You’d be surprised at the information people are willing to disclose over the internet. People will tell you their life story and long-term goals in a matter of minutes. Human beings are social animals. Our very nature dictates the building of relationships. The internet has just given us an easier medium to do so. Why do you think companies like eHarmony and Match.com are thriving? It is also because of this need to connect with others that web surveys are so successful in ascertaining information from clients, customers, employees, etc. However, as social as people are, they are not unguarded. Call it evolution, call it survival of the smartest, people will protect themselves from anything they believe could cause harm. I am a huge fan of analogies, and this one might be pushing the boundaries, but I equate our mechanisms to those of the roly poly. You remember them, right? The creepy crawlers you touched as a kid to watch curl into a grey ball. If you make a roly poly feel threatened, their instinctive response is to become an impenetrable, armored sphere. Give them some leeway, let them adjust, and they will be gregarious enough to make even the most macho of men squirm. Humans are just as sensitive but our first impressions are stronger and that wall will be up for longer. You have to give your survey respondents some buffer to hold onto until they are comfortable or they will close up just like the roly poly, grey exoskeleton aside.
There are two things to keep in mind when building your survey to ensure this doesn’t happen:
1. Sunk cost. A sunk cost is an expenditure that has already been incurred and cannot be recovered. In theory, sunk costs should not affect our behavior but they do. We are averse to any type of loss. Example: Free cone day at Ben & Jerry’s. You go during your hour lunch break but, after 55 minutes, you still aren’t at the front of the line. So what do you do? You continue to wait and either stay late at the office or take the scolding from your boss. Why does this happen? You don’t want to "lose" the hour you waited in line to leave empty handed. To tie that in with your survey, general questions are easier and take less time to answer. So, if you put those questions at the beginning of your online survey, respondents have already committed some of their time when they reach the specific, more difficult questions. They will be more likely to finish the survey if they already invested their time. If, however, these questions are at the beginning of your survey, there is a higher probability for abandonment because they have yet to give up anything.
2. Save the more intimate and sensitive questions for the end of the survey. Think of any first date horror story. The suitor starts asking about salary, previous failed relationships and dates for you to meet the in-laws. It doesn’t take long for the exit, let alone the check, to start looking good. Once the rapport is built, however, those answers are given without any need for palatable persuasion. Although there will most likely be minimal face to face interaction with your respondents, a relationship is nonetheless built as respondents make their way through your survey. They will be more likely to disclose the more personal information later in the survey.
So what does eHarmony, roly polies, Ben & Jerry’s and an overly expressive first date have in common? Well, nothing. But remember those analogies, and the data you collect will be as accurate as an eHarmony profile, roll in like a Rolli Polli Olie, as sweet as Ben & Jerry’s and you will have as much to share with your boss as an exceedingly sensitive first date.
There are two things to keep in mind when building your survey to ensure this doesn’t happen:
1. Sunk cost. A sunk cost is an expenditure that has already been incurred and cannot be recovered. In theory, sunk costs should not affect our behavior but they do. We are averse to any type of loss. Example: Free cone day at Ben & Jerry’s. You go during your hour lunch break but, after 55 minutes, you still aren’t at the front of the line. So what do you do? You continue to wait and either stay late at the office or take the scolding from your boss. Why does this happen? You don’t want to "lose" the hour you waited in line to leave empty handed. To tie that in with your survey, general questions are easier and take less time to answer. So, if you put those questions at the beginning of your online survey, respondents have already committed some of their time when they reach the specific, more difficult questions. They will be more likely to finish the survey if they already invested their time. If, however, these questions are at the beginning of your survey, there is a higher probability for abandonment because they have yet to give up anything.
2. Save the more intimate and sensitive questions for the end of the survey. Think of any first date horror story. The suitor starts asking about salary, previous failed relationships and dates for you to meet the in-laws. It doesn’t take long for the exit, let alone the check, to start looking good. Once the rapport is built, however, those answers are given without any need for palatable persuasion. Although there will most likely be minimal face to face interaction with your respondents, a relationship is nonetheless built as respondents make their way through your survey. They will be more likely to disclose the more personal information later in the survey.
So what does eHarmony, roly polies, Ben & Jerry’s and an overly expressive first date have in common? Well, nothing. But remember those analogies, and the data you collect will be as accurate as an eHarmony profile, roll in like a Rolli Polli Olie, as sweet as Ben & Jerry’s and you will have as much to share with your boss as an exceedingly sensitive first date.
Powered by Compendium Blogware
Comments for The Survey Funnel: From General to Specific, From Impersonal to Intimate