Editor’s note: Hugh Davis is founder of Greenfield Online, Inc., a Wilton, Conn., research firm.

Modern technology has created an environment where time-to-market, brand recognition and the battle for market share are being compressed into abbreviated life cycles by fierce competition and an ever-more-demanding business and economic environment. The ability to obtain market feedback is now more important than ever, as corporate decision makers must make quick, yet well-informed business decisions. Having customer intelligence at hand lets companies make more educated business decisions and therefore obtain a competitive advantage. Today’s marketing researcher is offered a great variety of methodologies from which to choose to gather such intelligence, and clearly online research provides many advantages.

Online research offers benefits beyond speed and cost. There is a remarkable ability to collect information about a wide variety of topics, many of them quite sensitive. For anonymity and 24-hour-a-day convenience, no other methodology matches the Internet. A person can answer thoughtfully at his/her leisure without the distractions and the negative, “interrupted” mindset so common in real-time interactions. The research industry is plagued by declining response rates for telephone and mail studies. CMOR (The Council for Marketing and Opinion Research) reported 11.7 percent cooperation rates in April 2002, down from 16.5 percent in 2000, and Internet panel study cooperation rates as high as 70 percent in 2002, making online research, specifically panel research, an even more viable option.

Opt-in participation is key to building a cooperative panel

To realize the benefits described above, researchers must have access to people who meet their respondent criteria, who in turn are willing to participate in research studies. Online research panels offer a proven and reliable way to survey respondents who have opted-in to participate in research studies. They not only sign up for the express purpose of participating in surveys but also must double-opt-in. The double-opt-in process requires the potential panelist to respond to a confirmation message after registration, before entering the panel, ensuring that the e-mail address is valid.

Demographic and behavioral information is collected upon enrollment, which ensures that when samples are pulled from the panel they are an accurate representation of the population under study. Whether using quota sampling to fulfill desired quotas, mirror census, or online populations, having a deep demographic profile results in well-balanced samples.

In addition, marketing research studies are often highly targeted, and pertain only to certain consumers. The ability to precisely target specific consumer groups via an online research panel ensures that marketing professionals are surveying respondents that meet study objectives. Participants are also much more likely to cooperate when the topic under study is relevant to them.

Many factors influence response rates

Studies have shown that people who have made a conscious effort to become panel members consistently stay involved and actively participate in online surveys. Much research has been done on the variables that impact the level of response. In online research, response rates are used as one basis for calculating incidence level, which is ultimately a major factor in determining the cost of survey respondents or total project cost. For example, if it is known that a certain demographic represents 30 percent of the online population, it can be estimated that of those that are invited 60 percent will complete the survey. Both factors must be considered when determining the number of invitations mailed to achieve a desired ending sample size.

Though panelists have been pre-recruited to participate in online research surveys and there is no cost to contact them, panelist attrition, the initial cost of recruitment and incentives must be considered when calculating sample cost.

While response rates are often viewed as a measurement of the quality of an online panel, true success is achieved and primarily driven by the availability and willingness of the respondents requested to participate in surveys. Measurement of panel cooperation is often subject to incentives offered as well as by the member’s engagement level and the depth of the profile used to create the sample. However, higher response rates are most notably achieved when members opt-in and make a conscious effort to participate in surveys.

Panel robustness begins at recruitment

While having respondents opt-in 100 percent to participate in online surveys increases panel quality and ultimately the quality of the resultant research, a panel’s size and its robustness also determines the ability to fulfill a client’s demanding sample needs. Varied demographics are more likely represented when a panel recruits members from multiple sources including various Web sites and uses several types of strategies such as banner advertisements, text links and media placements. Panels that rely on a single source for recruiting participants are oftentimes less robust and can easily become obsolete if the recruitment source loses its audience or decreases in popularity. Additionally, companies that support a multi-sourced recruitment procedure have access to many diverse Web sites, and therefore a greater ability to target low-incidence, specialty or less-responsive demographic groups.

To ensure high cooperation rates, faster survey completion, and long-term participation, online research panels need to be actively managed. In fact, employing personalized and relevant communications to valued members is extremely important in building and maintaining relationships. For example, members are e-mailed survey invitations at least once every 15-20 days to maintain participation and sense of community.

It is also important to re-profile and continuously update member information collected upon enrollment, appending relevant information as needed. Completion rates must also be monitored and the panel supplemented as attrition occurs. Removing professional respondents, or those who participate in an excessive number of surveys, as well as non-respondents on a quarterly basis also helps to ensure high cooperation rates. In this way, the panel is continuously refreshed and communication strategies are monitored to ensure active participation.

Adhering to best practices

The importance of understanding the principles of marketing research and adherence to best practices cannot be underestimated. First, research companies should respect panel members’ privacy. To receive honest and truly valuable answers to survey questions, a detailed privacy policy needs to be outlined for members. The policy should detail how the information or data collected is used, transferred and reported. In addition, panel companies must demonstrate a commitment to quality by upholding those standards set by professional organizations such as ESOMAR (European Society for Opinion and Marketing Research), CASRO (Council of American Survey Research Organizations), ARF (Advertising Research Foundation), and MRA (Marketing Research Association).

Practical considerations for panel-based research

Though panel-based research is always considered to be best when fielding studies online, there are several instances when especially relevant.

Research that requires respondents to provide answers to sensitive subject matter questions can be best served by an online panel. As online panel members understand that the information they provide is being held in confidence and used appropriately, they are oftentimes more willing to respond to questions that may involve issues such as income, race, personal behaviors, etc.

Second, as companies look to introduce new products and conduct concept tests, it is recommended that an online panel be used. Members understand the confidentiality associated with marketing research and they have read the terms and conditions involved in participation. As more than 35 percent of studies conducted in 2001 were product and/or concept tests, this is extremely relevant. (Source: Inside Research)

Finally, when research involves long-term product usage, or if complex tasks need to be executed, it is recommended that an online panel be the source for respondents. Participants are comfortable completing product tests and can be re-contacted over time with predictable cooperation rates. One of the most rapidly growing research study designs being migrated to the Internet is IHUT (in-home usage testing), which further stresses the importance of the ability to re-contact respondents.

Online research evolves

Online research has its advantages, and certainly, helping companies achieve financial gains by discovering, understanding and closing gaps between their brand promise and their customers’ experiences is one of them. Consumers are the driving force behind brand success and receiving feedback on an ongoing basis enables marketers to make more informed and effective decisions that ultimately provide immeasurable return on investment by lowering customer acquisition costs and improving retention rates. Online research has enabled marketers to receive such feedback in real-time.

Marketing research initially was conceived based on marketers’ need for more information; now advanced technology makes it possible to gather more cost-efficient and timely data, paving the way for ongoing continuous interaction with target audiences. With the advent of these new research technologies also comes the ability for businesses to more easily create and maintain relationship-building strategies with customers. The benefits of these enhanced capabilities are an enormous point of differentiation between online and offline research. Under the constraints of traditional offline research, a business would extend a great deal of time and money on a routine basis to track the opinions of an existing customer base. With online research technology, surveys are sent instantly on a predetermined schedule and responses are returned in real-time. This method of information gathering feeds directly into CRM strategies, allowing businesses to maintain an ongoing dialogue with respondents and remain aware of their wants and needs.

Respondents need to be considered

Attributed to the benefits outlined above, the online research industry is expected to grow an average of 30 percent annually over the next two years (Source: Inside Research). As such, there will be a growing need for survey respondents. It is important that online marketing research companies provide respondents with a positive survey experience, to continue to benefit from high cooperation and response rates. Declining telephone and mail survey cooperation rates have been attributed to telemarketing abuses, and an abundance of unsolicited interruptions, which industry associations are banding together to prevent from happening online.

In addition to methodological and executional improvements, companies can now provide the respondent with an extremely positive survey experience. Video and audio segments can be embedded into the body of a survey and can be quickly and easily downloaded, enabling respondents to get a more realistic picture of the product or service under study, thus improving the integrity and accuracy of the research being conducted. Surveys themselves will continue to become more and more engaging.

Such enhancements, and the ongoing consideration of survey respondents, will enable the online research industry to continue garnering response rates that are 70 percent and higher. Organizations like CASRO, CMOR, ESOMAR, MRA and ARF are committed to maintaining the integrity of online research and protecting the privacy of respondents, ensuring that this valuable methodology will grow and evolve in the years ahead.