Pre vs Post Survey Incentives

Part of running a good survey is doing whatever you can to improve your response rates. These days people have become tired of taking surveys for no gain of their own, as more and more individuals are bombarded with surveys on a regular basis without any reason to complete them. Researchers also found that the most common respondents were those that left negative feedback, because only those that felt they were wronged by a company had any reason to waste their time.

That is why incentives are offered – to give everyone, regardless of their experience, a reason to fill out a survey. Yet even incentives are in no way guarantees of a good response rate. Research has consistently supported the idea that incentives are useful, but it has floundered on what makes a good incentive overall.

One example is the idea of pre and post survey incentives.

Traditionally incentives have been given out after someone has participating in a survey. This is known as a post survey incentive – only by filling out the survey can you benefit from whatever incentive the company offers. Yet some companies have also been toying with the idea of a pre-survey incentive – an incentive that is given out before the survey has even been supplied, such as “Here is a $5.00 coupon, please fill out this survey.” At first glance the idea may be silly.

Indeed, it certainly has its risks, as it would be possible to give incentives to everyone on your list while having zero actually complete the survey. Yet research has shown surprisingly strong results, with as many as 50% of those that receive the pre-survey incentive filling out the information, compared to less than 25% for an even more valuable post survey incentive.

Incentives do matter, but it's important to note that not all incentives are created equal. Ideally your company will need to find a good balance based on things like budget, inventiveness, etc. Before you run any survey, always look at your incentives and see if there is a way you can improve your response rate.

Whether that means you do a pre or a post-survey incentive, or some other type of inventive technique, the key is to not limit yourself to one school of thought and see if there is anything you can explore to make your surveys more effective. Using the right survey software can also help maximize response rates through features like automated reminders and mobile-friendly designs.