Do surveys work? There is certainly a plethora of surveys around at the moment and I get bombarded with them daily. Here we look at benefits
How would I judge a survey
First, we looked at the definition of a survey
This is always an interesting question and it depends on the Database.
Generally, you would forget the top and bottom 10 % results when calculating a return because these are probably biased results.
That is not to say that the bottom dwellers should be ignored. Sometimes they are people with legitimate complaints and this is your chance to fix any problems presented to you.
We did a satisfaction review for the customer where we sent a Vehicle service reminder.
The idea was that they would book the car in for a service and that was the stat that was important.
However, some very disgruntled customers would vent their spleen by replying to the message and telling us where to go. Some were quite emotional and angry in their response and needed attention.
By highlighting these to the company they were able to call the customer and in many cases settle the dispute. Some were beyond redemption and some were just downright rude but in general, it had a positive branding result.
How would I mark a review?
Are you honest or a system wrecker? I try and be reasonable with my answers because oftentimes someone's head is on the block and I don't want to be the axeman.
If it is too bad I will most often pass the survey unless I have something I want off my chest. Do I ever give a straight 10 not often because that is perfect?
Are paid surveys a con?
I think in a whole lot of cases these are a waste of your time, I tried it because of the riches I could earn but alas, nothing eventuated.
I just Googled a lot of sites and so many have no contact details and a lot are paid to advertise so my friends just be warned.
If anybody is making big money from online paid surveys, it's probably the middleman-site owners, not those actually taking the surveys. Most surveys “pay” only token rewards in the form of goods, services, coupons, or samples. A legitimate survey opportunity pays those survey-takers drawn from cash sweepstakes.
Online careers
Can you make money doing surveys?
Yes, you can make money from paid surveys but it is so minimal you need to make up your own mind if spending hours to make pennies is worth the effort.
Another option is local marketing, going to local businesses and offering to canvas a bundle of customers with some set questions at an hourly rate. Then collate the answers and prepare a short presentation. This could provide regular work with three or four businesses, so
don't be greedy, it is good to work in your own time from the lounge chair.
What are the best companies to run my surveys?
The field is pretty wild but let's line up a few;
- Survey Monkey. Probably the best known with a small free sample
- Zoho Survey. Prices run from $0 to$39 a month
- Type Form. Gets good reviews but paid surveys
- Sogo Survey
- Client Heartbeat
- Survey Planet
- Google form
The best part of the field chosen by those that do this is Google forms. A free survey product but holds the press, the free one is for personal use only.
With a business, you need to use Google G forms that have a small cost depending on the size of the base. However, the small cost looks to represent excellent value.
What sort of questions should I use in a survey?
First of all, determine what result you are after. Is the issue of staff performance, product use, delivery times, support, branding, or anything else?
Start with a few really easy questions to ease the reader in, general branding questions that take a little thought process
Only use yes / no questions or tick boxes that are not ambiguous.
Try your questions on others before you fire away, what you think is possible may be difficult.
Work towards a result that you want to achieve.
Always end with a comment box to give them a chance to have a say.
If your acceptance is low, offer to make a small donation to a charity of their choice for each completed survey. Pay the money.
Do a trial batch first and fix any problems, questions that don't get answered are usually bad questions and ? are a sure sign of a problem, fix it and move forward.
How can you use your results after sending them out?
Make note of the answers and then take action steps to remedy any problems.
Don't wear your emotional cap when looking at the answers. If you performed below standard fix the problem and remember it is business and not personal.
You will spend time and money doing the survey so never just ignore the results because you don't like the answer.
Are call surveys better than internet-based ones?
This will depend on the product, customer, and the number of questions.
If you are doing telephone-based questions you need to use trained personnel.
Dropout rates can be high and interrupting a busy day can get people offside.
I have a small BMW and recently took it back for a recall, the usual airbag thing, and a couple of small issues however it took all day.
My serviceman went out of his way to make sure I was happy to the point of making me promise I would give him good marks in the survey, his job depended on it.
Now, that was no problem for me but I can understand some people taking issue with it.
Lo and behold I got a phone call from the dealer after about two days. it was a calling survey.
Was the job done to my satisfaction?
Do I have any problems resulting from the repairs?
Was the serviceman that attended to me efficient or good?
What could I say? Yes, yes, and yes so was it a good survey, I am in some doubt.
Next BMW themselves sends a written survey on the dealer.
At this stage, I am getting a bit over the whole deal. I had my car returned for their faults to fix, It was for a whole day plus I was without a car and now I am wasting time doing surveys.
This is when a bad mark could be given just because they have irritated me.
I can't knock BMW, they are a big operation and should know exactly what they are doing but it did leave me wondering.
Conclusion
Surveys can have a real place in your business if done properly and for the correct reason. However, get it wrong and you chance annoying customers.
It does provide a great whiteboard for customers to tell you where you are falling down in your business. It's not just one or two, but when 50-60 says the same thing you have a job to do.
You also have a great opportunity to tell your customers about the survey.
“20% said our opening times were too short so we fixed it”
What a great opportunity to respond and show that you care
About
PS. Do surveys work? I operate an online survey operation as a customer service.
You might also be interested in “does Voice search work” a look at Mobile Voice commands.
