5 Reasons Why E-surveys Should Be Part of Your Marketing Program
At J.Schmid, we constantly preach that you can never know enough about your customers. That’s not a new concept and we’re certainly not alone in that belief. At the same time, we hear any number of reasons why companies don’t reach out to their customers on a regular basis. We don’t have it in our budget… We did research two years ago… It’s too late to act on any learning this year. These are all poor excuses when weighed against the risks of not keeping up with your customers’ ever-evolving brand and product preferences.
The good news is that one of the best ways to keep in touch with your customers is also one of the easiest and most efficient. The e-survey may not be particularly sexy as research methodologies go, but it can offer marketers some great advantages at relatively low cost.
Here are five reasons, beyond cost, that e-surveys should be an ongoing and key part of your company’s marketing program:
- Speed. It takes far less time to design an e-survey, field it and gather valuable insights and actionable information. Typically, the bulk of responses are collected within the first 3 to 4 days of launch.
- Accuracy. Respondents enter their answers directly so there’s less opportunity for human error or interviewer bias that can happen with other research methodologies.
- Reach. Surveys can be sent to a company’s entire database and non-customers can be reached via purchased lists at relatively low cost.
- Customer Preference. Most consumers like to be asked their opinions and the e-survey makes it easy for them to share their views, anonymously if they choose.
- Convenience. E-survey respondents can choose the time that’s most convenient to respond which increases engagement and response rates.
Another plus is the many available, specialized reporting platforms that make it easy to analyze and dynamically present data quickly and in a variety of flexible formats.
Marketers take note: An e-survey, or any customer research methodology, is pretty much worthless if the information it generates is not actionable. The kind of insights that drive strategic, informed decisions for your brand come from asking your customers the right questions.
If you’re looking for the kind of customer insights that create brand loyalty and drive sales, we’d love to talk to you. We have a suite of capabilities that will help keep you connected to your customers for the long haul. Just give us a call at 913.236.8988 or reach out through the website!
Tags: customer insights, e-survey, online survey, Research, research methodology, survey