Virtual Incentives has discussed the trade-off between sending a research incentive before a survey and awarding it after completion. Its January 17, 2014 article credits Survey Methods for the underlying discussion.
An advance incentive gives a potential participant something of value before asking for feedback. The article uses a retailer gift card as an example and describes the approach as a possible way to attract attention and create goodwill toward the organization conducting the study.
The financial exposure differs from paying only after completion. Every person offered the advance reward receives its value, including those who never answer the survey. A research team therefore needs to assess the cost against the expected participation rather than count only completed responses.
The earlier experiment cited with this discussion illustrates why timing cannot be evaluated in isolation. In a March 2002 US postal auto-insurance survey, 200 randomly selected people received USD5 in advance, while 4,800 others were promised a USD10 Walmart certificate after completion. Reported response rates were 59% and 22%. Amount, payment form and invitation wording changed alongside timing, so the difference cannot be attributed to advance delivery alone. This was a paper-mail study, not a test of Virtual Incentives or digital cards.
Responses to two actual survey incentive treatments
March 2002 US auto-insurance postal survey, as reported in the original ASA proceedings.
% response rate
Tap or hover for details. All values are also available in the data table.
Source
200 people were randomly selected for prepaid cash; 4,800 received the promised-certificate invitation. Reward amount, instrument and cover-letter wording also differed. Rates use the paper's reported precision; about2% of mail was undeliverable. This does not isolate a timing effect or measure digital reward performance.
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| Category | Reported response rate |
|---|---|
| USD5 cash included in invitation | 59 % response rate |
| USD10 Walmart certificate after completion | 22 % response rate |
The article also emphasizes the invitation itself. A reward may draw more attention to the request, making clear presentation and an accurate explanation of the research important parts of the approach.
Virtual Incentives presents its digital reward fulfillment service as a way to administer either timing model. The operational decision remains with the research program: whether to fund an incentive for the initial invitation or tie delivery to completion.
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Daniel Brooks
Daniel Brooks covers payment networks, financial technology, payment security, gift card fraud and PCI DSS for Gift Card News.