The influence of incentives and survey design on mail survey response rates for mature consumers

Abstract

The mail survey is still the preferred research tool for the mature consumer population and questions remain about ways of boosting survey response rates. The influence of two incentives were explored, a foil-wrapped tea bag and a $1 donation for each returned questionnaire in the study design. A significant higher response rate was only achieved for the first incentive. The effectiveness of a range of incentives and survey design features were investigated. Respondents indicated that their preferred incentive was a $500 donation to a charity. With the ongoing use of mail surveys almost mandatory for populations like this one, this study shows that incentives and design features such as CEO endorsement are important elements in improving response rates.