of relevant information in return for completing the survey.

6- Reminder emails: Often sending reminder emails to answer the survey too improves the response rate.

The bottom line is that when the survey design is good and the respondent has a high brand memory, the survey response rate increases. However, the average survey response rate is 33 percent, which takes into account many of the above criteria and averages them out.