Survey respondents for online surveys

To gather data for marketing research, you can distribute a survey through email, mobile app, website, QR code, or social media. The responses are analyzed to derive actionable data and make better decisions. It is essential to target the right audience as the accuracy of the insights depends on the report generated from the survey responses. Thus, it has a significant impact on business.

Survey takers share their experiences, feedback, opinion, and preferences while they answer the questions. The more they find relevant questions, the better the quality of data. Hence, while selecting the respondents for the survey, market researchers must make sure to find the pool of people that will be the right fit. The sample size should be selected such that it represents the target demographic.

Why do businesses need survey respondents?

Customer feedback helps business grow. But if you can gather choices of the target audience beforehand, you can create smarter strategies. Obtaining feedback from subject matter experts and specialists makes customer research successful. Creating a high-quality research panel is of most importance, especially when the research data depends on it.

With a research panel, you can build rich profiles of your members, which will ensure quality responses. If you are looking to launch or test new technology, you would want to target panelists who are IT professionals interested in technology to yield more informed responses. Additionally, well-managed panels of pre-recruited persons allow for a quicker response rate.

Example of qualified survey respondents or audience for the survey

While you can distribute the survey to both who match the criteria and who don't, the ideal fit for being a survey respondent should be the one who has had relevant experience. Respondents who have knowledge or experience of the subject matter are considered to be qualified survey respondents. You can also ask screening questions to know who are the right pool of people.

• Smartphone experience survey: Suppose a smartphone manufacturing company wants to know what features of their latest phone were most liked by their users. For them, everyone who used their latest smartphone and agreed to share their feedback makes a qualified survey respondent.

• Women benefits program survey: A multinational organization that wants to know if the women working in their company are happy with the benefits, they can run a survey exclusively for women audiences. With it, they will be able to find out if their existing policies and programs need any improvement.

Where to find survey respondents?

Finding survey respondents can be done through various channels depending on your target audience, budget, and the type of survey you're conducting. Here are some common methods:

Online Survey Platforms: These platforms often have built-in options to reach a wide audience or specific demographics through their user base, one of the best without a doubt is QuestionPro Audience.

Social Media: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn: Posting your survey on social media platforms can help you reach a large and diverse audience. You can also use targeted ads to reach specific groups.

Email Lists: If you have an existing email list (e.g., newsletter subscribers, customers), you can send the survey directly to them.

Research Panels: Amazon Mechanical Turk, Prolific, Swagbucks: These are platforms where people sign up to participate in surveys for compensation. They can provide access to a large pool of potential respondents.

Website or Blog: If you have a website or blog with regular traffic, you can invite your visitors to participate in the survey.

In-Person Surveys: Conducting surveys in public places like malls, parks, or events can be effective, especially if you need a specific demographic.

Community Forums and Groups: Reddit, specialized forums, or Facebook Groups: Posting in relevant communities can help you reach people who are interested in your survey topic.

Partnerships with Organizations: Collaborate with organizations, schools, or businesses that have access to the demographic you're targeting. They can help distribute your survey to their members or customers.

You can purchase a sample audience directly by accessing over 22 million opt-in panelists around the world. It just takes 3 simple clicks with QuestionPro Audience.

1. Click the Audience tab.

2. Select your sample criteria.

3. Deploy your sample.

You'll get automated pricing based on the criteria you choose.

Advantages of qualified survey respondents

• High-quality data: Qualified survey respondents have the right background to help researchers with the correct data. They have the information with them that can make a difference in the online research project.

• Gather right insights: Many times, respondents donate their time to charity. Whenever they complete a survey, market researchers would give, say $1, to a nonprofit organization. Thus, when respondents answer the survey so selflessly, it is highly likely that they will share their real experiences.

• Make the right decisions: The higher the data quality, the better decisions you make. The reports generated from the responses of the engaged survey respondents will point in the right direction and help you make smarter decisions.

How to keep survey respondents engaged?

Respondents share their honest thoughts when they feel engaged with the research study. Hence it is essential to keep them engaged throughout the survey. If they lose interest or get distracted while answering the survey, you might not get accurate data. However, by following simple tips, you can keep survey respondents engaged and collect meaningful data.

• Keep it short: Survey participants drop out if they think the questionnaire is too long for people to answer. Keep question text short and ask questions that can be used to generate a range of reports. For instance, instead of asking many multiple-choice questions, go for using the matrix, conjoint, or other advanced question types.

• Show progress: At any point in time, respondents must be able to know the percentage survey completion. It gives them an idea of how long they will need to complete the survey. You can also share with them an average completion time based on completed responses so far.

• Add supplementary information: Start the survey with some background about the company and the goal of the research. Also, add a logo and customize the survey design to match your brand voice. Custom themes improve the look and feel of the questionnaire and add credibility.

• Test: Ensure there are no programmatic or textual errors before you send out your surveys. Nobody is more disengaging than silly mistakes and typos.

Why QuestionPro?

End-to-end 360-degree data collection and fieldwork
Build your survey and leave the fieldwork to us. Our panel experts will gather the requested completes from our panel and provide frequent updates on the progress of your sample. You'll be contacted by one of our panel experts shortly after submitting a sample inquiry for your survey.

Seamless access to qualified online survey respondents
QuestionPro maintains a global panel of millions of highly qualified respondents ready to take your surveys. We.re able to ensure high-quality respondents through our disciplined and methodical approach at recruitment and panel operations.

Integrated solution unified platform
Take advantage of the innovative, industry-leading QuestionPro survey software to monitor survey completes and review data in real-time while the panel team qualifies and recruits your target audience. Our unified platform allows you to obtain and analyze survey results more quickly and is more cost-effective than utilizing external vendors for your sample needs.

Survey respondents and data collection - Key features

• Complete fieldwork management

• Global reach unified platform

• Panel balancing

• Panel segmentation

• High response rate

• Experts at your fingertips

• Double-Opt-In membership

• Incentive management

How do I track survey respondents

Learn how to set up and use this feature with our help file on Tracking Survey Respondents.

How soon will the research panel be available?

The respondent panels are readily available. Once we have your requirements, we will review them and provide you with a quote. Once the quote is accepted, our team will set up the panel and can be ready to launch within 2 to 4 hours.