1525-0012-0172

UNITED STATES MINT

QUANTITATIVE CONSUMER RESEARCH – S MINT MARK SURVEY

6/29/2012

1. Purpose of the Research

The purpose of conducting the United States Mint S Mint Mark Survey is to assess customer interest in products containing “S” Mint Mark America the Beautiful quarters. Traditionally, the America the Beautiful circulating quarters have been minted exclusively at the Philadelphia and Denver Mints. In honor of the San Francisco Mint’s 75^th birthday, the United States Mint is considering producing bags and rolls of circulating-quality quarters minted in San Francisco. The results from this research study will be used to assist the Brand Management Division in developing America the Beautiful S Mint Mark products for FY 2013 that more closely align with customer interests.

Executive Order No. 12862 (September 1993), titled “Setting Customer Service Standards,” established a mandate for the government to improve and adhere to best practices when providing customer service directly to the American people such as surveys of customers to determine the kind and quality of services they want and their level of satisfaction with existing services (Section 1b). The United States Mint continuously strives, as part of its mission, to provide the highest quality service to the American people. To effectively accomplish these goals, it is crucial for the United States Mint to know and maintain awareness of customer preferences and needs and to continuously monitor customer satisfaction. To that end, this study will enable the Mint to maintain high levels of customer satisfaction through offering products that customers are interested in.

There would be no direct consequences to federal program or policy activities if this collection is not conducted other than the United States Mint’s ability to offer collectible coin products for sale that customers are interested in. This is a one-time collection, intended to assist the United States Mint develop new product strategy.

II. Sample Design and Methodology

The United States Mint S Mint Mark Survey is designed to be web-based, with customers receiving an e-mail invitation. The targeted sample for this survey is a total of 1,500 customers.

The sample for this study will include customers who have purchased America the Beautiful bags and rolls, America the Beautiful quarter circulating and uncirculated sets, and proof/silver proof or quarter proof/silver proof sets in the past 2 years.

3. S Mint Mark Survey Design

The survey should take approximately 10 minutes to complete. Each respondent will evaluate his/her likely interest and likelihood to purchase an “S” Mint Mark roll, a set of quarter rolls that includes a roll of “S” Mint Mark quarters and “S” Mint mark quarter bags.

3. Methods to Maximize Response Rates

This survey approach is designed to minimize the amount of intrusion and burden that is placed on customers. Accordingly, calls will not be made, nor will other “intrusive” measures that normally might be used to maximize response rates. We plan to send e-mail invitations to customers explaining that participation is totally voluntary. No monetary incentive will be offered.

For United States Mint customers, we typically achieve very high response rates (4%-10% depending on the spend segment) even without an incentive. We keep surveys to a manageable length and keep the surveys interesting. We ensure that our data provides reliable population-level inferences by carefully designing the sampling plan with appropriate strata and sample sizes and by weighting the data to account for the survey design and to adjust for nonresponse.

3. Estimate of the Burden Hours

The collection of information will involve completion of the survey via the Internet with up to a maximum of 1,500 randomly selected respondents. The average survey will take approximately 10 minutes. Therefore, the total estimated burden for this survey is 250 hours.

	S Mint Mark Survey
All respondents	1,500
Average Interview Minutes	10
Total estimated burden hours	250

The burden hours were calculated by multiplying the number of respondents (1,500) by average (survey) interview minutes (10) and dividing that number by 60 minutes, which results in 250 burden hours.

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