You know you want two things: a quality mail survey and the results in the earliest possible time. You need mail survey results with optimum data integrity. And, you need to get it and understand it before your target deadline, which is not so far away. 

So, how can you manage your mail survey timeline when in a rush?

Well, by reading this post of course! Below are timeline factors affecting mail survey and effective actionable tips when you’re dealing with a rush project!

1. Design Mail Survey Materials
2. Printing and Organizing Survey Material
3. Distributing and Collecting Surveys
4. Extraction

1. Design Mail Survey Materials 

The Design Stage involves developing the survey materials to be mailed to target respondents. The survey materials must be well designed and incentivized so that respondents can and will answer the survey questionnaires accurately and quickly. Not to mention, mail back the questionnaires conveniently. Typically, the survey materials include a cover letter, the survey questionnaire, postage-paid return envelope, detailed instructions, study information, and an incentive – if your budget can support it.  When a survey is more complicated, it takes more time to properly design the questionnaire.

• • Tip 1: Use Established Templates. When you have limited experience in paper survey design even a simple information request such as date of birth or phone number can become a challenge. Using efficient paper survey templates can potentially knock a week or more out of the mail survey schedule. For example, taking advantage of a paper survey template designed to encourage respondents to write neatly by utilizing constrained print fields can be useful: paper survey scanning is easier since respondents have to place one letter or number in each box. To find the appropriate template to follow, partner with a Mail Survey expert. Their experience in mail survey design is the key to creating outstanding mail survey materials that will deliver the necessary output even when pressed for time.

• • Tip 2: Use Incentives. Budget affects the decision to use incentive fulfillment or not. However, when dealing with a rush project, obviously an incentive is a great way to motivate your respondents to return the survey early. Most especially if the incentive is sent or activated once the Researchers receive the returned survey. Check out our post on 3 Survey Incentives to explode your Survey Response Rate.

• • Tip 3: Multi-modal Data Collection. For more complicated questionnaire needs, consider using an online survey together with the mail survey. To do this, proper tracking is necessary. Include a unique login Id and online survey instructions in the Mail Survey materials. Respondents should also have access to technical support when needed. Check out our post on When to Do a Multimodal Survey?

2. Printing and Organizing Survey Material

The volume, complexity, and length of your survey material will affect the length of time dedicated to printing and organizing survey materials. In printing questionnaires that require optical mark recognition, data capture barcodes, or pre-slugging for precise scanning and tracking, even small errors can be significant, particularly in time. Purchasing supplies will also impact this stage. The mail survey timeline may be affected by delays caused by unusual supply order; for example, a large order of non-standard sized envelopes or a large order of stamps of a specific design. Meanwhile, in organizing survey materials, time is also spent on folding cover sheets, stuffing outer envelopes, addressing and stamping envelopes. 

• • Tip 1: Provide Vendors with a Detailed Timeline. Provide each vendor with a detailed timeline in advance so they know that they are dealing with a project under a strict schedule. Provide both a soft and hard copy of your timeline, leaving the vendor no excuse for delays.

• • Tip 2: Preprint on Envelopes. Avoid manual addressing and stamping envelopes when you can. Directly Print on the outer envelopes the return address, delivery address, and Every Door Direct Mail (EDDM) indicia (which substitutes for postage). You can also do this for the return and delivery address of the smaller enclosed return envelope.

• • Tip 3: Use window envelopes. Use of window envelopes to save time in matching the mailing envelope by using a cover letter with address block instead.

• • Tip 4: Plan for delays. As they say, prevention is better than cure. The most common delays can come from misprints or damages, post office requirements, and mailing dates. Make sure you don’t make these mistakes and increase your mail survey timeline.

• • Tip 5: Have Extra Mail Survey Materials. If you are in need of unusual supplies, ordering a slight material overrun is sensible in case of misprints or damage particularly if you need to meet a specific quantity.  Moreover, printing a little extra at a higher volume will reduce the cost of the unit rate. So in other words, the unit rate for printing 50 extra forms if you are already printing a quantity of 5000, will be significantly lower than if you just printed those 50 forms by themselves.

• • • • Prepare Sample Mail Piece. Be aware that post offices require that a sample mail piece should be included for inspection when planning to drop ship mail pieces to post offices for local delivery. For example, a sample mail piece in order to verify weight and compliance with size standards.
      • Take Note of the Difference Between Calendar Days, Mail days, and Business days. The exact number of days is vital when materials are ordered near the mailing date and mailings are intentionally spaced.

• • Tip 6: Print Everything in Advance. Another useful tip is to print materials for all waves during the initial print run. Items like letterheads can be produced with color initially, and then for mailing the second batch you would just overprint the black text address block or variable details, which is much quicker than printing the color elements of the letter as well. By printing everything in advance, you don’t have to wait on the base materials to print again for subsequent waves.

3. Distributing and Collecting Surveys

In Distributing and Collecting Surveys the logistics involved in Mail Survey Planning include selecting appropriate transportation, warehousing, choosing the most effective routes for transportation, discovering the most reliable delivery method, return mail handling, inventory tracking, and follow-up mailings. Poor logistical planning will gradually increase your timeline as well as cost.  Moreover, this stage also involves filing paperwork for post office delivery, and shipping surveys to distribution post offices

• • Tip 1: Consult with a Data Collection Expert. Third-Party expertise in managing mail-survey-in-house is vital in dealing with logistical issues for a rush project.  Mail survey aspects like duplication and mailing of the mail survey materials to respondents, sending reminders, storing returned questionnaires into the data warehouse, and so on, can be complicated. Making mistakes because of inexperience is not something you can afford. Consult with a data collection expert who can help you plan and monitor every step of the process.

• • Tip 2: Avail Express, Priority, or First Class Presort Delivery. Standard mail delivery time can take 3-14 days depending on the state. Check out this graph by The Castle Press of the USPS standard mail delivery time (mailing from Anaheim, California). When pressed for time, use of Express, Priority and 1st class for delivery is important to practice. Clearly, this will add cost to the project, but this will also impact your timeline significantly. Not to mention, avoiding possible delays in Survey mailing services delivery for a significant number of participants when utilizing bulk rate postage.

• • • Express (overnight, 2-day)
    • Priority (1-3 days)
    • First-class presort (locally 1-2 days; nationally 4-5 days)

• • Tip 3: Collaborate with the Post Office. Good collaboration with the Post Office will help reduce timeline and cost. Below are specific steps that can help you streamline and expedite the mail survey return process:

• • • Make sure the post office has your BRE Permit on file. Don’t wait for someone to call you because your envelopes are just piling up. Save valuable time and energy by ensuring your BRE Permit is in the hands of the right person. 
    • Make sure there is enough money in your account.  Check that your account is able to cover all the cost of projected returns since a delay in payment equals delay in the process. 
    • Make sure your dedicated postal worker is not on vacation. Call the post office to ensure that a dedicated staff member will indeed be working on your assignment during your response window. 

4. Extraction

The complexity and volume of your survey determine how much time it will take to extract data. In the extraction stage, you will need the necessary OMR and scanning equipment to obtain the information from your survey. In order to ensure the accuracy of your data, it is vital that you follow strict quality control measures. The data extraction process involves reliable data output formats, tables and rules, exceptions, electronic verification, manual verification, and image indexing to facilitate easy search and retrieval.

• • Tip 1: If a reduced timeline is a big factor then opt to use a simpler format for survey questions. Shorter, simpler surveys will be faster to process than long, complex ones. For example, it’s easier to extract multiple choice questions rather than open-ended questions.

• • Tip 2: Build strict quality control measures with your Survey Research Service partner.  Before the forms make it to the machines, each form must be prepped by human hand. Corrections are time-consuming. Fewer mistakes mean less correction. A smooth extraction system can skyrocket your survey management to your target finish time.

Involve Your Survey Partner Early in Your Planning Process

Approaching a data collection service partner for Survey Mailing Services near the end of your process and presenting them with a deadline that’s set-in-stone is not a good idea. The best way to manage your survey project’s timeline is to get your partner involved early in the planning process.

With your partner on-board at the start, you will benefit greatly from their knowledge and expertise. They’ll help you establish a practical timeline, make planning decisions that will save you time and money, and meet your project’s deadline.

DataForce creates affordable, smart, and friendly solutions for assessing performance and measuring success. Our test scanners, answer sheets and reporting software, digitally capture data from paper assessments, saving educators time while providing immediately useful, relevant information for instruction. We also offer a full range of custom services for assessment survey.

While there is certainly a limit to the amount of time you can save while still ensuring survey integrity, these strategies will go a long way to help you speed production and meet your most aggressive deadlines.

Finally, for more information on mail survey timeline and production management, contact us today! We provide excellent Survey Research Services and Data Collection Services!