As the official intercept survey team of the New York State Fair, Drive Research knows a thing or two about intercept surveys. An average New York State Fair sees about 1,000,000 visitors exit its gates over the course of the 12-day event. With the Drive Research survey team working all 12 days of the New York State Fair to acquire over 600 completes from patrons exiting the fair, increasing interest and engagement in our efforts is key.
Here are 5 more general intercept interview tips to assist you with your fieldwork. These are tips from acquired knowledge over the years working with a variety of events and conferences where intercept surveys were utilized to gather in-the-moment feedback. For the original 5 intercept survey tips click here.
5 MORE Intercept Interview Tips:
- Draw attention - in order to complete the survey you first have to be noticed. Seems like a no-brainer but all types of signage matters. Think about using banners, signs, and flyers on your table (if you have one) to drum up awareness of your survey. If you only can survey attendees on the way out, mention the survey to them as they enter so they remember to stop by on their way out. Every little bit of awareness helps convert completions.
- Look official - you first have to pass the eye-test. Think about professional dress or possibly asking the client to wear client-sponsored t-shirts for the intercept surveys. Lanyards with name tags help you play the part. You never want to lose a potential survey taker because they are unsure if you are credible or official.
- It's all about the introduction - response rates and completes all boil down to what is said in the first 2-3 seconds. That's when the respondent makes the decision to take the survey or not. If you sound confident and can be convincing in the first 2-3 seconds of your intercept interview, it makes a huge difference. Learn what works and what doesn't during your first few hours of fieldwork. Repeat the introductions that are successful, the respondents won't know you use the same line continuously over and over again. You have this working to your advantage.
- Quality as important as quantity - at the end of the day you need to meet your quotas. At the same time, meeting your quotas should not be at the expense of quality completes. A rule of thumb here is if the person you are talking to is a "talker" you have more wiggle room to extend the survey a bit and collect specific open-ends. For those who want to finish the survey quickly, pick your spots to gather in-depth feedback. Know about the 2-3 most important questions in the survey and probe.
- Ask as the client - This tip echoes throughout market research beyond just intercept surveys. As you collect data especially in the open-ends, interpret the feedback as the client would. If you ask what you like least about a topic and the respondent says "everything." Ask the respondent to be more specific and he or she may mention "services, cost, etc." If you put yourself in your clients' shoes, they need actionable and specific feedback. Although they can't make tactical changes from "everything" they can make specific changes about "services, cost, etc." Ideally the feedback will be even more specific than "services", talking about "long lines, inability to find answers, etc." Unpeel the onion and get specific on the comments.
Drive Research is an intercept survey company in Syracuse, NY. Our company offers services around intercept surveys, event surveys, attendee surveys, and exit surveys. Questions about how our team can get you the answers you need? Contact us at mail or call us at 315-303-2040.