••• respondent satisfaction
Don’t come knocking, MR firms
Door-to-door research is viewed by consumers as the least-acceptable means to contact participants for research studies, according to a survey by Charlotte, N.C., firm Accelerant Research, with 57 percent of American consumers surveyed saying it is completely unacceptable. Telephone invitations – particularly robocalls – followed, with 44 percent saying it is completely unacceptable to contact participants for research studies via mobile phone and 43 percent saying it is completely unacceptable to contact them via landlines. Telephone survey invitations from a live operator are perceived as less invasive than robocalls (40 percent completely unacceptable to mobile and 35 percent completely unacceptable to landline) and calls to a landline are more acceptable than to a mobile phone, in general. Text-messaging was found to be less invasive, with 26 percent saying it is completely unacceptable. The least-invasive means to solicit survey feedback are via U.S. mail, point-of-sale (POS) printed receipts and e-mail invitations, with fewer than 5 percent of consumers finding any of these methods to be completely unacceptable. Of course, sometimes researchers have no choice but to use a more invasive survey method in order to complete a study. But when doing so, it’s critical to always be sensitive to the respondent’s time and convenience.
••• technology research
Consumers talk tech pros and cons
A survey from Experian, Costa Mesa, Calif., shows that consumers appreciate how much technology has approved their lives but they are still concerned about privacy. Eighty-three percent of survey respondents agree that technology has enhanced their daily life in areas such as connecting with the people they care about (51 percent) and gaining access to knowledge or education (50 percent). Thirty percent of those surveyed say technology helps their financial status and 33 percent say it allows them to be more engaged with the products they use. Eighty percent say they would be even more connected, if possible, than they are today. However, only 36 percent of survey respondents review privacy policies when notified of changes by institutions they do business with and 28 percent review privacy policies of mobile apps before downloading them. Ninety-three percent feel identity theft is a growing problem, while 91 percent believe that people should be more concerned about the issue. Online activities that generate the most concern include making an online purchase (73 percent), using public Wi-Fi (69 percent) and accessing online accounts (69 percent).Â