When Quota Groups is selected on a Panel Survey, you can target various demographic data based on trait availability per country. Depending on the country, you may be able to target by Gender, Age range, Household Income, Race/Ethnicity, Education, Employment Status, Career, Relationship Status, Parental Status, Child Age & Gender, and Location, per quota group. If no changes are made to the default setup, your survey will be fielded organically — with no balancing of any kind.

When Quota Balancing is selected for US-based surveys, you may balance respondents by two to six traits according to US census data. The number of traits depends on your sample size. For international surveys, Quota Balancing by census is available only by Age and Gender.

Learn more about adjusting demographics on the Target Market page in the Lighthouse Academy!

Using Quota Groups

1. Click the dropdown menus and sliders to adjust the demographic traits of your target audience.
2. Click Add at the bottom of a group to add another quota group, or select a set of pre-configured groups from the Custom Quota Groups dropdown.
3. Click the N or % above the first Quota Group to toggle proportion View Mode.
4. Click the text box to the left of a quota group to adjust the proportion of responses desired from that group. As you change the percentage or number, the proportions of other Quota Groups automatically adjust.
5. Click the lock icon to reset quota group proportions.

💡 Tip: Quota Groups are not limited to the United States — you can create custom quota groups for any country using the traits available for it.

Using Quota Balancing for International Surveys

For surveys fielded outside the US, age and gender balancing is available based on individual country census data.

1. With any country selected on the Target Market page, click the Demographic Quotas dropdown and select Quota Balancing.

All quotas reflect country census data and are fulfilled on a best-effort basis. To adjust these quotas or balance by only one demographic, choose Quota Groups instead.

Using Quota Balancing for US Surveys

Balance your survey by the 2021 US Census at the total level in non-nested quota groups on up to six demographics: Gender, Age range, Income, Region (location), Race, or Hispanic Origin. The system attempts to achieve the listed percentages within an acceptable tolerance for each trait individually.

1. Click the Demographic Quotas dropdown and select Quota Balancing.
2. Check the boxes to select at least two traits to balance by.

⚠️ Note: N=300 minimum for 2–4 traits; N=600 minimum for 5 traits; N=800 minimum for 6 traits. A minimum of two demographics is required — to balance on only one demographic, use a preset Quota Group instead.

To use other census data, contact our Customer Engagement team.

Important Considerations

• Quota Balancing (by census data) requires a minimum of 300 respondents.
• Use Quota Balancing only when your target market reflects the US Census and has an IR above 70%, or for international surveys, an IR above 20%.
• For the best fallout, wait until the survey completes before cleaning open-ended responses. The survey will automatically replace rejected responses.
• For more customized targeting or exact balance at the intersection of demographic traits, use Quota Groups or contact Customer Engagement.
• When using Quota Balancing for US sample, respondents who self-describe as non-binary will not be excluded — they'll enter the survey based on other balancing criteria (e.g. age, income, region, or race).
• US Census Balancing for ages 18–65 is available upon request. Contact your Account Manager or support@aytm.com to discuss enabling this preset on your account.
• Both Quota Groups and Quota Balancing create quotas based on demographic traits only. To learn more about setting a quota for a question in your survey, contact support@aytm.com.