A review of empirical studies concerned with increasing response rates to mail questionnaires reveals the limited evidence upon which most widely accepted techniques are based. The only techniques which seem to be consistently effective in increasing response rates are followup letters and monetary incentives enclosed with the mail questionnaires.

Market researchers have long recognized the obvious advantages of mail questionnaire surveys. They are relatively low in cost, geographically flexible, and can reach a widely dispersed sample simultaneously without the attendant problems of interviewer access or the possible distortions of time lag. Difficult to reach respondents, such as farmers, soldiers, or busy executives, can be surveyed with relative ease [82], Businessmen and academic researchers favor mail surveys for reasons of expediency, since data can be procured more quickly, more abundantly, and more cheaply than when a personal interview is employed [46],Mail questionnaires are free from the costs and time consumption of interviewer bias or variability [7, 8, 9,17,31,41,44,70], Their relative or promised anonymity encourages respondents to freely divulge private or embarrassing or socially undesirable information [50,56,60,84], Finally, mail questionnaires tend to be more valid than either telephone or personal interviews because they enable respondents to check information by verifying their records or consulting' with other members of the family [59], and because they permit leisurely and thoughtful reply. Leslie Kanuk is Assistant Professor of Marketing and ConradBerenson is Professor of Marketing, Baruch College, City University of New York, The major disadvantages of mail surveys are generally believed to be their low response rates, with the attendant problems of response bias and nonresponse bias [1,5, 10,20,21,23,32,42,69, 78,81]. Efforts to increase the response rates to mail questionnaires are periodically reported in the literature, yet the most recent literature review appeared in a British journal back in 1961 [71], Various research reports published both before and since that time indicate that, contrary to general belief, some very high mail questionnaire response rates have been achieved.Empirical studies designed to improve the validity and reliability of mail surveys can be divided into two categories: those designed to increase response rates and those designed to reduce biases caused by nonresponse or special interest response. The reasons for this two-pronged effort are obvious. The greater the response, the more accurately it will estimate parameters in the population sampled. However, findings are representative of the population only if those people who do not respond to the questionnaire do not differ in significant ways from those who do respond. If they do differ, the kind and degree of such differences must be carefully estimated so that the findings may be properly weighted to reflect more accurately the population under study, INCREASING THE RESPONSE RATEEfforts to increase the response rate have variously been classified by timing(i.e., preliminary, concurrent, and followup efforts) and by technique (i.e., questionnaire length, size, survey sponsorship, return envelope and stamps, personalization of letter, method of reproduction, format, layout, color, anonymity, premiums or rewards, and deadline date). Methods clas...

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

The purchasing executive must follow a number of strategies in the course of successfully fulfilling his mission. All of these strategies, of course, must strive to maximize the long-run opportunities and survival of the enterprise. There are times, for example, when the energies of the purchasing department must be directed towards improving the quality of the materials and services that the firm obtains. There are other times when the purchasing efforts must emphasize inventory control, shipping procedures, regional supply centers, etc.At all times, however, it is clear that well-thought-out strategies have to be followed, and that priorities need to be established by the purchasing manager for a broad range of possible actions. 1 The necessity for doing this raises the obvious questions: "What guidelines shall the purchasing manager use? What are to be his criteria for establishing his strategies and setting his priorities?" This paper presents a brief exposition of one extremely important concept which provides some of the answers to the purchasing manager's questions. Still too new to be widely known, this is the concept of "The Product Life Cycle."2 Successful application of the lifecycle concept will permit the purchasing executive to make decisions with greater accuracy, relevance and foresight.

No abstract

The author provides insights into the need for marketing information systems and discusses their benefits, organizational needs, structural requirements, and general limitations. Illustrations of current marketing information systems are provided.