Survey abandonment rates

Keeping the questionnaire short might be the best strategy for reducing abandonment. There is data to substantiate this intuitive conclusion. Time and number of questions are the two of the greatest influences on whether a survey is complete once started.

Survey Abandonment Rates Presented by:

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Market Directions

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Manage Survey Length to Increase Response Rates

Abstract

Perceived Benefit: Getting early access to results or being entered into a raffle— respondents need to understand the benefits

Surveys are most likely to be completed when rewards for participation exceed costs and respondents trust that their time and effort will be respected.

A BANDONMENT R ATES BY N UMBER OF Q UESTIONS

Research consistently shows that longer web surveys lead to lower response rates and increased abandonment rates.

“Keeping the questionnaire short might be the best strategy for reducing abandonment.”

Chart 1 developed by Vovici, graphs the percentage of respondents who abandon a survey based on the number of questions.

With email survey, you should be aiming for 10-15% response rates, which is the average.

Response rates can be influenced by everything from the mode of distribution (email vs. phone) to the incentive. Some of the most common things that will impact response rates are: Customer Loyalty: A high level of loyalty will lead to a higher number of responses.

Brand Recognition: A survey distributed by a well-known brand gets more responses.

Abandonment Rate

Time and number of questions are the two of the greatest influences on whether a survey is complete once started.

75% 50% 25% 0%

0

50

100

Number of Questions

to them.

Survey Distribution: Match your audience’s characteristics and digital experience.

An important incentive is that respondent opinions will be heard and that action will be taken based on feedback.

If respondents believe that participating in a survey will result in real improvements response rates may increase, as will the quality of the feedback.

SURVEY ABANDONMENT RATES

15%

Will abandon survey at 10 Minutes

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20%

Will abandon at 60 Questions

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Surveys are most likely to be completed when rewards for participation exceed costs— (Costs =Time)

CHART 2

Research Conducted by SMG

As important as number of questions, is the time required to complete a survey. As you would expect the longer it takes to complete a survey the higher the abandonment rate. Abonnement rates are even higher for mobile.

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Time it Takes to Answer Questions Question Count

Total Completion Time

1

Avg. Seconds Spent Per Question 75

2

40

2 Minutes

3 - 10

30

2 - 5 Minutes

11 - 15

25

5 - 7 Minutes

16 - 25

21

7 - 9 Minutes

26 - 30

19

9 -10 Minutes

Prepared by Market Directions

1 Min 15 Sec

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By Number of Questions While it is tempting to add additional questions to a survey to get the most value possible in exchange for the cost of survey administration and incentive redemption, survey length should be reasonable enough to ensure customer participation. Research and Market Directions experience suggest keeping the survey to ten minutes. You need to consider the information gathered by adding more questions to the survey outweighing the loss of responses. The key is to keep the respondent in mind and make survey length manageable.

About Market Directions Market Directions assists companies with marketing strategy, tactics and programs to create interest, demand and recognition for the firm and its products. We do this by compiling and summarizing secondary research and by directing primary quantitative and qualitative research.

In addition, to ensure your product is demand driven, Market Directions works with Product Marketing and Product Management to ensure the right mix of features, positioning and price.

Primary research is conducted among your prospective customers, and your customer base, sales, management, engineering, analysts and others in the form of personal interviews, focus groups, surveys, web testing and usability studies. Secondary research includes social reporting, big data analysis and market and industry profiles.

The information we collect aids in making the correct product, competitive, and pricing decisions while minimizing your risk of expensive incorrect decisions.

Please, let’s chat and consider how market research can help you with your marketing.

Market Directions

BOSTON P: 617-323-1862 C: 617-869-4037 www.marketdirectionsmr.com mary@marketdirectionsmr.com

Contact Mary Malaszek, Principal

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Survey Abandonment Rates Presented by: Prepared by Market Directions

Market Directions www.marketdirectionsmr.com