Whether you are trying to reach prospects or get a handle on your existing customers before launching a new marketing initiative, online surveys are a great tool to gather the information you need to make informed decisions.
There are a variety of different types of surveys that may benefit your business. A few surveys commonly used in marketing are:
1) Customer Satisfaction Surveys give you an opportunity to get direct feedback from your customers. Some reasons to conduct a customer satisfaction survey:
Identify opportunities for improvement
Obtain feedback on existing products or services
Gauge desire for potential products or services
Demonstrate to customers that you care about their needs and you’re listening to their feedback
Incentivize and reward sales staff based on results
Measure customer loyalty
2) Market Research Surveys can help you learn more about your target market. With market surveys you can:
Measure brand awareness
Increase brand awareness by educating prospects on what you offer
Learn what matters most to your potential customers
Gain insight into your customer demographics
Determine how best to reach your target audience
Learn about perception of competitors
3) Event Surveys are crucial if you host meetings or events. Event surveys allow you to:
Make informed adjustments for future events by obtaining feedback on things such as:
Topics – were they relevant and timely; does your audience have other topic suggestions?
Speakers – were the speakers well-versed on the topic; were they informative; do they have speaker suggestions?
Format – did the event flow well; was it too long; too short?
Food – how was the food service; were special diets accommodated?
Venue – was it easy to find; how was the seating arrangement and speaker location; were the sound and lighting okay; how was parking; were the support staff helpful?
Executing a survey is easier than ever with several online survey tools. A couple of popular ones include SurveyMonkey and SurveyGizmo. Both provide easy-to-use customer interfaces for setting up and distributing surveys. They also provide extensive reporting. Survey Monkey offers a free, basic plan that allows for a survey up to ten questions and 100 responses. With paid plans you have a lot more flexibility and with some plans you can customize surveys using question skip logic and piping. For the simplest survey structure, check out Net Promoter, which targets current customers with just one key question.
If you’re considering conducting a survey, but aren’t sure where to start, we can help. Contact us today.
