3rd February, 2010
It can sometimes be difficult for the market research company to build in complete best practise, especially if you’re a couple of steps away from the end client. If you have been engaged as the data collection agent for, say, a consultant charged with undertaking a public sector led evaluation or developing a marketing strategy then I appreciate that sometimes you just have to tow the line and accept the diktat. However, we try to point out the risks and likely constituents for low response if we think there’s going to be a problem.
Scott Spain makes some great points in his blog about effective recruitment by email for web surveys: “The Secrets to Better Email Invitations.”
Careful consideration of the the relationship you hold with the target groups, who the email comes from, capturing attention via the subject line and then the positioning of the web link in the body, will all help to improve response rates. You can read Scott’s blog post here: http://forum.researchinfo.com/showthread.php?t=1567