Following up on our November 2016 blog posts, we are back to talk about incentives. Here at SimpsonScarborough, we spend a lot of our time writing and fielding surveys with various audiences, and regardless of the audience we almost always recommend incentivizing survey respondents. So why do we do this?
One of the most obvious reasons for incentivizing external audiences who have no direct affiliation to the school (prospects, higher ed peers, guidance counselors, etc.) is to boost response rates. If we offer an incentive for a respondent’s time, we get a higher response rate. But what about when you are talking to your own students, faculty, staff, and alumni? We have clients who ask us, “Why should we spend money on an incentive for our internal audiences?”
It is a reasonable question and a topic that many researchers have strong feelings about—both for and against. There are three top reasons we push for the use of incentives, even when we expect that we could get a decent response rate without one.
- You want responses from more than just your biggest fans. The first people who respond to your survey will generally fall into two categories: your cheerleaders who love you and the people who have a bone to pick. But we don’t want to hear only the loud voices. We want to hear from a broader range of respondents. We want to hear from the people who might not have taken the survey had an incentive not been offered. That helps to even things out so your data isn’t skewed towards the people who absolutely love you or those who are mad at you for some reason. If a respondent takes your survey because an incentive is offered, that doesn’t mean the resulting data is bad. It’s actually quite the opposite – and there is data to back that up.
- Incentives ensure quality responses. The norm of reciprocity tells us that people generally feel an obligation to do a good job when they are receiving an incentive. Overall, incentivized respondents place more value on the task at hand. They put more thought into answers and provide more detailed open-ended responses. Additionally, when an incentive is offered, respondents tend to feel more valued and have a more positive survey-taking experience, mitigating the effects of survey length and respondent burden.
- People like to feel appreciated. Even when talking to your internal audiences, it is always important to deliver the message that you value respondents’ time and input. It makes them feel better about spending their valuable time on your survey. We believe if respondents feel good about that exchange, they will likely have more positive feelings about their relationship and interactions with your institution. With alumni and current students, in particular, you need to think about their connection to your institution. You need to have as many positive touch points as possible to ensure that you maintain a positive life-long connection.
The act of offering an incentive, even a small one, can only make your survey data stronger. Have questions about what kind of incentive to use or what incentive amounts are most effective? Let us know! We are always here to share our experience and expertise.