The Effects Of Cover Letter Format And Appeal ON Mail Survey Response Patterns

Low response rates remain the primary obstacle to the cost effective use mail surveys in market research.  This study examines the efficacy of two cost-free techniques for improving the efficiency of this methodology.  The effects of three different appear strategies and cover letter formats were examined in 3 x 3 factorial design.  The egoistic appear produced higher response rates than either “help-the-sponsor” or social utility appears.  This effect was most pronounced when the appeal was presented in the post script of the cover letter.  Consistent with the results of a previous study, a control group which received no appeal manipulation yielded the highest response rate.  Psychological reactance and self-perception theory were used to account for these results