In our last blog, we shared the relevancy of a survey in marketing strategies. We shared the importance of real feedback from real people, positioning yourself as an industry leader, and making better decisions with precise data gathered from the survey. If you missed it, you can read “3 Reasons Surveys Are Still Relevant”. We want to continuation our discussion of surveys by sharing best practices when you create a survey campaign.
How many times has a survey been suggested in a meeting and the same person offers to create it and send it out? Sometimes it gets sent out. Sometimes it doesn’t. It soon becomes an afterthought. Surveys need to be treated as a strategic marketing tool and planned out before it is broadcasted. If someone suggests a survey, that’s great! Just keep in mind that you need to think it through first. Here are four ways to make that survey successful.
- Determine the purpose of the survey
No one likes a survey with random questions. Your survey needs to have a purpose. Why are you conducting the survey? To get feedback about a product or service? To understand how your audience buy online? To determine if you should enter into a new vertical? Answers from a survey without purpose will only confuse you. When you have a purpose and the survey taker knows the purpose, you will receive quality answers that will help you make better decisions.
- Keep your survey length and depth within reason
Surveys are not the place to ask every question that you can think of when gathering information. Survey takers will abandon the survey or skip questions if they feel like you are asking too much. To avoid this, you should ask questions that are relevant and most helpful for your research. It should take the survey taker no more than 5 minutes to take the survey. Ideally, you should keep it to 1-3 minutes. You can check this by testing the survey yourself or ask a couple of employees to take the survey and let you know how it takes.
- Use your CRM or email marketing platform to broadcast the survey and gather data
If you are using a CRM for your sales funnel, use it to create a survey and send it out. Most CRMs should have this feature. If you are not using a CRM, you may want to consider x2CRM which has a survey feature or a service like Survey Monkey, Google Survey or Zoho. A CRM is most ideal because you can capture both data and leads. Because they opted in to take the survey, you can follow up through the CRM and nurture your relationship with them.
- Share your research
You can give back to those who take the survey by sharing the data. When people feel like they are helping for the common good of a product or service and will see the results from their participation, they are more likely to take the survey. Not only do they feel appreciated, they will remember you or look to you as the expert. The best way to share the survey results is in the form of an infographic or ebook. Either one gives you the freedom to craft a story around the results with visuals and engaging content. To do this, you will need to require an email address in the survey.
Next time someone says you should conduct a survey, tell them that is a great idea, but take the time to plan it before you create it. By doing so, you will reap the benefits of quality data gathering. If you have questions about creating a survey, let us know. We would love to answer them.
