Editor's note: Tomohiro Hosono is the CEO of research firm dataSpring. Geoffrey Macadaeg is the digital marketing specialist at dataSpring. They are based in Manila, Philippines.
Technology has fast-tracked the development of surveys as market research tools, rendering paper and phone-based surveys almost obsolete in favor of online and mobile surveys. With each new format comes an increase in reach and efficiency as well as a decrease in the cost of executing projects.
Mobile research surveys have become a popular method for data collection worldwide due to a large pool of available respondents and the ease of conducting them. There are currently 3.986 billion active mobile internet users around the globe,1 meaning one in every two people access the internet on their mobile device. Based on a recent survey covering 170,000 internet users across 32 different markets, roughly 80% of online adults have a smartphone and this number is expected to increase in the future.2 Mobile devices are starting to complement, if not outright replace, desktop computers when it comes to checking e-mails, accessing social media and taking part in surveys.
Effective in Asia?
Mobile research has indeed become one of the more prominent tools in market research but can it be effective in Asia, specifically in the Asia-Pacific region?
In terms of possible reach, mobile research in Asia is a goldmine. According to GSM Association’s Mobile Economy Asia Pacific 2019 report, the region has been the biggest contributor to global subscriber growth in recent years and yet still shows potential for development, with more than 2.8 billion unique mobile subscribers or a 67% penetration rate of the total population in the region.3
Mobile internet penetration reached almost 45% of the entire population in 2018, with 62% of mobile users projected to have internet connection by 2025. A Statista report shows that mobile internet traffic in Asia accounts for almost two-thirds of global traffic.4 Additionally, a joint Google and Temasek annual report concluded that 90% of the digital users in Southeast Asia use mobile devices as their main point of access when going online.5 As mobile internet access in Asia improves, it allows market researchers to cast a wider net to get authentic sample data representative of its population.
More and more Asians are starting to participate in mobile surveys. Based on a study by B2B International, the markets with the highest levels of survey response rates are in Asia, particularly in Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore.6 The study points out that these markets usually see a 15-30% mobile device participation for B2C studies and 5-10% for B2B studies.
Insights from a wider audience
Simply put, mobile research surveys can be very effective in Asia due to the growing mobile internet user base. With more Asians from all walks of life connected to the internet through their mobile devices, market researchers have a better shot at getting the best marketing insights from a wider audience. The usage of mobile devices is bringing new exciting opportunities in market research data collection in Asia.
However, there are several caveats when conducting mobile research in Asia, from language barriers to possible misunderstandings due to the region’s rich cultural diversity. Based on our firm’s experience in handling Asian panelists, there are different ways to overcome these hurdles and make mobile surveys satisfying for both market researchers and respondents. Conducting mobile research in the region can be very rewarding if done right.
Keep it short and simple. Shorter mobile content is always better. Simpler phrasings will be understood more easily. Additionally, simplifying your survey without compromising your objectives allows your translators to localize your study properly and provide the right cultural context for you and your respondents. The shorter and simpler your survey will appear, the more likely you’ll retain your Asian respondents.
The screen space of a mobile device is a lot smaller than desktop devices so a survey that may look short on paper or screen may look longer on a mobile device. You should try to visualize and frame your questions as if you’re viewing them on mobile devices. Keep them short so that they can be viewed without requiring your respondents to zoom in, scroll down the page or tilt their mobile devices horizontally. For example, if you’re asking for your respondent’s gender, you don’t have to frame the question as “What is your gender?” A simple “Gender” will suffice.
Make it mobile-optimized. Some countries in Asia have insufficient mobile infrastructure, so there is some significant lag in connectivity in these parts of the region. If you want more respondents in Asia to receive and read your survey, you should optimize it and make it more accessible. Additionally, there are many Android users in Asia, so if you have survey features that won’t work on basic Android devices, respondents may have difficulty answering it. Finally, keep in mind that pages or apps with heavy video or interactive elements can drain battery life and expend mobile data.
One effective way of mobile-optimizing your survey is breaking it up into small sections so that your respondents can focus on your survey through a smaller screen. In this setup, questions must be arranged in a logical manner to make it easier for your respondents to organize their thoughts and navigate the survey.
Avoid fancy features. Fancy features like sliders and click wheels might look good and enticing in online surveys but when it comes to hand-held screens, they are hard to interact with as they require a higher degree of dexterity. Additionally, their load time on mobile devices might take longer or they might not even load at all due to compatibility issues. You should use the simplest answering formats, such as checkboxes and text boxes. They will be much easier for respondents to read and interact with.
Minimize device scrolling. Continuous scrolling on mobile devices can affect the respondents’ experience. It makes them exert more effort in completing your survey and there is a possibility that they might unintentionally push another button or swipe to another page, which can lead to further frustration.
There are two types of scrolling that you must be wary of. The first one is related to interlinking survey items or questions that are followed up with related questions. In this situation, your respondents will need to scroll back and forth to check their previous answers. It is both time-consuming and frustrating on mobile, so avoiding interlinked questions altogether is highly recommended.
The second instance of scrolling happens with single questions that have drop-down menus or selections that extend beyond the length of the mobile device screen. If an item requires a respondent to scroll down to read and answer, then it’s too long for mobile format.
Test, test, test. Before sending your survey to your respondents in Asia, always check if it’s suitable for distribution. You must make sure it is compatible with most mobile devices and operating systems and that it appears onscreen as intended.
You should also make sure your respondents will be able to complete the survey. It is highly recommended to send out a survey sample to a small number of respondents for testing first to check for quality. You should make sure there are no errors, offensive/taboo content or bias.
Great potential
Due to the high number of active mobile users and improvements in mobile internet penetration, there’s great potential for mobile research in Asia. With mobile research tools already primed for Asian panelists, what market researchers need to have now is complete familiarization of different local cultures, as well as a clear understanding of a mobile user’s mind-set to optimize their survey designs.
References
1 https://wearesocial.com/blog/2019/01/digital-2019-global-internet-use-accelerates
2 http://insight.globalwebindex.net/device-q1-2015
3 https://www.gsma.com/r/mobileeconomy/asiapacific/
4 https://www.statista.com/statistics/306528/share-of-mobile-internet-traffic-in-global-regions/