Choosing The Right Time To Conduct A Questionnaire

When the correct time to conduct a questionnaire is chosen, the effectiveness is undoubtedly achieved to the maximum. Questionnaires conducted when the right time has come generate a large number of responses. It is now universal knowledge that response rates are directly linked to the timing of online questionnaires. The right time is the time when people are most likely to notice such questionnaires and when they have the adequate time to respond to them.

To conduct a questionnaire, the best approach should be to choose the middle of the day, as well as the middle of the week. Thursday and Friday are not good days in terms of timing to conduct a questionnaire, as then respondents look forward to the coming weekend. Monday is not a good day either, as then people typically need to catch up on email etc., so they may not have enough time for questionnaire filling.

When questionnaires are sent via email, early in the morning or early in the evening during the week is the best time. The reason is that not all people check their personal emails while they are in the workplace. The time they are likely to check their emails is either early in the morning, or after work, in the evening. Another appropriate time slot would be the weekend, as respondents often check their emails in that period, too.

When companies decide to conduct a questionnaire, the observance of the best time and day when such questionnaires can be conducted, or when they can be sent to people to fill them, is likely to result in really high questionnaire response rates. Because companies set out to conduct a questionnaire with the aim of achieving as high response rates as possible, timing is of crucial importance for the success of questionnaires.