The world that we have grown up in has always offered us baits for the completion of the task. Following the age-old principle, while some people will join your survey without incentives, offering something in exchange will probably amplify the success. The accuracy of the research and the inferences drawn from it can be affected if the quality of the respondents is not ideal. And this is where the incentive programs have a major role to play.
Survey incentives are rewards or benefits that are offered to the participants in exchange for taking the survey. These incentives vary in form, ranging from cash discounts to gift cards demonstrating appreciation for the time, effort, insight, and value, added by the participants.
The survey incentives serve as a stimulus and encourage people to take part in different kinds of research like web surveys, polls or questionnaires, interviews, focus groups, ethnography, observational studies, and more. Besides boosting response rates and completion rates, survey incentives also reinforce the relationship with the panel members motivating them to stay involved.
The incentives are of two types, monetary and non-monetary. Where monetary incentives include cash, checks, money orders, gift cards, and coupons, non-monetary incentives are typically thank you gifts like a free pen or notebook, but can also be things like a brochure or even a charity donation. Previous research has demonstrated that cash is king and has the potential to boost the response rate. Incentives in the form of cash are more effective than non-monetary incentives. But when furnishing non-monetary incentives, it is important to ensure that the incentive value appeals to your target population.
To create an incentive program, it is essential you set your budget, establish the research objectives, and shortlist the type of participants you want to recruit. What follows is the next step, which is to decide the type of incentive that may be effective in increasing enrolment.
Assess the pros and cons of your choice of incentive, keeping in mind the expectation of your prospective respondents and the standard norm in that realm of research.
While deciding on the amount to be spent on the incentive, a fair balance needs to be maintained to avoid the compensation to look either undervalued or overvalued. The amount spent shouldn’t be excessive in comparison to the participant’s contributions as that might amount to coercion or undue influence.
So, refer to the below points for assessing and constituting the appropriate amount:
How many times will you incentivize study participants? Though survey rewards make a good case, there is no hard and fast rule to offer incentives with every survey. A quick and short survey with only a few questions can do without incentives. However certain longer surveys might be successful without the incentives if the participants are really invested in the brand or are keenly interested in the industry or the subject of the research. Also, if the study is more extensive, taking place in multiple phases over a longer period, incentives could be spaced out in intervals to keep study participants engaged and discourage them from exiting the study prematurely.
There are few options for the distribution of survey incentives. It can be done in person, digitally, or by mail. There are also some common yet manual ways for incentive disbursements ranging from handing over cash envelopes and mail checks to physical or digital gift cards. Though this process has been common it bears unnecessary shortcomings such as the time and monetary cost of printing, storing & mailing checks or gift cards, delivery time can take days or weeks, the risk of fraud or delivery failure, and the possibility of cash theft.
It is the duty of the researchers to explain the nature of the survey to the respondents and get a voluntary agreement on their participation. All the details right from the incentive amount to the rules and policies governing them should be shared with the respondents, upfront.
Wondering where to start? Xcel-Online Survey is your one-stop destination for all the survey needs. From testing different incentive structures with a small group of respondents to sorting out the types of incentives suiting your research objectives, the Xcel-Online survey is at your humble disposal to get you started.