Razia is on the Opinionest panel for market research about lifestyle topics. She’s filled out online surveys earlier. When she’s invited to participate in a healthcare-based CATI survey, she hesitates as it’s a telephonic interview, and she needs to interact with an agent. Talking to someone over a call about her opinions, several of which might be negative, gives her goosebumps.

What if the panel company debars her from future surveys? As a student in a nursing course, legit surveys add to her pocket and let her maintain a better lifestyle than most students. So, she reaches out to our support team.

Here are the tips we offered her to manage the first CATI survey so that she communicates without hiccups.

How to Communicate Effectively with Your CATI Survey Interviewer

1. Don’t Skip Pleasantries and Introduction

As a CATI survey participant, ice-breaking is as much your responsibility as is the interviewer’s.

Most often, they’re trained to start the conversation and inform you about the survey and process. However, participate with energy and enthusiasm to keep the discussion lively and smooth.

Your crisp opening over the telephonic interview makes the interaction smooth for leveraging expert market research. Stick to what the agent asks, and don’t elaborate too much. You might like to ask a few things about the survey, like Razia.

Keep scrolling to learn that.

2. Understand the Agenda and Scope

A CATI survey enumerator always introduces you to the survey’s purpose, context, and scope. If you don’t understand how the survey is relevant, don’t hesitate to ask questions.

Understand why you’re being called for this survey. Perhaps you’re in their database as an expert on a topic, or you’ve used a product. Razia doesn’t hesitate to ask about the context and scope of the healthcare topic as a nursing student.

Learn how your inputs will be used and how the survey’s outcome will impact the product.

3. Participate Actively and Attentively

Your active participation is crucial to a CATI survey. Be attentive to the interviewer and answer all the questions properly. Due to CATI being a telephonic interview, you might face a connectivity issue, voice break-up, or noise, as Razia does.

Although such situations are rare, she doesn’t lose her patience and keeps seeking the CATI agent’s assistance.

Ask them to repeat a question or elaborate if unclear or illegible. They’re there to help you, trained and instructed, other than collecting data.

4.     Offer Honest Answers

As the surveys go, CATI also needs you to answer all the questions honestly. You might not know an answer or don’t understand certain terms. In such cases, tell the interviewer your lack of awareness without hesitation. The survey, agent, or brand never judges you for your unawareness.

Also, don’t answer just to gain some points or incentives or be in the good books of the panel. Voice out your opinions just how you feel. Market research consultants conduct surveys to improve a product or a brand, and only your honest opinions can facilitate that.

5.     Reply Clearly and Crisply

You might be an expert on the topic of the CATI survey. For instance, Razia knows about CPR and the vital health stats of a patient because of her education. That doesn’t mean she starts sharing her deep and technical knowledge on a question more than necessary. She sticks to the points and makes it clear, like a layperson for the agent.

Know that the interviewer is trained on CATI and not the topic. Your elaborate answers might waver their progress.

Same goes for tangential opinions. The survey is collecting Razia’s opinion on sutures. But they don’t ask about her institute’s policies for sutures and patient care. So, she doesn’t express her resentments or praises, if any, for the institute.

6.     Be Polite and Respect the Interviewer

Situations like unclear voices, long surveys, and difficult scenarios aren’t uncommon in a CATI survey. If any of these have irritated you, still maintain your calm. The interviewer is only collecting data after your consent. So, don’t blame them for the flaws in the process, software, call clarity, or your lack of knowledge.

Be polite and respect their time and efforts.

7.     Share Doubts and Concerns

Most surveys pose a few common worries to the participants, like their data security, incentivization, and exposure of their opinions in the survey’s results. If you’ve any similar concerns, don’t hold yourself back from asking relevant questions.

Razia hesitates to share some of her experiences when asked, as it might affect her career. But the enumerator assures her of privacy. Opinionest teams, like most market research consultants, stick by their data sharing policies.

Bonus: Provide Feedback (If Asked)

Razia’s first experience goes well with the CATI survey, and she waits to say so to the agent.

If the surveyor asks you to offer feedback about the interview, their performance, or the process, offer a polite, true, and clear opinion. But don’t criticize them for a flaw in the system or an unclear call.

Inputs on the CATI process enhance user experience and engagement for top market research companies and panels.

Willing to Participate in CATI Surveys?

Opinionest, a panel company of one of the expert market research companies based in India, offers participants legitimate and rewarding online and CATI surveys. If you want to make a difference in the market by voicing out your opinions, register with us for free.