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Maximize Your Omnibus Results: Ask the Right Questions

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Published: 14Feb2010
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The current state of the economy has seen an exponential increase in the popularity of omnibus studies. An affordable alternative to custom surveys for companies with shrinking or nonexistent research budgets, omnibus data is derived from shared polls sponsored by multiple clients. The effectiveness of an omnibus survey is defined by its design - i.e., the quality of the questions asked. Although market research agencies typically spearhead and manage omnibus design, clients who choose to participate more actively often end up with more relevant results. By working in tandem with a research firm to frame the right questions, you'll increase your chances of obtaining actionable omnibus data - and maximizing your research dollars.

Omnibus polls can meet a wide range of research needs, and are therefore employed within academic and governmental settings as well as the private sector. Any organization in need of public opinion to a series of questions can benefit from them. Participation in an omnibus poll is simple: An organization pays a research firm a set fee to insert the question(s) of its choice into an ongoing survey targeting a client-defined set of households or establishments. Frequently, these surveys consist of either web-based questionnaires or interviews conducted via email, telephone or in person. Demographic parameters for these households or establishments often include age, gender and occupation. Then data is extracted to achieve strategic consumer insights. We can take a larger set of results and boil it down to reflect the client's target demographic. Many companies can achieve meaningful results by participating with just one question - it is not always necessary to ask more questions (and spend more!) because sometimes it is good enough to have just one question in an omnibus survey.

Omnibus surveys offer another advantage - speedy turnaround time. Integration of just one question is almost immediate because polls are short in length and then are continually running in various locations and formats. That omnibus data can generally be collected and analyzed much quicker than data from a custom survey adds to the overall efficiency of the omnibus model. In some cases, results from an omnibus poll can be made available overnight.

The types of questions that show up in an omnibus study frequently belong to one of several categories. These can be classified as "simple" (questions that elicit a one-word response) "running prompts" (questions with multiple response options), "individual prompts" (questions with repeated sub-queries), and "multi-response" (questions that allow respondents to choose multiple answers). While these classifications remain more or less fixed, it is both possible and advisable to frame these questions in a manner that will optimize your results. Begin by choosing language that is appropriate for your audience as well as neutral in tone, diction and syntax. Neutrality is especially important, insofar as "loaded questions" inevitably yield biased - and therefore unusable - responses.

Relevancy is another key to strategic question design. While omnibus surveys cover a variety of topics by definition, ensuring that your question focuses on a single, relevant concept will similarly focus your respondent's attention on the issue at hand. To that end, you should avoid crafting "double-barreled questions" that seek to address two different concepts within the framework of a single question.

Another factor to consider when framing your questions is consistency. By making your questions consistent with the theme of the survey at large, you'll increase your chances of obtaining relevant answers from your respondents. The same can also be said for simplicity. Questions that don't rely on jargon and complicated sentence structures are more likely to elicit simple, clear answers - answers that can easily be translated into usable data. If there's no getting around a complicated question, try prefacing it with a short, clearly stated introduction.

Working closely with the experts at your marketing research company of choice will enable you to avoid the common pitfalls of taking a laissez-faire approach to omnibus participation. A credible firm will encourage proactive question writing on the part of their clients as a way of optimizing results - as well as their clients' investment. By taking an active role in the design of your omnibus research questions, you'll increase the odds of obtaining actionable data at a superior value.

Gareth Schweitzer is President of The Omnibus Company. The Omnibus Company, a division of Kelton Research, provides fast and accurate Omnibus surveys, Omnibus studies, and strategic consumer insights to public relations and marketing professionals looking for newsworthy, actionable data.

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