In market research, the incidence rate (IR) can be explained as the percentage of participants from a sample group who will be eligible for the research an organization is conducting. It frequently refers to the qualification rate.
A high incidence rate increases the number of participants who are eligible for the study, increasing its viability and lowering its cost.
A low incidence rate indicates lesser participants are eligible for the research, thus increasing its difficulty and cost.
Examples of Incidence Rate
The requirements for eligibility for a focus group or online survey aid in calculating the research's occurrence rate. For instance, your IR will suddenly reduce from 100% to 50% if a brand just wants to reach only women. Furthermore, the incidence rate will fall much lower, to less than 20%, if the same brand is interested in surveying women who have kids below the age of 18.
Organizations must also remember that consumer or client surveys are not covered by IR. This is due to the fact that every single one of the consumers automatically qualifies for the research when organizations offer them a consumer satisfaction survey.
But if you just want to filter and validate customers who have purchased your products in the last three months, your IR will fall under 100%.
How do Businesses Calculate IR?
The formula used to calculate the IR for a market research study is as follows:
Incidence = # of people who qualify / (# of people who qualify + # of people who do not qualify)
Using the aforementioned example as a guide, the IR analysis would look as follows if a brand only wanted to survey women:
IR = 50 women / (50 males + 50 women)
How does IR Influence Market Research Expenses?
IR is used by market research firms to predict how hard it will be to contact the target population and how many participants will be eligible for the research project.
Surveys that have low incidence rates necessitate more effort to collect finished surveys, greater survey completion fees, and increased project expenses overall.
It's a result of the challenges involved in gathering many completions from a narrowly focused audience. Nothing affects market research expenses more than the IR, aside from the survey's length.
Low IR may disclose many things. A market research may not be practical if companies are aiming for a targeted population with an IR below five percent. In this situation, the market research firms suggest lowering the criteria to boost efficiency, reach a wider audience, and reduce expenses.
How to Improve IR in Surveys?
Here are a few strategies for raising IR in market research:
Flexible in Quotas
Think about reducing your quotas to enable oversampling if you are establishing them to assure participation from various categories of audiences.
Proper Targeting
Send invitations to people born after a specific year when you only are interested in interviewing people below the age of 30 and the database file contains their DOB. Avoiding disqualifications not only improves the experience for your clients but also raises the survey's occurrence rate.
Reduce Screening Criteria
Try to relax the rigidity of your requirements. If you are interested in polling those that visit your store no less than once each week, extend it to once every two weeks or once a month. As a result, more people will be eligible.
Author's Detail:
Kalyani Raje / Linkedin
With a work experience of over 8+ years in the market research and strategy development. I have worked with diverse industries, including FMCG, IT, Telecom, Automotive, Electronics and many others. I also work closely with other departments such as report writing, content writing, product development, and marketing to understand customer needs and preferences, and develop strategies to meet those needs.
Author's Detail:
Kalyani Raje /
LinkedIn
With a work experience of over 10+ years in the market research and strategy development. I have worked with diverse industries, including FMCG, IT, Telecom, Automotive, Electronics and many others. I also work closely with other departments such as sales, product development, and marketing to understand customer needs and preferences, and develop strategies to meet those needs.
I am committed to staying ahead in the rapidly evolving field of research and analysis. This involves regularly attending conferences, participating in webinars, and pursuing additional certifications to enhance my skill set. I played a crucial role in conducting market research and competitive analysis. I have a proven track record of distilling complex datasets into clear, concise reports that have guided key business initiatives. Collaborating closely with multidisciplinary teams, I contributed to the development of innovative solutions grounded in thorough research and analysis.
