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Panel+ 3.1 : Advanced User Tip #5

Keep your panelists happy: You can't send gifts, but emails will do.

There is a fine line between too much information and not enough. The ideal number of times to contact a panelist is somewhere in the range of 1-4 times per month. More than four contacts and many of your panelists might grow weary of you. Less than once a month and your panelists are at risk of forgetting who you are and why you are contacting them causing your response rates to slip.

But what if you know you don't have any research to conduct in the upcoming month or throughout the summer. You don't need to devise some complicated survey just for the sake of contacting your panelists. We have a much more simple idea for keeping your panelists engaged without adding too much to your workload.

Everybody likes to be remembered on their birthday!If you collected the date of birth of your panelists when you profiled them, you can set up a short email in the communications section wishing them a happy birthday. Every month create a new sample filter with only those panelists whose birth date is within that month and send them an e-card. This is a very easy way to add an extra contact to each panelist over the course of a year and at the same time keep them happy with you.

If you're new to the Communicate feature, check your user manual or call your Vision Critical representative to learn more about the new features in Panel+ 3.1.

Posted on June 26, 2005
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