Good day to you all. A few years ago I had a survey running for a month and I got about 10 respondents.  I think I contacted over 1000 people in one way or the other. As they say, response rates in surveys that involve indirect methods are very low (around 3%). I used web links, email campaigns and advertisements in the press. I also used direct mail as well but it was in vain. Our fellow countrymen just do not participate in research projects. Maybe I was doing something wrong.

The things most people are interested in these days have to do with money, scandal, religion and politics. If you are talking of something else, you will have a tough time getting anyone’s attention and cooperation. Or is it because people only respond to established brands? When I conduct research at work most people seem eager to participate, maybe it is because I work for a big company.

My experience thus far has seen me getting mouthfuls from potential respondents. Here are some of the words that have been said unto me:

i) “There is no reward” People want to be paid to participate in research activities. You will be asked questions like ‘What will you give me?’ among other questions.  The fact that a person wants to get paid means that they do not see a direct benefit to them in taking part in a survey.

ii) “You are wasting my time!” It is rare to find someone doing ‘nothing’. Even when they seem to be doing nothing that nothing is something that they call relaxing. I am used to being given excuses like ‘I am sleeping’ when conducting telephone interviews. You can hear with the tone that the person is wide awake.  You will be asked questions like ‘So you want me to use my time so that you can make better use of your time?

iii) “I will not be affected by the results of your research” Well there is a certain degree of validity in this assertion.  The problem comes when I am researching about a product that you shall consume yourself down the line.  You might find yourself in a situation were you gain less utility from a product because  you voice was not heard in its creation and as such some of the features that you would like to be inherent in the product will not be there.

WHAT THEY ARE MISSING

i) There is a reward.  Yes there is.  Let’s see.  What are the benefits of good research for the customer? Research is customer centric.  The major brands are created with the customer in mind through research.  Superior products are what they are because of research and your reward, among others, are quality products in your life.  OK, now that we have that out of the way I will ask you this: if you knew that research would lead to the creation of products that you would enjoy using (and in some cases that would change your life) would you not want to be part of their creation?

ii) You are not wasting your time. How much time do we spend doing things that have no benefit to us?  Us men are mostly guilty of time wasting all in the name of fun. Participating in surveys can bring forth opportunities in terms of networking, job opportunities and getting an idea of what the competition is up to.  A research agent would not know that they are approaching the senior manager of a rival firm when conducting research now would they?

More importantly better researched products would lead to better products being available on the market. This would save you the energy, psychic and time costs that are required in the acquisition and use of products.  That means no more scratching your head and moving from store to store whilst sweating on that empty tank.  Why?  Because superior products stand out above the rest so you will know where to go to get what.  Superior products make money really fast and as a result economies of scale will set in leading to the product being made available at a lower price thus saving you money.  So who is saying that there is no reward in taking part in surveys?  If it does not benefit you, it will benefit someone else right?  That is no different from giving money to a poor man on the street, you are helping somebody. So help me, please.

iii) You will be affected by the results of research, actually. Picture this: No research = Poorly developed products = products rejected locally and internationally = less money generated locally (and internationally) and our GDP suffers.  Yes our economy is recovering from a recession so naturally our GDP is taking nosedives here and there but don’t you think that inferior products will make sure that our recovery takes a long time, longer than would be the case if we had better products to compete on the international scene?  These are just my thoughts on the big picture but I am sure that there are more ways that everyone will be affected by research, or the lack of it in the case of Zimbabwe.

So fellow Zimbabweans, let us value research. The next time that a researcher approaches you with their questionnaire, think long and hard about the aggregate effects of turning that person away.  For you researchers out there let me ask you this, how do you get people to participate in research projects?

Until next time

Ruvimbo