210 likes | 323 Views
Making waves. The pros and cons of creating online research panels for transit. What is an online research panel? . An online research panel is a community of pre-screened respondents who have expressed a willingness to undertake ongoing market research. Why use a research panel?.
E N D
Making waves The pros and cons of creating online research panels for transit
What is an online research panel? An online research panel is a community of pre-screened respondents who have expressed a willingness to undertake ongoing market research.
Why use a research panel? Super Bowl Champions! Your football team will win the Super Bowl! Go Seahawks!
Why use a research panel if you don’t have a football team? • They are flexible • You can collect survey results quickly and cheaply • They show your agency is listening
Limitations • Building and maintaining a panel can be costly • Not necessarily quantitative results • Can attract panel members with agendas
The budget • Development: $37,000 • Passive recruitment: $3,500 • Active recruitment:$20,000 • Monthly maintenance: $8,500
Passive recruiting On board posters Social media Rider materials
Active recruiting We approached riders at stops, stations and on-board to join the panel
Incentives We offered two airline tickets as an incentive to sign up for Sound Waves (Yes, our lawyers approved it.)
Where we are today • The panel currently has 1,450 members • The panel includes large groups representing nearly all bus routes and rail.
Obligatory charts & graphs (You are not obligated to pay attention)
End of obligatory charts & graphs (You can now pay attention again)
SoundOff SoundOff’s are one-question surveys offered every other week to help keep the panel engaged.
Survey topics • Rider attitudes. • Customer satisfaction. • Message development • Awareness of transit issues • Input on planning • Evaluation of agency actions
Panel research goals • Engage panel members with regular surveys and/or SoundOffs every couple of weeks. • Focus on content which provides recommendations that can be acted on. • Make members feel that they are helping make important service decisions that improve their rider experience