5 min read
What are omnibus surveys, and how do they work?
Consumer-centric brands need to know their target audience’s opinions, needs, and preferences. And for this, different market research tools allow users to obtain the necessary insights to make better decisions. One of these methods is the omnibus survey.
The word omnibus comes from Latin and means “for everyone,” that is, for collective use. In marketing, omnibus surveys are a quantitative research tool used to reduce the costs of setting-up small surveys. In an omnibus survey, different companies contract a limited number of questions that form one single questionnaire. When the survey fieldwork finishes, each client receives the results of their own questions. This way, research access is facilitated, speeding up the process and reducing costs.
Characteristics of omnibus surveys
The omnibus survey is a flexible, fast, and cost-effective tool used to carry out a market research survey or an opinion poll to obtain information from the public on any topic. Market researchers use it to identify new trends or needs that have not been covered, to know the perception of the brand or a product or service, to segment users to find the buyer persona, and many more.
The most common data collection methodology is online interviews, although it is still possible to find omnibus surveys based on telephone or face-to-face interviews. The survey will launch as a one-off or several times to compare evolution.
Most omnibus surveys target national representative population samples – that way every company can include questions on it. The demographic data is the only part of the survey that is shared among the different clients of the omnibus survey.
Advantages and disadvantages of the omnibus survey
The omnibus survey is a market research technique that has different pros and cons, so the suitability of its implementation must be analyzed case by case.
Pros:
- Reduced cost, since it is shared among different companies
- Speed, since it is straightforward to include questions and the results are gathered in a short space of time
Cons:
- Sample cannot be customized
- They are not suitable for studies targeting hard-to-find populations
- Not recommended for long-term studies or when the topics are sensitive
Alternatives to omnibus surveys
Omnibus surveys have been a useful method for a long time for efficient small studies, however, today there are solutions that maintain their advantages without presenting the drawbacks of this methodology.
Through an insights automation platform like Zinklar, you can save time and resources by connecting to over 140 million consumers from 80 countries. Users can choose from a national representative or segment the audience from over 2000 predefined profiles. Anyone can easily create high-quality and intuitive surveys using pre-built guided templates, the questions library loaded with 24 carefully curated questions, or creating a survey from scratch with 12 questions, including video answers, heat maps, and more. The results from studies are available to view life, and most projects close within four hours. In addition, you have advice from research experts every step of the way.
Do you want to see for yourself? Create your account and launch your survey right now by accessing the Zinklar platform.
