Effects of repetition and consistency of personalization treatments on response rate in mail surveys

One unequivocal finding of past research has been that follow-ups improve response rates in mail surveys. Several ways to construct sophisticated data collection systems using follow-ups in combination with other response-improving techniques are discussed, giving rise to the issue of whether repetition of techniques in each follow-up is more effective than single use in the first mailing. Two experiments were conducted to examine the effects of repeated versus single implementation of personalization of the outside envelope. A consistent use of personalization procedures in each mailing obtained a higher response rate than an inconsistent one, consisting of personalization of the first mailing with impersonal follow-ups. A second experiment showed repeated personalization to be more effective than repeated impersonal mailings.