Surveys are a powerful tool that have been used for decades by businesses eager to “get inside the heads” of their clients and stay competitive in an increasingly dog-ear-dog business environment. These days, with the world a quicker and smaller place than ever due to the advent and proliferation of technologies that mean that your brand is effectively global as soon as you have an online presence, it is more important than ever that you are aware of what is going on in your market.
Surveys are also a great way for building client relationships, and with the power of social media reigning supreme, your clients are perhaps your best and cheapest form of marketing.
Even though we have ascertained that surveys are an integral part of business success, it is still a time-consuming event to organize, execute, and analyze. However, following are some ways to make the process as simple as possible for both your clients and yourself:
Using the Correct Survey Technique
As a business, it is imperative that you stay with the times. It is also essential that you stay with the times when it comes to conducting a survey. Door-to-door and phone surveys are from the Stone Age. The only way to conduct a survey is with a mobile survey app.
Mobile survey apps are a natural evolution from the smartphone and tablet revolution. As well as being a much friendlier form of survey that enables the surveyor to accurately target interviewees and approach them on neutral territory where they will be more willing to give of themselves and their time, they also holds numerous benefits for the party commissioning the survey as they are cheaper and quicker to organize (and amen if necessary), can be uploaded to the cloud, analyzed in real-time, enable automated analysis, and offer opportunities to spice up the survey with media that cannot be offered over the phone or without a portable computing device.
Using the Correct Messenger
We all know the refrain, “Don’t shoot the messenger.” However, what if the messenger is worthy of being shot? Are the people conducting the survey on your behalf worthy of being your messengers? Are they well groomed? Do they have an outgoing and friendly personality conducive to attracting interviewees and being brand ambassadors? Do they care about what they are doing and realize its importance?
Your interviewers are the front line of your company’s corporate image. This cannot be stressed highly enough. Pay a bit more if required but a good surveyor will get your quota of surveys speedily and this is vital as time is money.
Using the Correct Survey Questions
Don’t start off a survey with the tough questions as this will repel prospective interviewees. Let them be eased into the survey with simple questions, and gradually build up the difficulty factor so that it seems like a natural progression and not a chore. This will not only improve response rate but also leave the interviewee with a feeling of satisfaction that they have assisted you.
Using Incentives
Nothing succeeds like an inducement. Offer interviewees a gift certificate, discount card, or some other incentive and watch them flock to the survey. Even better, let them scan a QR Code at the end of the interview for a mystery prize.
However important a survey is, you want it completed quickly. The above techniques will aid you in achieving this task.
About the Author
Written by Sharon from Dooblo, visit us to find out about capi survey software.