Consumer Surveys

© 2001 Linda Alexander

Per client specification and as originally published by:
Articleinsider.com

Consumer surveys tell marketers about consumer satisfaction with products. They are also used to predict consumer behavior, assess customers' opinions, and determine how well a product will do in the marketplace. While there are entire organizations devoted to nothing but market research, individual companies can do their own market research as well.

There are different methods used to conduct consumer surveys. Some are done by phone or in person. Others are mailed and the recipients fill them out and mail them back to the research organization. The newest type of survey is done over the Web.

Internet consumer surveys can be done in a variety of ways, too. Some involve answering questions on a password-protected website that respondents are invited to. Others accept answers from random visitors, who can simply click a radio button for the answer of their choice and view the results immediately.

Usually, long reports come back to the company that requested the information. They can be very detailed and provide conglomerated answers as well as individual responses to questions. A simpler alternative, in a short survey, would be a graphical representation of the data. It is easier to understand this way and to quickly grasp the information.

Companies conduct consumer surveys for a lot of different reasons, but one thing remains the same: the data is worthless unless you use it. Some companies analyze their data and don't like the answers, so they never do anything about it. Others, who truly value customer opinions, use the data to make changes that will be well-received among customers.

If the answers show that the company is doing something correctly, the company can continue its practices. Consumer surveys provide wonderful insight as to consumer opinion. One thing they can't do is provide qualitative data. For more in-depth answers, you would need to conduct a focus group or conduct personal interviews with customers.

Sampling in Consumer Surveys

In order for consumer surveys to be truly accurate, the samples of people asked must be large enough and random enough. For example, a readership survey is not truly random, since you have to be a reader of a magazine to participate in its survey. However, such a survey would be accurate enough to gauge the opinions of a closed group of readers. So the accuracy of the information is relative to the reason you need it.

Even if certain information is not representative of the whole population, it might be valuable to you. For example, unsatisfied customers might leave and never complain. The few who do complain can provide valuable insight as to why most customers are unhappy with your service.

Still, you should not spend thousands of dollars to improve a product based on a few complaints. Yet, if thousands of customers return your product, it is cause for concern. Also, the questions you ask can make a big difference. General attitude questions do not predict behavior, but answers about how people intend to act can predict behavior well.

Internet Surveys

When conducting Internet surveys, it is important to let your participants know about how long the survey will take to complete. The longer the time required, the fewer respondents you will have. Therefore, shorter surveys get higher response rates. Starting with the second page, let the respondents know how many more pages they have left. You could do this with a percentage bar or reveal the page number and how many pages there are in the whole survey. Do not start this with the first page, or they might not begin the survey.

When designing your Internet surveys, remember that perceived length is an important element. Make the form look short and easy to fill out. Some online surveys do this by breaking up the text or cutting the form into several pages. If the form looks too long, it will be intimidating and you will not receive as high of a response rate as you would with shorter forms.

Keep your design simple as well. A clean-looking page will keep your participants focused on the questions. Do not give them a way to navigate away from the survey to other areas of your website. If you do, they might click off the survey without completing it. Also, do not set default answers to your questions. This could influence the participant's response and you might not get accurate answers.

Internet surveys are conducted for as many reasons as there are companies who do research. You can learn about your current customers and find out what will make potential customers buy from you. You can identify new needs to fill and learn about trends that will bring more customers to you. Whatever your reason for doing the surveys, follow the above tips to receive a higher response rate and more accurate data.

Online Survey Software

Survey software can be expensive for many organizations. Instead of spending thousands of dollars on software you will only use once or twice, why not conduct your surveys online? Online survey software allows for unlimited flexibility and is more affordable than traditional survey software. In addition, you do not have to buy it. Instead, you can buy a subscription to an online survey site and only use it when you need it.

With online surveys, you have an amazing amount of flexibility, more so than with paper surveys. You can create an unlimited number of questions and you are not charged extra for longer surveys. Imagine the cost to print and mail long surveys on paper. With online surveys, that cost is eliminated.

To increase your response rates, you can create an email invitation with a link to your survey, or a popup invitation from your website. Many survey sites also offer templates for surveys, in case you are not sure what to ask. If you have your survey already written, you can also create a survey from scratch.

The time it takes to complete surveys greatly influences the amount of responses you get to your survey. To avoid any misunderstandings, let your participants know ahead of time how long it will take to complete the surveys. Many online survey sites offer a progress meter so respondents can see what percentage of the survey they have completed as they are filling it out.

Implementing Exit Surveys

Exit surveys allow you to determine why employees leave your company. Preventing just one employee from leaving can save you thousands of dollars, so the cost of this research is well worth it. Allowing an outside service to implement your surveys increases the employee's comfort level with answering the survey. They are more likely to be candid when the survey is anonymous.

With exit surveys, you can assess employee perceptions about management and supervision. You can ask about training and pay, advancement opportunities, and job satisfaction. You can also find out what could have been done to retain the employee, if anything. This way you will know how to prevent the same problems from happening again.

Exit surveys yield a high amount of useful data. Every company should implement them as they play an important role in attracting and retaining high-quality people. Once you have this knowledge, you can address the reasons why people leave and perhaps prevent others from leaving. You can remedy problems and make your workplace a more pleasant atmosphere.

Another important aspect of employee satisfaction is the work/life balance. Be sure to cover this on your surveys. Also ask about the organization as a whole and the employee's specific department, job, and duties. Finally, get feedback on compensation and benefits, as well as intrinsic rewards like value and meaning of the work.

Mobile Data Collection

Mobile data collection allows you to create online surveys and implement them on mobile devices such as PDAs and mobile phones. Today's mobile devices can accommodate many of the same features that are available on the Web, such as color images and logos. Collecting data this way is not only cutting-edge, but it can also help you reach audience members you might not reach any other way.

In today's busy world, it becomes more difficult to reach people each day. The world is cluttered with advertising messages, spam emails, and an excess of information. It takes creativity and forethought to reach people, but when you meet them on their own territory, they are more likely to receive your message and respond to it. Mobile data collection gets your message through in a way that is convenient for your audience members.

With mobile data collection, you can brand your surveys with your logo and include features such as web templates, progress meters, and specialized URLs for your surveys. If you need help, the company will be there to provide assistance. It is really simpler than it sounds, however.

Respondents will fill out the survey and your survey hosting company automatically collects the data and transfers it to a SQL database. You will have the information instantly displayed in graphs or tables. You can conduct the same survey over desktop computers and mobile devices, and put the data together in one place.

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