So, you have decided to jump into the exciting world of mobile research. What now? The first step to creating engaging and accurate mobile surveys is planning.
This Mobile Surveys 101 article will help you determine what your purpose is, who your survey should be targeted towards, and what tools you use to get the best possible data– all while staying within your budget!
If you are reading this, you probably have a pretty clear idea of what you want your survey to accomplish. Now is the time to get those ideas out of your head and onto paper. Let’s start by setting a clearly defined goal that we can reference throughout the process so we stay focused.
A great way to do this is to quickly write out a Goal Statement. This is a single sentence that summarizes your purpose.
For example, if I were a pet store owner and wanted to know what animals young adults are interested in purchasing, and at what price, my goal statement might read–
My goal is to determine what pets 20-30 year-old’s are interested in, and how much they would pay for each.
I know, I know, it seems a little silly–but writing out a clearly defined goal will help you focus your ideas and keep you on track as you write your survey.
Pro Tip: If you aren’t able to summarize your study into a single sentence, your scope might be too broad. This means your survey is more likely to be longer and harder to target, which will raise your costs and lower your response rate.
Your cost is determined by your LOI, or “Length Of Interview”. This is simply how long your survey takes to complete. For mobile, surveys of 5-10 minutes are the most successful, and the cheapest!
You can avoid higher costs by considering what is really important to your study and further focusing your questions. Or, if your scope is really broad, you can break your research into two or more smaller studies.
Now that you’ve set your goal, it’s time to think about how you want to target your survey. Targeting allows you to choose the portion of the population you want to take your survey (what we call a “sample”). Choosing your sample is one of the most important things you need to do before writing your survey.
For some projects, your sample may be as broad as everyone in the general population. For others, you may only be interested in a specific area, age range, occupation, etc.
For example, imagine you own a daycare in Baltimore. You probably wouldn’t want a 75 year old in Seattle to take your survey– instead, you would want to hear from parents in the Baltimore Metro area.
It’s easy (and free) to explore your targeting options by using our Self Service Tool.
No matter who you need to reach, Tap Research’s innovative mobile panel gives you access to more than 30 million people with real opinions, and our project managers are always here to help.
Pro Tip: Targeting with Tap Research is free! There are no added fees for using our targeting tool– but how you target will influence your incidence rate which can affect price.
Your incidence rate is simply how many people are able to finish your survey once they start. Targeting the right sample ensures that only respondents who are a good match take your survey. This keeps your incidence rate up, and your cost down!
The last step you need to take before you start writing your survey is to choose a programing platform. Your platform is the tool you use to create and style your survey. There are many different platforms available online, with varying prices. Each has it’s pros and cons, and you should try them out to see what works for you. Some of the most popular options are:
The platform you use will determine the types of questions you are able to ask, and how your final survey will look.
For example, platform “x” may be perfect for simple text questions while platform “y” is great for comparing photos or videos. Check out your options and find one that meets your needs and budget.
Pro Tip: Make sure your platform is optimized for display on mobile devices, because not all are.
Now that you have defined your goals, selected your targeted sample, and chosen your platform, you are ready to start writing your survey! These few tips will save you time and money down the road, and will become second nature to you as you continue doing valuable research.