It is a fact that in market research, including consumer and B2B marketing research, not all survey participants will qualify. If your survey involves screening questions then even the best in-house list or panel provided sample will contain some potential participants that do not meet your screening criteria.

Why you ask?

Lists and results from profile surveys are essentially static, yet the parameters of our lives change constantly. For example: if the focus of your B2B survey requires that respondents be employed full-time, most hopefully will meet this requirement but some unfortunately will not. Therefore they will be screened out. This is one of the major complaints that survey respondents express. They are willing to share their time and opinions, but find themselves "not qualified" to take the survey.

As a survey creator, what can you do to minimize the regret that "unqualified" participants feel? One simple answer is to create a thank you page specifically for those that have been screened out. The graphic below provides sample language that can be used to let them down easy. The important takeaway is to remind them that their time and efforts are valued, even though they did not complete the survey. An alternative is to also include them in any incentive drawings. In this case branch logic could be used to move them from the screener directly to any contact information or opt-in needed for the incentive.

Our respondents are our most valued resource. If your surveys format is continuously pushing out potential respondents due to screening then you should take the time to deeply examine the composition of the lists you are using to feed survey invitations.