And lastly, let's go over mail surveys, one of the oldest forms of market research. Mail surveys are generally used as a means of eliciting information from a certain type demographic. Who prefers the old way of communicating and might now be computer savvy. However, for a variety of reasons, including the growth of the Internet use over the years, mail surveys are beginning to fade out. Using a mail survey is dependent on a reliable mail service in your part of the world. Given that, to deliver a quantitative survey by mail, you would make sure the survey is designed in a way that it stands out and is very attractive, has a self address stamp return envelope. Provides some sort of incentive or contribution to a charity, has reminder postcards sent with the deadline clearly marked. If possible, offers to send out highlights of the results. The cost involved in using the mail for your survey include cost for paper, cost for printer, cost for postage, cost for stuffing surveys and getting them mailed, cost for opening and keeping track of responses, cost for data entry into a computer database. There is a trend for using a mixed method approach, where people are notified by mail about an upcoming survey and then given the option of completing the survey online or by mail. I've had several instances of this type of approach through health care research, with a satisfaction survey following a doctor's appointment, that arrives at my residence. I often get notice of the survey via email as well. According to published journal research that compared mail and web survey in the non profit sector, the mail survey achieved a significantly high response rate than the web survey. And data obtained from the mail survey produced a higher internal consistency than that obtained from the mail survey. Lin Ryzin, 2011. According to this article, at least for non-profit type research, the mail survey, although more costly, may have response rate and data quality advantages over a web server as a methodology for gathering data. Just like other methods, mail surveys have strengths and weaknesses. The strengths are, you can track who sends in a response with tracking numbers attached to the bulk mail bar code. You can tap into people who are motivated to provide details and return the survey. You can add a personal, tactile touch and include an incentive, a special stamp, a dollar bill. The weaknesses are, the process is time consuming, people tend to procrastinate. So it's difficult to get them to return the survey, hence, response rate tends to be lower than other methods. You have no control over how people answer the questions. Sometimes you get a survey that is only partially filled out. People move and their mail may not be forwarded. It can be expensive. As far as response rates are concern, mail surveys are used with a good success in many contacts and response rates of 50% to 70% are common, with 90% possible in some cases. A mail survey is an old standard approach that, if done right, continues to be appealing to a certain type of demographic who prefers the old personal touch. Experts say the response rate can be much higher than an email survey, especially to a dedicated audience. [BLANK AUDIO]