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Reliable market research method
— parallel studies testing various traditional methodologies side-by-side with online techniques yield negligible differences
and result in the same directional indications.
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Representative
— online surveys can achieve high representativeness for most market research projects. U.S. internet penetration
is around 80% of households and higher in most industries. The under-represented populations, mostly low income
and the most senior age cells, are screened out of many surveys anyway.
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High
response rates — response rates can be difficult to compare across methodologies, but there are many reasons
online market research often yields good response rates, even as telephone response rates continue to decline:
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Many
people use caller ID, answering machines, and voicemail to screen calls, resulting in lower telephone response
rates. Also growing in popularity are so-called "zappers" that can defeat automated dialing systems often used for telephone
interviewing.
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The rise of "Do Not Call" lists has harmed telephone response rates — even though such lists apply only
to telemarketing and not to market research, many people blend the two in their minds.
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Telephone
interviewing is further hampered by today's mobile and fast-paced society, while with online interviewing respondents
can participate any time at their convenience.
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Online
research techniques are still interesting and novel for many people, enhancing response rates.
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Cost
savings — online techniques are less labor-intensive for each incremental interview and therefore
cost less for large sample studies than other methods such as telephone and in-person interviewing.
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Standardized
presentation — every respondent in an online survey is exposed to each question exactly the same way,
while a telephone or in-person survey is subject to unintended interviewer influence or bias.
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Multimedia
options — online surveys can display graphics and can stream audio and video to show a product
demonstration or to test product design, features/attributes, package design, TV and radio commercials, website designs, etc.
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Instant
feedback available — clients can log in securely while an online survey is still in the field
to see interim results.
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