Have you made the effort to find out what your audience is interested in? Do you care? Well, if you haven’t and you don’t, you might find that your competitive edge is suffering. By taking advantage of online surveys, you’ll leverage the desires of your customers and create a powerful online presence!
1. Use Online Survey Software
Instead of trying to reinvent the wheel, use an established product that’s known to produce results. Today’s online survey software installs in minutes and is easy to use. Let this tool create targeted questions that never annoy your readers.
2. Establish a Goal
Define your objective by deciding what information will help you satisfy your customer. You might want to ask your visitors if their needs were met or what features they would like to see added.
3. Identify Your Target Audience
Narrow down your survey pool from the entire world to a smaller target that could include:
– Website visitors
– Specific age groups or gender
– Social network members
– Shoppers for specific products
4. Write the Questions
Keep each question clear and concise. Stick to yes or no answers, don’t write leading questions that suggest an answer, and offer a space for comments or further explanation at the end. Remember to keep it brief. Most users will simply skip a long survey.
4a. Create an Attractive, Organized Format
Place the questions in a logical order. Include your company’s logo on the survey, but avoid flashy graphics that could make the survey slow to load. Use an easy-to-read font and simple colors that are easy on the eyes. A simple white background with black text is usually best.
5. Give Participants a Reason to Respond
While some people love to fill out surveys and give their opinion, most need a little motivation to fill out a questionnaire. Sometimes, it’s enough to simply state the purpose and offer to share the results. In other cases, an offer of a prize or other small reward can be used as an incentive. Contests and prize drawings also generate a substantial number of completed surveys.
6. Decide on a Distribution Method
How will you deliver the survey to your target audience? Possible methods include email, a web-site pop-up, or using a third-party survey company.
7. Test the Survey
Ask a few friends or business colleagues to take the survey and provide feedback. They should be looking for grammar and spelling errors as well as confusing questions. From their comments, revise the survey.
8. Conduct the Survey
At this point, it’s time to conduct the survey. Using your pre-determined distribution method, deliver the survey to your target audience.
9. Review the Results
As you analyze the answers to the survey, consider how they relate to your original goals. The results should indicate any changes that should be made to accomplish your original objective.
10. Take Action
Implement the required changes that were identified to improve your website and meet your customer’s needs.
Now that you know how to find out what your customer’s really want, it’s time to create a few surveys and take your site to the next level! After all, keeping readers – and, more importantly, turning readers into customers – is the objective.
