October 11, 2011
A Panel Profiling Passion Play
By Alfonso Gambino, Panel Profiling Consultant
I’m Italian. I know passion.
Harnessing the passion of our panelists is one of our most important jobs as researchers. After all, the number one reason panelists agree to participate in surveys is their desire to express their opinions about products and services they feel strongly about. Emotionally engaged participants provide the best insights to clients.
But nothing sucks the passion out of a survey experience like disqualifying a panelist after a dozen screening questions or sending her a survey about something she cares nothing about. In a recent analysis of more than three million web surveys conducted by Lightspeed Research/Kantar, 35 percent of respondents who dropped out cited their lack of interest in the subject matter as the primary reason.
On the flip side, our research on research shows a fix that’s been effective at creating an enjoyable and engaging survey experience: Profiling. Because we have found panelist profiling to be so beneficial to our panel and our clients, we take an extremely proactive approach. We reach out at regular intervals to all panelists, offering prize draws as incentives, to keep profiles continually up to date.
Because of this approach we know our panelists – we know what cars they drive, what products they use, what health conditions they have, their hobbies and sports, travel and media habits and more. So we are more likely to send them invites to surveys they have interest in and less likely to screen them out. They, in turn, are more likely to participate and less likely to drop out.
Our research clients know our panelists, too. Our continually fresh profile data helps us to evaluate incidence rates up front and understand at the beginning of a study what it will take to get to the client’s target. Having worked closely with clients to determine their sample needs over time, we create our screeners to identify specifically what they’re looking for. This saves time and money and eliminates surprises after the study begins.
For both clients and panelists, the benefits of our profiling approach shine most brightly with low-incidence segments. The Mums and Babies segment, for example, is one of our most engaged, most passionate segments. But, as only 6 percent of UK women 18-45 are pregnant – and as this segment is obviously quite dynamic, frequent profiling is crucial in preserving our trusted relationship with panelists (by not annoying them) and delivering on the segment’s potential for high value insights to clients.
Keeping panelists engaged and clients satisfied. It’s not only our job – it’s our passion.
Category:Data Quality, Panel Management, Panel Quality, Panel Retention, Survey Best Practices
Posted on October 11, 2011
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