Respondent Experience [REPORT]

Greenbook has unveiled new research on the survey respondent experience. The study was inspired by findings in Greenbook’s most recent GRIT report, a bi-annual “state of the industry” roundup for the market research space. The report found that most research companies do not consider respondent user experience a high priority.

The newly released GRIT CPR (Consumer Participation in Research) study was conducted in partnership with a dream team of market research category experts to understand the drivers of participants engagement and satisfaction with the research process. The groundbreaking study was conducted in 14 countries and 8 languages among 6,750 consumers via online, telephone, and mobile-only surveys.

A key finding showed that 1 in 6 of the people who have willingly given up their time, often for little or no reward, are totally dissatisfied with the their experience participating in research. As an industry we need to collectively increase our respect for those who take the time to answer our questions, and the study found that this can be done through things like shorter, more intuitive surveys sent with potentially less frequency.

“The topics that we explore in the GRIT Report encompass trends and predictions that affect the market research industry,” said Lenny Murphy, Executive Editor of Greenbook. “One thing that stood out in our most recent report was that most research companies do not value respondent experience and engagement. We wanted to explore this further because research participants are the lifeblood of the insights industry.”

Greenbook teamed up with Virtual Incentives, AYTM, Research Now, SSI, Lightspeed, Toluna, Dalia Research, Focus Pointe Global, MDI Global, Reconnect Research, G3 Translate, GRBN and Recollective to reach out to a sample of 6,750 respondents. The study, which was fielded last month, included questions about respondent preferences surrounding survey platforms, invitations, rewards and incentives, survey design and length, and more. Some of the key findings included:

•     Design: Nearly half of all respondents admitted that the design of a survey impacts their willingness to complete it
•     Length: Fifty-five percent of respondents said surveys should be 10 minutes or shorter in length, and yet the average interview is double that length
•     Motivation: There are many reasons that respondents participate in surveys: one-third cite a desire to earn rewards or prizes, while others like giving their opinions (6%); want opinions heard and acted on (13%); they are interested (9%); they enjoy it (11%)
•     Incentive: Across all sample types, countries and demographics respondents want incentive flexibility: reward them the way they want to be rewarded and give them choices

Murphy continued, “The results of the study just reinforced our belief, set forth initially in the GRIT report, that our industry does a poor job of putting the respondent first, despite having the means and knowledge to do so. We should capitalize on that and bring the participant experience to the forefront.”

To access report CLICK HERE.