Survey 160 is a software product designed specifically to conduct surveys via text message (SMS) conversation.
The technology bridges a gap emerging between telephone interview methods — which are increasingly expensive on a cost-per-interview because of declining response rates — and online panel interview methods, which often struggle to reach particular audiences of interest. Such audiences may include small geographies, customer lists, or defined segments of the electorate.
A Recent Project:
We recently partnered with Gradient Metrics to conduct a rapid response survey to understand how Americans perceive the COVID-19 outbreak and what they are doing in response. The research was covered in the LA Times, New York Times, Politico, and Vox.
The survey featured an oversample of Washington state residents who were, at the time, ahead of the rest of us in grappling with the outbreak. We were curious if closer exposure to the reality of the outbreak reduced the partisan divide that has been widely reported.
While more than 99% of Americans in both political parties were aware of the COVID-19 outbreak by mid-March, 26% of Democrats and 73% of Republicans thought the seriousness of COVID-19 was exaggerated in the media:
Select news coverage:
Backed by:
Why SMS polling?
SMS is a ubiquitous product with 95% adoption in the United States, especially among key hard-to-poll audiences. Pilot projects have shown the feasibility conducting surveys fully within the SMS interface and of using SMS to recruit respondents to take surveys in an online platform. But no survey firm offers recruitment and interview by SMS which can provide a uniquely broad coverage of audiences. And because this survey model operates with a low cost communication method and does not incentivize responses, it has the potential to provide survey data at a highly competitive price point.
This approach can be used either to supplement interactive voice response “robo-polling” which reaches disproportionately older respondents, or as a standalone solution for generating survey data.
Selected Product Features
Options for both open-ended and close-ended responses coded by interviewers.
Dynamic insertion of text from fields uploaded with target lists (e.g. candidate names), including options to A/B test script text or interview structures.
Skip logic and question branching based on prior responses or uploaded fields.
Quota options to ensure coverage within subgroups.
Persistent interviews that allow respondents to continue a survey over hours or days.
Real-time analytics on survey performance.