Most people go online to help them research their customers’ buying habits, employees’ engagement with their job and company, and the success/failure of recent corporate events or training sessions. The overwhelming majority are novices to market research, a quantitative or qualitative method used for collecting data from a specified audience to draw meaningful conclusions.
Online surveys, to be successful, should consist of structured survey questions that motivate the participants to respond. It’s important to brainstorm the questions which must fully support the objective and expected outcome. In some situations, it may be best to offer a mix of multiple-choice and close-ended questions. On the other hand, if the researcher needs to capture specific details about an outstanding issue, the survey should consist of a number of open-ended questions. In truth, most surveys are often a delicate balance between open-ended and closed-ended questions. The addition of survey questions like Net Promoter® Score (NPS), Star Rating, Slider and Scale keep the focus on the participant’s honest feelings about the subject matter.
Founder & CEO at SurveyOL
There are numerous online survey software tools in the market today. So numerous that it’s sometimes difficult to distinguish the superior applications from the minor, ineffective ones. We turned to Joe Gao, the founder and CEO of SurveyOL (Survey OnLine), an innovative website offering cutting-edge communication and feedback technology at surprisingly low subscription prices. Our goal was to learn more about this leading survey website, the marketplace, and how to choose the best online survey software.
Let’s start out by asking you how you approach the marketplace
It’s pretty basic. All online websites have three essential steps in common for survey research.
What are the three essential steps?
No matter the project at hand, the researcher first needs to create a professional, well-organized survey. The online survey tool chosen must be able to accommodate both the novice and professional researcher. That means the basic design elements (i.e., background theme, fonts, buttons) and the supporting questions must complement one another. Once the researcher is confident the survey addresses the major business concerns, it must then be distributed across the best organization channel in order to capture as many constructive responses as possible. The final step, and a critical one, is to read, absorb, and thoroughly analyze the survey results so the appropriate actions can be taken to address the original concerns.
So tell us more about the first step.
Creating the survey requires the user to ask questions that will go to the heart of what the researcher is trying to learn. The survey format and design must be easy to build but not at the expense of leaving behind all the necessities of effective research, i.e., leveraging starter templates, using net promoter score® questions (NPS), star ratings, skip logic, randomization, privacy statements, and so much more. All of these popular and successful techniques should be literally right at their fingertips. We at SurveyOL feature all of these options in an easy-to-use toolbar that appears right alongside the survey during the creation process.
It is also the best time to decide whether an Introductory Page is warranted with the assumption that the respondents need a primer before taking the survey. The objective is to use simple, straightforward text to explain the topic and purpose of the survey. Some also use this page for offering an incentive to return it or adding a privacy statement. The addition of this page, if it is well executed, usually increases customer feedback and response rates.
Another important element, usually not at the top of the list for the novice researcher but an important one nevertheless, is the capability to collaborate with key members of the team. It’s critical to ensure the survey has everyone’s input before it is released. Is it focused on capturing insights about the customer experience, customer loyalty, and overall customer engagement? The more eyes focused on the questionnaire ensures nothing has been missed or misconstrued. Leading survey software sites typically offer a special link that allows the user to specify the collaborators across every phase of the research project.
OK, so the user now has the optimum survey in hand. What is the next major step?
It’s time now for the researcher to determine the most advantageous channel to contact his or her audience. Should emails be sent with an inviting subject line or just a simple text message to their mobile phone? Another option is to embed a survey on their website to acquire visitor feedback. Initially, you should choose the one channel best suited for your business model. However, this does not preclude testing additional channels over time to determine their effectiveness.
This total multichannel approach, I should add, is not available on all like websites. We provide access via web, QR codes, social media (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn), SMS shares, email invitations, website embedding, and contact management.
You’ve designed the survey and distributed it. What is the final step?
It’s actually the most exciting time! The survey results are delivered in real-time and the researcher can now start enjoying the fruits of his or her labors. The ultimate goal of any research project is to be able to statistically manipulate the data findings to better identify the survey results. The exceptional websites permit the researcher to export the raw data to Excel, CSV, or PDF so the data can be manipulated and explored as many ways as possible to, hopefully, get to the truth of the matter.
Another option is to export the summary report with charts in the format of PDF, PPT, or WORD. You can then provide the user with the capability of applying filters to focus on specific parts of the survey results and creating crosstab reports to easily compare responses across multiple questions in a grid table. This entire process enables the researcher to build an effective presentation to management and other interested parties within the organization.
What are some of the latest trends in the survey market?
Three major trends come immediately to mind.
The first one is taking advantage of the ubiquity of smartphones and turning them into a major research platform. Surveys today are optimized for mobile devices, adapted to a smaller screen, and designed for touch-screen devices. Mobile surveys are more versatile than online surveys in that respondents can send pictures, record their voice, or even write notes on their smartphone. This is especially helpful if the survey requires the respondent to complete specific tasks.
It’s simply the best way to reach audiences who habitually use their smartphones, typically Millennials and business people. According to Salesforce, SMS surveys have an open rate of 98%, substantially better than 20% for emails. Better yet, the researcher does not have to wait for the participant to log into a computer. The surveys can be completed while the respondent is taking a walk, dining at a restaurant, essentially anywhere away from the office.
Creating a mobile survey, however, requires brevity and direct questions, especially when used for polling purposes. Keep in mind smartphone users are used to multitasking and can become easily distracted by text messages, phone calls, a game, etc. If it’s too complex, the survey may never get completed. One final cautionary note about mobile surveys: The researcher needs to be aware that this channel may skew the results in favor of a more affluent and/or younger audience.
What are the other two major trends?
Customer satisfaction surveys have become the norm in the industry. Since it’s more costly to attract new customers than holding onto your existing ones, it makes enormous sense to retain customers by building a loyal relationship with them. High satisfaction levels keeps them away from competitors and turns them into customer success advocates for your brand. Effective CRM surveys collect positive and negative perceptions that will, hopefully, significantly improve marketing or sales efforts. In today’s world of social media, it’s incredibly important to stay on top of this subject to properly manage customer’s attitudes about your product or service.
The other trend is addressing fraud, i.e., the relentless phishing, scams, and other questionable online activities by protecting the respondent’s privacy. The researcher must now depend upon the more professional survey websites to locate privacy statement options, either predefined or totally custom. The targeted audience, given a greater sense of security via the introductory page or survey footer, has a higher likelihood of returning the completed survey once they are totally confident of the source.
How often should an organization revisit the outstanding issue raised in the survey?
The entire process outlined above is never a one-off. Once the issue(s) raised in the initial survey have been adequately addressed, it’s the ideal time for a follow-up to ensure the audience agrees with the decisions made. In some cases, the initial problem may require a number of iterations. We recommend periodic surveys (monthly, quarterly), depending upon the subject matter, to stay on top of any new or related issues.. Most importantly, once an organization realizes the benefits of experience management and surveying its audience, such research becomes integrated into the annual business plan and deemed essential.
It’s also the perfect opportunity to introduce the thoughts expressed by your customers or employees to be shared with appropriate personnel. This enables all involved to be part of the decision process and provides invaluable insights that could be captured nowhere else.
How does SurveyOL excel from its competitors?
We at SurveyOL have always focused our efforts on ease of navigation and affording our subscribers with all of the tools necessary to professionally create and send the survey and then analyze the results. We absolutely thrive on subscriber input—our own research—so that we are constantly improving to meet the ever-changing needs of the market.
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