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Web Survey Bibliography

Title The Effect of Differential Mailing Methodologies on Response Rates: Testing Advanced Notices, Pre-Recorded Messages and Personalized Address Labels
Year 2013
Access date 31.05.2013
Abstract

Arbitron Inc., a provider of radio ratings data, conducted a test using a probability based address sample to recruit the general population, aged 13 and older, to complete a one week Web-based diary of their radio listening. Since Web-based surveys historically have had lower response rates, there were several treatments in place to increase the response rate. In order to find the optimal mailing strategy for recruitment, the mailing experiment included treatments such as alternative advanced notices, pre-recorded telephone messages, and personalization. The initial invitation to participate in a one week Web-based diary included a box mailer with a monetary incentive. From previous testing, the box mailer provided the highest response rate as compared to any reminder mailings. Thus, advance notices as well as pre-recorded messages emphasizing the arrival of the box mailer was the focus of the study. Three different package designs and messaging was tested which included a postcard, invitation note card, and self-mailer postcard. In addition, two different pre-recorded telephone messages were tested including an advanced notice message communicating the box mailer was on the way and a reminder message stating the box mailer had recently arrived in the mail. Finally, Arbitron previously conducted two studies testing how response rates and deliverability are affected by the use of generic salutation versus personalized name approach. The results of the studies were mixed, thus a follow-up study was conducted which included a name on the letters or a generic “City Name Area Household” greeting. In this presentation, we will present the results from the Web-diary initiatives. We will also determine the combined impact of the non-deliverable rate and response rate of the personalized letters. Finally, we will present the optimal mailing strategy for mail-based recruitment for an online survey.

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Year of publication2013
Bibliographic typeConferences, workshops, tutorials, presentations
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Web survey bibliography (4086)

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