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Survey Your Customers |
Why would you use an email or online survey when you could simply call your clients and customers and ask for their input?
Lots of reasons.
And have you figured out how long it would take to have 100 fifteen-minute conversations instead? (I don't have to do the math to know that it's WAY too long!)
So in this article, I'm going to talk surveys. How to find them, how to do them, and how to make the most of your results. Here goes....
1 - Clarify Your Objectives
You might want to get your clients' input on your products and services, let them know you really care about what they think, or learn what keeps them up at night. (Or anything in between....)
Before you start, be very clear about what you'd like to accomplish. Then, be sure that each question on your survey will get you a step closer to your goal.
2 - Choose a Survey Company
These services come at a variety of prices (from free to quite expensive), and with a variety of options (from basic to quite extensive).
Zip around the web a bit to find what's out there, and what seems most appropriate for what you're doing. In your wanderings, you may want to check out:
3 - Keep it Short
So be respectful of their time by keeping your survey short (no more than 10 questions, unless absolutely necessary) - and easy to fill out and return.
The easier it is do complete, the more responses you're likely to get.
4 - Mix It Up
Try to mix up your question format to keep it interesting. Lots of essay-type questions often seem "too hard" for respondents. Conversely, all multiple choice questions can get a bit boring.
5 - Get it Out There
Often, you'll be looking for responses from a much broader audience, say, self-employed individuals over 50, or all coaches in North America. In this case, you may want to email the survey link to your list, and ask recipients to forward the survey to anyone they know who fits your category. (You'll want to give them a compelling reason to do so!)
6 - Make Course Corrections
Here's why that's important: If the answers you're getting don't answer your questions in the way you expected, you'll have the opportunity to revise your survey, on the spot. Revise a question ... replace it ... change the order ... integrate something you learned from a respondent ... add something you forgot.
Get in there, see what's happening, and make course corrections if necessary.
7 - Analyze Results
If you use a survey service that offers them, check your data in different formats, from pie charts to graphs.
And just as importantly, what "qualitative" information comes through?
8 - Use Results to Improve Your Business One thing I've learned over the years is that people don't always do what they "say" they're going to do on surveys! And in that sense, surveys can be misleading.
In terms of trends, directions, feelings, interests, etc., however, results tend to be pretty accurate.
Net net?
Proceed boldly, but with caution. (Always test before you make a BIG leap!)
9 - Use the Report as a Special Offer Let's face it, humans are pretty curious. We send in our answers to a survey or questionnaire, and then wonder what all the OTHER people had to say. Capitalize on this curiosity! You can:
10 - Use Surveys Often
Let's face it ... a survey is a terrific tool, and if you haven't yet, I hope you'll give one a try soon. |