You could meticulously plan every question and activity for your qualitative project, but if the right people can’t be found or simply don’t show up, it won’t matter. When the recruitment process isn’t thought through, it leads to delayed timelines, wasted budget, and poor research outcomes. 

Thankfully, you can easily employ the following strategies to help with both response and show rates. When these are implemented, your qual project runs more smoothly, and you get the valuable insights you need.  

Strategies to Increase Response Rate 

1. Select the right methodology. 

Certain audiences will do better with certain types of research and knowing that before you begin is a great way to improve your response rates. Some folks may be best suited for virtual interviews and will only respond to those types of opportunities. Others may find in-person to be more comfortable for sharing personal information. Consider the needs and preferences of your audience and choose your methodology accordingly to encourage them to respond. 

2. Target your sample as specifically as possible.   

Before you even begin the recruitment phase, get extremely clear on who your target audience is. Understanding exactly what you are looking for will increase your initial response, and help minimize respondent fatigue. People are busy, and the research opportunities presented to them need to target their expertise. At TriVoca Health, we see a much higher response rate from participants when they feel their feedback is relevant. 

So, if you know you really want diabetic patients using a continuous glucose monitor in the Northeastern US, say so from the outset rather than targeting all diabetic patients across the country. At TriVoca Health, we’re happy to consult with you on creating your screening to ensure you are as specific as possible from the outset. 

3. Consider the length of the initial screener.   

There’s a simple truth that’s regularly ignored in market research: screeners are crucial to ensure the proper participants are included in a study, so they should be as concise as possible. If an initial survey used to qualify a respondent for a study takes over 20 minutes to complete, they may lose interest, start putting less thought into their answers or stop halfway through. This is especially true in healthcare, as additional requirements such as Sunshine Act disclosures already add time from the outset. 

Consider what is most critical to know in a screener and pare back to just those elements. Or, see if you can rework some screener questions to be part of the main study instead so you still get the information, but participants are now incentivized for answering. 

Similarly, if a respondent takes the time to go through a lengthy screener only to be put on hold for review, they may not be as willing to respond once there is approval to schedule them.   

The consideration of the respondent’s time goes a long way, especially highly researched groups such as oncologists or diabetes patients.    

4. Incentivize properly.   

This one might seem obvious, but it is overlooked more often than it should be. Take the time to really think through what kind of commitment you are asking of a participant. Sometimes there is only one chance to gain the interest of a busy HCP, KOL, or specialty recruit, and an appropriate incentive is as essential as the topic.  When a lower incentive is utilized, the recruitment takes longer and can result in a smaller completed sample size. So, while you might save some money in the short term, it’s costing you more in delayed timelines and less access to the folks you want to talk to. 

Even if you are mandated to adhere to Fair Market Value incentives (which are often lower than expectations), find creative ways to make participating more worthwhile. Compensate for travel expenses or provide a meal if the project is in-person. Everyone is busy, and participants need to be properly compensated for their time and opinions.  

5. Be creative and specific with your topic.   

People need your project to grab their attention. The fight for participant attention is a fierce one, and there is a plethora of bland and generic topics coming their way. Share details of your project objective or take an unusual angle to help your study stand out and drive responses.  

Play with your project name to be engaging and specific. For instance, instead of just “Oncology” as a topic, try something like “Understanding Perspectives on Treating Metastatic Breast Cancer.” 

Strategies to Increase Show Rates

1. Create connection to the project. 

While the monetary incentive is key to getting people interested, most participants want to understand why this research matters. If they feel like they are providing true value, and perhaps even helping improve healthcare outcomes, they are likely to have a more vested interest in showing up. You may not always be able to provide detailed specifics about the study objectives, but finding anything you can to demonstrate to participants how they are contributing to the greater good is beneficial. 

2. Strong close at the point of recruitment. 

Whether recruiting participants yourself or working with a partner like TriVoca Health, ensuring people have everything they need is essential. Be sure to clearly provide key study details, provide the address for in-person work, or explain what to expect for accessing a digital platform. Asking the respondent to repeat the information back to you (or your recruitment partner) ensures they truly understand everything.  If expectations are properly set at the point of recruitment, you will have more successful show rates.   

3. Send timely confirmation communication. 

With busy lives, people are apt to forget the specific details of when or where they are supposed to show up for a research project. At TriVoca Health, we have found sending a reminder 24-48 hours before the scheduled interview or focus group has proven to be the ideal range to get people in the door. In that reminder, share all the updated information a participant may need to keep the study running smoothly.  

4. Set realistic incentive expectations. 

Yes, incentives play as important a role in show rates as they do response rates. In this stage, the most important part is to set expectations with participants on when they will receive their payment and stick to it. This builds trust for future projects and shows you respect their time and effort.  

In addition, getting creative with things like early-bird drawings or some other incentive bonus can help encourage a respondent to show up for their interview.  For example, it is beneficial to add an incentive bonus when it is a focus group setting, a long LOI, a less desirable time slot, young adults, or other audiences that typically have a slightly higher no-show rate. 

5. Consider participant schedules. 

Don’t just plan your research when it’s convenient for you. Certain specialties may not be available during the day and need early morning or late afternoon and evening sessions.  If it is a group setting, make the time as attractive as possible to as much of the audience to minimize last-minute cancellations and no-shows.   

Minimizing rescheduling on a project also helps increase the show rate.  Respondents get confused and frustrated when their scheduled day/time is changed with less than three days’ notice. Have backups in place for you or other moderators, leave room for sessions that run over, and set expectations with your own team or clients. 

6. Plan to over-recruit. 

Healthcare practitioners are busy, and their schedules can be unpredictable, pulling them into the clinic or surgery when they were scheduled for an interview. Likewise, patients with severe conditions often don’t know how they’ll feel day-to-day. Planning for this in advance with over-recruitment is always a great strategy to fill the complete quota on time. Building a few extra recruits into your project from the get-go means you have enough people even if there are one or two unavoidable drop-outs. Your project moves forward on schedule, costing you very little and avoiding significant stress in the moment.  

Final Thoughts

No matter what your qualitative research project is about, you need the right people to actually participate for it to succeed. Considering your strategies to improve your response and show rates is as important as the time you spend on your study design. Employing the suggestions above goes a long way to ensuring you get the participants you need, when you need them. 

Ease the burden of recruitment with an expert partner. Connect with us to tap into our experienced recruitment team. Let’s talk