not always possible to meet panellists’ expectations when answering their emails, showing panellists that the opinions they communicate to the support address are valued is a basic principle of the rhetoric the market research company has developed with online support let- ters. It is therefore important that the market research company es- tablish a number of routines through which to answer all emails received from panellists, even if it only means reassuring them that their suggestions have been taken into account.
x Establishing and respecting a proper routine interval for an- swering support emails. Setting up support handling time routines is another basic principle of online panel management. Where chronemics is one of the few, if not the only, social context cue available to participants in online panel communication, any unpre- dictable behaviour in terms of feedback promptness runs a higher risk of being interpreted as lack of involvement than it does with offline, where there are plenty of other cues to compensate. Conse- quently, panel management routines should not include overly large time variations when answering support letters.
The DATA PROTECTION page is essentially for reference. All market research companies are supposed to be members of organisations that regulate conduct in the industry. As it is supposed to reinforce the confi- dentiality of personal data and the use of survey-related data for statistical purposes only, the DATA PROTECTION page necessarily refers to mar- ket research associations and societies whose codes of conduct govern the activity of the market research company. Using market research examples and by citing data protection codes, the market research company reassures the panellist of its compliance with the strictest rules of data privacy.
The INCENTIVES/GIFT AREA page has a practical rather than reas- suring function. According to the incentivising system adopted by the company, the INCENTIVES/GIFT AREA page is there to serve practical purposes, such as listing winners or objects won in different prize draws;
providing updated records of panellist points according survey participa- tion; displaying lists of items that can be purchased with points earned; ex- plaining bonuses and other actions through which panellists can receive gifts or earn points; stating the charity organisations to which the market research company makes donations for different surveys; not to mention providing detailed descriptions of the incentives policy of the company re- lative to each of its panels.
The FAQ corner is “default” feature of any website. Setting up the FAQ corner on a panellist web page is a simple exercise given the availability of support area experience. The support area itself is a depository of fre- quently asked questions. We know from experience that these questions can include a wide range of topics, such as membership inquiries, comple- tion habits and rules, types of research surveys and questionnaires, survey results and even the interpretation of results, technical issues, data privacy and enquiries related to the rewards policy.
The CONTACT page is another “default” of any website. The support address provided here is usually the same as the email address provided in the market researcher’s messages to its panellists.
It is the Internet which makes the existence of panellist websites possible. Panellist websites are fully confined to online environments.
Using them both for practical purposes and to strengthen panel com- munication and enhance the cohesion of panel activity is, however, an element which is fully subordinated to the socially-oriented communi- cation between market researcher and panellist. Panellist web pages can only serve to enrich a paradigm of communication practices more socially-oriented in online than offline mediums.
We recommend that the market researcher:
x Make the panellist website as informative as possible.
x Constantly update the panellist website, and especially the Gift Area page.
x Constantly update the FAQ section with questions received from the support area. FAQ should reflect changes in panellists’ percep- tion of their membership.
x Make the DATA PROTECTION page a reference page. This can include hyperlinks to organisations and associations the market re- search company is a member of and to principles of market research activity the company abides by; it can also include some brief in- formation on the codes of conduct complied with and links to fur- ther information.
x Feature small polls on the site. These can either be on topics of panel management and membership satisfaction, thereby helping the company evaluate its own procedures; or they can relate to issues considered of interest for later inclusion in newsletters.
Newsletter EDITORIAL
Dear Panel Member,
As we are reaching the end of another fantastic year, we have decided to offer you a special edition of the newsletter focused on the season’s celebrations.
To get you into the festive spirit, we have prepared an article on Christmas shopping, which most of you seem to have started – well, at least according to the poll on our website. On a more serious note, more and more of the British population are going online, as can be read in our article ... and surely even more (if not all of us!) will make (and break) New Year’s resolutions!
Last but not least, on behalf of everybody at (FILL IN COMPANY NAME), I wish to thank all of you for your co-operation during 2004 and wish you a very happy and prosperous new year!
Kind regards, (FILL IN NAME)
Online Panel News/Surveys Top 6 New Year’s Resolutions
Here’s the 6 most popular New Year’s Resolutions the British will make next year; the question is, just how many of them will be broken within the first 6 weeks of 2005?
x Give up smoking
x Start going to the gym regularly
x Start looking for a new job or start your own business x Start a new relationship
x Start going for a promotion x Start eating a healthier diet 23 Million English Surfers in 2004
In the past 12 months, the number of people actively surfing the Web from home each month in the UK has grown by 15% to 23 million, ac- cording to Nielsen//Net Ratings. According to the research, the use of high-speed Internet connections has also risen dramatically. In the 12 months to October 2004, the number of households in the UK surfing the Internet at high speed rose from 5.3 million people to 11.5 million people, an increase of 117%. High-speed connections are most popular with households of five or more people, while the research shows that smaller households tend to favour slower connection speeds of 56k.
Over 50% of the 22.8 million UK surfers regularly accessing the Web from home each month are accessing at high speed. Those with fast connections spend twice as long online each month at over 32hrs than their lower speed counterparts. They also view an average of 1,444 pages per month, more than three times as many as those accessing at low speed.
(FILL IN COMPANY NAME) Panel is a monthly newsletter addressed to participants in online surveys. Your opinions and feedback are im- portant to us. To send your comments and suggestions for the (FILL IN COUNTRY) version or to unsubscribe, kindly write to (FILL IN NAME AND ADDRESS).
Panellist newsletters are for the most part a collection of survey results, with a part of the polls being home-made, i.e. conducted among the same panellists that the newsletter is addressed to. These polls are normally con- ducted for the sake of entertainment, being placed as such on the same panellist website. Seldom (if at all) acquainted with the results of the sur- veys they normally take part in, this can encourage panellist curiosity in these matters. The panellist newsletter is an excellent tool for satisfying panellist curiosity about interpretations of statistical data.
Essentially, the newsletter is meant to be both entertaining and informa- tive, while at the same time demonstrative of the way the survey activity functions. Wherever possible, it should be used strategically to convey top line reports about the main findings of different research studies for which the panel was used, turning the newsletter itself into an important component of the incentivising policy of the company. Although the results of particular surveys they have taken part in are not available for public display, inter- preted results of small polls placed on the panellist website can make for a good low-scale demonstration of the research activity. These can be accom- panied by other statistical data considered entertaining or interesting.
Panellist newsletters are a communicative tool that is at the same time powerful and convenient for use by market research companies in their communication with the panellists. While at times even used to support the incentivising policy of the market research company, they are a result of the opportunities presented by online environments and should be used extensively to strengthen panel communication. News- letter subscription, however, is not mandatory for panel subscription and all newsletters should contain links for unsubscribing from news- letter membership.