Online Surveys
Online Survey Overview
Online Surveys are a newer form of market research that allows for qualitative or quantitative questions to be asked of respondents through a website. In spite of the fact that both qualitative and quantitative questions can be asked through online surveys, most often they are used for quantitative research, as it's difficult to make a respondent to answer a question in detail without someone there to probe on the meaning or on other aspects of their answer.
Most online surveys start with an e-mail from a market research firm to a potential respondent. The e-mail will typically explain to the respondent what the incentive is (often putting their name in for a drawing or sometimes something like a Starbucks or Barnes & Noble gift certificate for a nominal amount). The facility will also include an estimate of the amount of time that the survey will take to complete, and a serialized URL link will be included (the serial number will allow the research company to know who the e-mail was sent to originally). The list of potential respondents will often be purchased from a company that specializes in the sales of potential respondents [sample] and will include contact information and often includes basic information about the respondent such as: occupation, number of family members in house, zip code which indicates likely income and personal activities and possibly likely household income.
The Online Survey
The first few questions screeners will verify that the potential respondent is qualified to be included in the survey and the remaining questions are usually on their typical behaviors, purchase intent and possibly some questions on a product concept. The length of online surveys that respondents will complete depends greatly on the amount of interest that the respondent has in the topic being researched. The rule of thumb is that a survey starts to have a pretty high dropout rate at about 15-18 minutes and 20 minutes is just too long for a typical study.
Construction of a Online Survey
Putting together a Online Survey is a lot like putting together a questionnaire for any other medium, although you have the benefit of being able to add visual aids where necessary. Still the question flow must be very well thought through, skip patterns are incorporated to make sure that there is a logical flow to the discussion (i.e. if someone indicates that they haven't eaten out in the last month, you wouldn't then ask where they last ate out).
Online Survey Pros
- The cost of conducting a series of Online surveys if often significantly lower than most other methods - especially when the volumes increase into the hundreds or thousands of respondents (they only need to be programmed once and after the research program has been developed and tested, the incremental costs of adding more respondents is minimal, although it does add to the length of time necessary to complete the survey).
- Online Surveys tend to work very well for people who have internet access (in the US and W.
- Europe most professionals have access to high speed LAN - in emerging markets this depends based on the country and the position of the respondent).
- Online Surveys also work very well for busy executives who may have a hard time taking a call at a specific time, but could take a survey on a time of their own choosing (online surveys are often completed at odd times - very early in the morning or very late at night).
Online Survey Cons
- With Online surveys there is always the fear that you're not really sure who is taking the survey, although questions can be added to weed out respondents that lack fundamental knowledge about a topic.
- Online surveys are not a good option in all countries, as the penetration of high speed internet access is still very low in some countries (often depending on the level of the employee in the company, or the financial situation of the family - many affluent families have high speed access, but the mass market has not broadly adopted high speed internet access yet)
- Complex visual aids can be difficult when monitor types and resolutions vary dramatically - sometimes if the product's industrial design (shape, color etc…) is a critical factor, showing printouts or physical models provides more consistent results.
Timing
Online surveys are one of the fastest types of market research. If there are not a great deal of visual aids to be produced and the number of skip patterns, or separate paths is limited - it's not impossible to complete a single language study in only 2 or 3 weeks - from planning to results, although a quality presentation may add another week or two to the schedule.
Special Considerations
Online surveys provide a great deal of anonymity and for that reason can be a very good option for sensitive topics (personal or professional sensitivities) and people may discuss things that they wouldn't be willing to discuss in a focus group full of 6 or 8 complete strangers, or even in a face to face interview in which it's only a single respondent and an interviewer.
