Mail Interviewing

Interviewing by mail offers a low-cost method of reaching consumers or businesses. Respondents are able to decide when to answer the questions, and questions on a self-completion questionnaire can be more complex or detailed than those in a telephone or personal interview.

If necessary, respondents can also discuss with other members of their company or household before answering specific questions. Diary studies, where respondents record information in "real time" on a daily basis, are ideally conducted by mail.

Mail Facilities

TNS Canadian Facts offers the ability to conduct mail surveys using client-supplied lists or using our mail panel.

CFO Mail Panel

The Canadian Family Opinion (CFO) panel is comprised of about 23,000 households who have been recruited to form panels of people willing to participate in mail surveys. The panel is large enough that for every survey conducted, a customized sample of households can be selected that is demographically representative of the specific universe required for the survey.

An extensive information file, which is updated regularly, is held for each participating household. As a result, it is often possible to select sub-samples of the population without carrying out an initial screening phase.

Panel maintenance is a main priority. Continuous communication with panel members ensures that high completion rates — typically in the neighbourhood of 65% — are achieved.