Dodo Padlers Speak! Survey Results Are In

Thank you SO much to the 890 people who responded to our Dodo Pad survey in February.

I am delighted that two long time Dodo Padlers names came out of Lord Dodo’s hat and will be getting their 2024 Dodo Pad absolutely free.

We never hear enough from Dodo Pad users about what they like and don’t like. What features are valued? Is there anything else you’d like to see? We can sit and speculate in Dodo Towers as we debate design ideas and production priorities, but, we decided, it was far better to ask our valued Dodo Padlers.

And the response to our short survey was overwhelming and incredibly valuable - thank you!

What you said

The boffins in the west tower have been analysing the data and these are the headlines:

• 84% of Desk and A5 users valued the pouch for papers at the back of their Dodo Pads
• 70% of Desk users used the perforated corners on their Dodo Pad, but less than half of A5 and Mini users used them
• 79% of all users found the ‘this year’ forward planners useful
• 89% found the ‘next year’ forward planners useful
• 91% valued the blank pages at the end
• 95% said that paper quality was ‘quite important’ or ‘very important’
• And finally, 99% said their Dodo Pad was good or great value

And you left 17,065 words of comments about your Dodo Pad. 

• The word ‘love’ was used 255 times
• There were numerous requests for more blank pages
• A movable divider was a very common request 
• Requests for a birthday book to move from Pad to Pad each year
• Enthusiasm for a monthly Dodo Pad planner
• Calls for a small address book that can be slotted into the pouch for papers

The list above is a summary of themes. There were many other comments and we've read and discussed each one.

Finally, 98% of respondents would recommend their Dodo Pad to friends and family. 

What does it all mean?

Firstly, it was very gratifying to have confirmation that the Dodo Pad is loved by so many of its users and, particularly with the Desk diary, all the features are valued and used.

It was very pleasing to read that 99% of users thought the Dodo Pad was good or great value. It's an expensive product to produce, with every page hand drawn each year and produced in the UK, even before the impact of the upward cost pressures we're all facing. 

However, I don't want to use that an excuse to put the price up and, despite all the cost increases that we've seen, we will be keeping the cost of our main product, the Dodo Pad 2024 Desk Diary flat year on year at £19.99. 

For the 2024 Dodo Pad, we’re also going to do the following:

• Continue high quality plastic free and sustainable UK paper, printing and binding 
• Add four more pages to all Dodo Pads. Two new blank pages, a new ‘Notes’ page at the front and one more appendix page at the back; plus two all new additional pages (to be revealed on 23rd March 2023 when we launch pre-orders for the 2024 diaries)
• Continuing with the perforated corners and pouch for papers in the Desk diary
• Continue with a pouch for papers for the A5 diary

We are also going to:

• Explore creating a Birthday Book, Address Book, a Monthly Planner and Christmas Book  (this will be alongside working on a Book for Gardeners)
• Remind everyone that we already produce a clear moveable divider in Desk size which works with our softcover Dodo Pads and Notebooks which can be found here and Desk sized moveable laminated pouch dividers which can be found here. We will also look at other ideas for moveable dividers for all formats. Watch this space!

I really appreciate the time every respondent took to fill in the survey.

As ever, do please email me mafalda@dodopad.com or His Lordship lorddodo@dodopad.com with any comments, thoughts, ideas, whimsical diversions, jokes or Dodo Pad contributions.