There are more ways than ever before to take the pulse of consumers. Traditional methods like direct mail, telephone, and in-person are still around, while the online boom has made it faster, cheaper and easier to reach audiences. Despite all this, average survey responses have been gradually falling over time.

On the face of it, the emergence of online surveys provided market researchers with a way to counteract the declines seen in other formats such as direct mail). But the online environment also features greater distraction and competition for falling attention spans, while consumers now expect more in terms of ease, speed and accessibility. 

Unfortunately, this is leading to plummeting response rates, which are a real problem for the market research industry. 

Market researchers are finding it harder to make trustworthy assertions based on data-driven survey insights. With dwindling respondents, the credibility of results—and the recommendations made by relying on survey research—are being called into question. When samples simply aren’t large or representative enough, selection bias becomes an issue. 

Fortunately, there are ways to counteract the decline. This guide sets out 20 strategies and tactics for maximizing response rates. By following these recommendations, you can improve results and extract maximum value from your surveys. Let’s dive in.

Remember: survey respondents are doing you a favor. If you take up too much of their time, they might quickly lose interest and simply click away. 

In fact, if a survey takes over 5 minutes to complete, the response rate will drop by around 15%—and if it takes over 10 minutes then this leads to a 40% drop.

“Shorter surveys were reliable and produced higher response and completion rates than long surveys” – Kost & Correa da Rosa

Your survey is competing for respondents’ attention. Your target audience is just a click away from a range of dopamine-inducing sites, so you need to make sure your survey is entertaining enough to keep them hooked. Use playful, fun language, and get them thinking about why they act the way that they do—or why they hold particular beliefs.

People love to feel like they’re being listened to, and they also love to feel like they’re gaining a deeper knowledge of themselves. Use this to your advantage. 

Your title is your hook. If you have respondents yawning while they read through your title then you’ve already lost. Keep it punchy and powerful. Make it you-focused—for instance, instead of ‘Consumer Retail Behavior 2022’, you could use something like ‘What Secret Factors Control Your Shopping Habits?’.

In the era of Amazon and Netflix, we’re used to being treated as individual consumers. We expect personalization everywhere we go—so make sure your invitation is personalized. Studies show that personalization can be a great way to increase low response rates.

Address people by their name and use what you already know about them to make it as tailored as possible. If they’ve already taken one of your surveys, mention this—and thank them for their contribution—before asking them to take your latest survey.

We’re not used to doing things for free. This means that quid pro quo, transactional approaches are great at encouraging consumers to respond to surveys. They allow you to jump over the massive, all-too-common hurdle of “What’s in it for me?”. 

Get creative with these. For instance, you could offer gift vouchers, sneak peeks at the survey results before they’re published publicly, or discounts off future purchases.

“The likelihood of returning a survey increased by 30% for those who received an incentive offer” – Yu, Alper, Nguyen, Brackbill, Turner, Walker, Maslow, and Zweig

Don’t alienate consumers by using fancy words—even if you’re conducting complex market research for an innovative field. Make sure that everything from your title, to your invitation, to your questions are easy to understand. 

Here’s a general rule of thumb: Would a non-native speaker (but who could get by on a daily basis in the language) understand everything you were asking them? If not, your language is too complex. It’s as simple as that.

In your invitation messages, include clear links with strong calls to action (CTAs) so that even people who skim over the text will quickly understand where they need to click and what they need to do. Your survey itself should be simple to navigate, with clear instructions, easy-to-view buttons, and large text.

Your survey format will have a huge impact on the number of responses you receive. If you’re asking people to submit a series of lengthy qualitative responses then most people will be hesitant. After all, this requires a ton of effort on their part. 

On the other hand, if you make it clear that it’s a simple multiple-choice survey, then your response rates will go through the roof.

Sometimes people aren’t ready to complete your survey then and there—but they’re more than happy to do it at another time. Or perhaps they didn’t see your message. It’s always worthwhile sending out reminders just in case, and if done well, this can result in a huge uplift in your response rates.

“The results reveal that extra reminders are effective for increasing response rates…” – Van Mol

People are much more willing to respond to surveys if you promise anonymity—this is especially true if you’re touching on sensitive topics like money matters or health and personal information.

Your survey should appear authoritative and valid. Respondents shouldn’t question your brand. If they feel like it’s a scam then not only will they refuse to respond, but they’ll also likely mark your messages as ‘spam/junk’—which will make it near impossible to get any future surveys in front of them.

We all want to feel part of something bigger than ourselves, so connect your survey to a larger mission. Explain how your survey’s results will effect a change, influence your company’s actions or even have a positive impact on society. By doing so, you will make respondents genuinely excited to be a part of it.

Cast your net nice and wide. These days, the average person can access several different contact channels just from the palm of their hands—and that’s without mentioning old-school tactics like face-to-face or direct mail surveys. There’s no point in limiting your surveys to just a few select channels.

Make sure you’re sending out relevant surveys to the right audience. For instance, if you’re a financial organization, don’t send out surveys asking consumers about their pension plan to recent college grads (or current students). That’ll most likely miss the mark.

You’re asking people to give up a portion of their time and energy—so make sure you reiterate what they have to gain and why they were chosen. For instance, consider using phrases like “We want to know what you think”, “We think your opinions would be incredibly valuable”, or “We think you’re just the right person for this survey”.

Make sure your survey takes respondents’ previous answers into account. If they told you that they’ve never purchased a gym membership in their life, for example, then don’t then ask them how many times they go to the gym per week. 

Collecting responses is just one piece of the puzzle—successful surveys then analyze these results to come up with insightful, sometimes groundbreaking, insights. So make sure to regularly publish the results from your other surveys. This will solidify your reputation, and previous respondents will be able to understand how their responses influenced your survey’s findings.

Try to target people whose beliefs align with your current survey’s primary motivation. Imagine someone has previously taken a survey about the availability of vegan foods at mainstream restaurants. You therefore might want to target them for subsequent surveys examining anything related to veganism, food choices, or steps that people take to reduce their environmental impact.

We’re social animals—so leverage the power of community to your advantage. Encourage respondents by referencing how many people have already taken the survey, and ask them to share the link with their friends and online community to spread the word and gain even more respondents. You could even incentivize them to share by increasing their chances of winning a prize, for example.

The world is more internationally connected and globalised than ever before, providing market researchers with broader access to diverse audiences. Fortunately, the best enterprise survey software caters to a wide range of language options—meaning you can target every possible demographic.

• Response rates are falling, even though there are more channels than ever before to communicate with consumers.
• Your surveys need to be entertaining, easy-to-understand, and easy to complete.
• Make consumers feel connected to something bigger. Leverage their self-perception, the power of community, and draw the link between your survey and a larger mission. 
• Consider your survey type. The easier your survey is to complete, the higher the response rates. Don’t ask consumers for too much of their time or effort. 
• Captivate invitees from the get-go. Have a powerful, punchy title, personalize your invitations, and get them excited to learn more about themselves by taking your survey. 

Modern market research is equal parts art and science. You have to constantly reevaluate your approach, figuring out what appeals to consumers, how you can gain their attention, and more importantly, how you can keep it. 

Fortunately, with agile survey software like CheckMarket, you can put yourself in the best possible position to achieve maximum response rates. Its flexibility, range of possible languages, advanced logic, white-label options, and powerful reporting capabilities will take your market research approach to the next level. 

By using the 20 top tips outlined above, and with CheckMarket at your disposal, you’ll transform your response rates—and gain transformatively higher value from your market research efforts. Sign up free today — no payment details required.