Based in Florida and New York, Simmons Market Research is a leader in conducting and analyzing research studies of the American consumer. Each year, more than 25,000 Americans participate in Simmons’ national surveys of various consumer groups. Foremost Graphics is a longtime Simmons partner. We print and mail the National Consumer Survey booklets as well as other custom survey projects.
Challenge
This case focuses on the customer’s need for a better way to obtain people’s consent to take the detailed national survey. Simmons had always used telephone interviews to vet participants and secure their consent to take the survey, but the phone interviews were expensive and did not provide the desired return on investment.
Simmons approached Foremost Graphics with a survey management challenge: to develop a better consent process using mail-based methods.
Solution
We began with the end in mind: to increasing the rate of consents in the most cost-effective manner. Collaborating with our client, we developed a system that processes and tracks Simmons’ mailings daily.
The system includes a custom database that imports consumer data, assigns each recipient a survey version and an incentive, tracks recipients on a three-month mailing schedule, ensures participants don’t receive redundant mailings, tracks each recipient’s status, and tracks our mailing materials inventories.
We also designed a cost-effective process using offset and digital technology to print consent surveys and prepare variable-data cover letters for daily mailing. Our fulfillment team assembles and barcode-verifies the mailings to ensure accuracy.
Results
The process Foremost Graphics engineered was a paradigm shift for consent recruitment. Simmons is seeing higher consent rates for a smaller investment, as well as more accurate tracking of participants.
