Survey methodologies can determine the quality of data, engagement rates of respondents and how well a feedback campaign will perform with the help of its platforms and research tools. Selecting the appropriate approach can significantly influence the quality and reliability of the results. Among the myriad of survey methods available, Computer-Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI) and audio surveys are often compared due to their widespread usage and technological differences. In this blog, we will tell you how audio surveys are different from CATI surveys and why audio forms can be a better way to scale your business at a reasonable cost.  

What are CATI Surveys?

Computer-Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI) is a telephone surveying method where interviewers use a computer-based system to guide the interview process. A CATI software enables the interviewers to follow a script displayed on a computer screen. This system provides automated branching, which directs interviewers to the next appropriate question based on the respondent’s previous answers.

Key features of CATI surveys:

• Scripted interaction: Ensures consistent and standardized interviews.
• Automated data entry: Reduces manual input errors and time delays.
• Real-time data management: Immediate access to collected data for review and analysis.
• Advanced call scheduling: Optimizes interview timing to improve response rates.

How are Audio Surveys Different from CATI?

Audio surveys leverage audio recordings to capture respondent data. This method uses voice notes via messenger applications (WhatsApp forms, Facebook messenger) or via chatbot surveys. People can share their experiences directly via a voice message without the need to type. The survey methodology can also employ audio survey questions where respondents listen to questions via their phone or another audio-enabled device and provide their answers through voice responses.

Comparison: CATI Surveys vs. Audio Surveys

When comparing CATI surveys and audio surveys, several key differences and advantages of audio surveys become apparent.

1. Customer Engagement Rates

• Response rate: CATI surveys have a low call pick up rate. Currently with spam calls increasing, people are more hesitant to receive a call, let alone respond to a long phone questionnaire. On the other hand, audio surveys via WhatsApp or Facebook messenger remove engagement barriers for people. You can collect the maximum amount of data in a short time. Since messenger apps are widely used, you can minimize the friction point and get high response and engagement rates. 
• Implementation & language selection:  CATI interviewers must know the language for the region they are interviewing. This can increase operational efficiency and cost. This is not a problem with audio surveys from Merren. You can curate multilingual surveys in a few clicks. Respondents can share their experiences in any language via Merren’s feedback form. Choose from over 100+ languages and remain free from comprehension barriers. While CATI can cater to a few local respondents, with Merren, you can go global.
• Higher completion rates: Audio surveys via WhatsApp, Chatbots and Messenger apps usually get a higher completion rate. The respondents can participate at their convenience without the pressure of a live interviewer. This flexibility can lead to more thoughtful and considered responses.

2. Data Collection Methods

• Customer database and storage: CATI uses manual data collection. This means there can be a huge chance for errors and misrepresentation of customer data. Audio responses can be stored automatically without any human bias or manual interference. CX professionals can be rest assured of the high fidelity of the original response.
• Data reliability: Audio surveys benefit from audio audits, a feature that allows for the review and verification of respondent answers. This capability, offered by Merren, increases data reliability. Additionally, since there is no interaction between the CATI interviewers and respondents, audio feedback via WhatsApp is free from data tampering.
• Clear responses: Audio recordings capture nuanced respondent emotions and intonations that can be lost in written transcriptions or interviewer notations.

3. Operational Differences

• Involvement of the interviewer: The main focus here is on manual intervention between the respondent and the interviewer. CATI requires trained operators to understand the dialect, language and responses of the respondent. Interviewers require a sharp ear to identify words that may not be so succinct from the respondent. Audio surveys can grasp every response without any manual intervention.  
• Survey flexibility: Audio surveys can be shared anywhere and at any opportune moment of interaction. The target audience can share their answers at their own convenience. 
• Survey automation:  CATI interviews can only be conducted at certain time zones. This will not be a barrier with Merren’s audio feedback campaigns. You can automate and schedule surveys at certain touch points depending on the interactions. Depending on where your customers are located, you can integrate with your preferred CRM systems and schedule feedback campaigns when you need.
• Scalability and logistical cost: The people who conduct the telephonic interviews can be moved depending on the location of operation. This incurs extra operational cost. Audio surveys only have a cost that is dependent on platform subscription fees. You can also easily scale to very large populations without the need for additional resources. This also means that you can simultaneously collect more data from customers without a CATI interviewer. 

4. Data Analysis & Integrations

• CRM integrations: Marketing professionals can integrate the audio feedback campaigns with their preferred campaigns. This will encourage CX professionals to curate survey rewards, automate feedback forms and collect responses via various touchpoints. This is hardly possible with CATI based feedback format.
• Capture emotional metrics: Current CX platforms have AI integration. This will allow CX pros to assess sentiment analysis and other emotional metrics. They can segregate the responses based on positive, neutral or negative feedback. If you are going the CATI route, there are certain nuances that can be missed by a human interviewer.
• Data storage: Manually saving data can perish with other information especially if the storage is not segregated systematically. When you use audio surveys via CX platforms, you can review the responses at any time of the assessment. You can get a unified view of the speech-to-text responses over the CX dashboard.

Future Trends of Audio Surveys

Technologies launched by Google and Amazon rely on human voice assessment. Google speech collects voice recordings to assess the data and bring up results as requested via audio format. This removed friction points over devices. The same can be applied when collecting customer feedback or conducting qualitative research. 

AI integrations with chatbot surveys have the capacity to conduct a conversation that mimics a human-like conversation. Since the chatbots have the capacity to handle complex conversations, GPT type integrations can offer seamless feedback collection. This will cut down on research time and bring in high survey engagement rates. AI intelligence can also frame the next question based on a customer’s previous answers (just like a human CATI interviewer). This can replace manual intervention and enable businesses to scale their feedback operations at a lower cost.

Industries in the FMCG or the retail sector can offer digital diaries as a way to collect in-moment survey responses. This allows respondents to capture their own audio and video format to capture experiences that are authentic and spontaneous. A digital diary can capture audio responses in the surveys that will be free of interviewer’s bias. AI and smart CRM integrations are now making this a possibility.  

Conclusion

CATI surveys have long been a staple in data collection methodologies. However as we move forward, there are more efficient ways of collecting data from our customers. This has to be seamless due to competitive advantages and people are no longer waiting to answer long questionnaires at touch points. Audio surveys present the customer experience segment with this kind of an advantage. Additionally, the scalability and flexibility of audio surveys make them suitable for a wide range of research needs. If you want to curate your own survey format with ease, sign up for a 14 day free trial with Merren. You can also use our AI Survey Builder here and get an instant customer feedback template in a few clicks.