Marketing Maven Test:

Q: Trustworthiness of Blogs: Of blog readers, what type of blog is more trustworthy and by how much - one produced by a company or one that is created by an individual employee?

a.  Company blog by 8%

b.  Company blog by 18%

c.  Employee blog by 8%

d.  Employee blog by 18%

A: Click here for the answer

Getting the Most from Online Surveys - Part Two

by Paul Schwartz

Since publishing Part One on this topic I have received many questions and been asked to review many online surveys for colleagues.  I get these requests because online surveys are now very easy to set-up and fairly inexpensive. Please remember, just because online surveys are easy to do, does not mean they are easy to do right.

1. Treat your survey as you would any other marketing piece.  Pay attention to the look and feel of your piece - brand it as though it were a piece of marketing collateral.  Use your logo, the same fonts, and a copy tone that you would use in any other marketing collateral.  If you don't, your survey participants may question where the survey is coming from and if it can be trusted.  Make it easy to navigate through the survey by paying attention to screen size and page breaks, and be sure questions are designed to get the highest response rate possible. 

2. Be aware of survey bias.  Take the time to understand some of the more common types of bias that exist in surveys.  Look at how often participants have replied to surveys in the past - what type of scale you are using for them to answer questions - are questions written in a way that may lead the participant to a particular answer - are respondents subject to survey fatigue due to a long list of answers - and if you are renting an online panel understand that not all are created equal.

3. Ask and they may expect to receive.  Don't just ask questions because you can, or because it would be "nice to know." Understand that by asking certain types of questions your customers may have expectations of changes to come.  As an example, a client asked me to implement a survey asking customers about extending their hours of operation.  I got several surveys back that commented on how happy customers would be with extended hours, and that they will now hold off switching to a competitor knowing this might be coming.  Imagine the relationship problems that would occur if my client was not serious about making this change.  Yes, they did extend their hours.

4. Test, test, test. I mentioned this in the first article and it is important enough to repeat here.  Have others read and take the survey.  Not just others from your company, but enlist those not associated with your company.  If you have a good relationship with some existing customers ask them to test it for you.  Have others who may have no experience with your company or industry test it as well.  Ask for direct feedback on ease of understanding, navigation, length, and the technology you are using..  Watch for a good flow to the survey but don't become so predictable that respondents just select responses as part of a routine.

5. Make results more useful - segment.  This requires that you ask certain questions that will categorize respondents, or you can use a survey engine that will allow you to do it yourself.  Segmenting responses will give you greater insight by uncovering patterns within distinct groups of survey respondents (customers). As an example, you may discover that those that have a long-term relationship with you and value a brand's reputation may not be as sensitive to price when deciding to purchase your product or service. 

Need help designing and implementing an online survey for a target market or your existing customers?   Please contact us for an introductory discussion to see how CONGRUITY can provide unique insights that help you identify, keep, and grow the right customers.  Visit us on the web at www.congruity.biz.

Copyright © 2005  CONGRUITY.

You received this newsletter because you've requested information from us in the past, we met at a local networking event (AeA, HTMA, RTA, UCSD CONNECT, etc.), we've worked together, you gave us a business card or sent an email. If you don't want to continue receiving this newsletter, we apologize for any inconvenience, and please click here to send us an email and we will remove you from our email list.