Market Research is based on the data and information that people provide to analysts. Without this valuable raw material the studies would not be possible. If we review the classic idea that many persons have of a typical interview, it involves voluntary and free participation. However, in the real world, this type of collaboration is not a reflection of one hundred percent of the cases.
Consumers have many circumstances that may cause them to reject or overthink their decision to answer interviewers’ questions. For this reason, it is essential to have solutions to increase response rates. Sometimes the expertise of fieldwork staff will suffice, but other times we must offer incentives. Therefore, today we will list four types of them.
In species. When conducting point-of-sale interviews and investigating mass consumption categories, such as food, we can offer these types of gifts to gain people’s attention. Objects of common use, not so large and whose handling on the street does not represent a great logistical challenge, are considered in this category. An example would be a pen.
Pecuniary. It is possibly the most common type. Unlike the incentive in the previous point, which may not be attractive to everyone, the incentive in the form of money or transfer of funds allows the participant to acquire whatever they want after answering our questionnaires. This cost should be considered in segments where people’s time is expensive or they have tight schedules.
Findings. In corporate environments there are rules that we must take into account to attract respondents. One of them indicates that neither monetary nor in-kind incentives can be offered. Furthermore, even if it were possible to give them, due to the economic level of the decision makers, these types of gifts would not be attractive. In these cases, it is possible to report the results of the investigation without compromising sensitive or confidential content.
Free Trial. There will be opportunities where we are evaluating a product or concept. On such occasions the object of study itself can be the hook to obtain people’s participation. Some customers may even consider this type of gift as a kind of activation to place a product on the market. However, this type of incentive requires a very specific manipulation design to reduce the biases involved.
The delivery of incentives is an integral part of the budgets of Market Research projects. Although they are not the universal solution, they should be considered when interviews or data collection are very long or complex tasks. By offering a gift we compensate for the time and attention invested by consumers to provide us with their experiences and appreciations about reality. The challenge in its use is to reduce the courtesy bias as compensation for the gift.
At Acertiva we have more than two decades working on projects that involve these rewards. We can advise you when necessary in your investigation. Our analysts and strategic suppliers will answer your questions in this regard. If you are planning to develop a project in Latin America you can send us a message today. We will respond to you with the way in which together we will write your next success story.
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