survey basics blue paper
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8/9/2019 Survey Basics Blue Paper
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Survey Savvy
4imprint.com
8/9/2019 Survey Basics Blue Paper
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Survey SavvyThe lowdown on achiev ing survey nirvana
“ Aw, people can come up with statistics to prove anything, Kent. Forty
percent of all people know that .”–HomerSimpson
Surveydatacanbemanipulated,misquotedandjustplainmadeup.
Nowonderpeopleshyawayfromconductingmarketsurveys.But
whenwrittenwell,appliedtotherightaudienceand—most
importantly—whenresultsareactedupon,amarketsurveyisa
“doordie”elementofbusiness.Thatringstruewhetheryouarea
smallflowershoporabigindustryplayer.
Why spend the t ime, effort and money?
Seeifyourbusinessfitsanyofthesescenarios.Areyou:
• Startinganewbusiness?
• Introducinganewproductorservice?
• Maintainingbusinessinthefaceofchange?
Perhapsyouarethinking,“Mybusinessisn’tchanging.”Ah,butareyousure?
Marketschange.Competitionchanges.Technologychanges.Customerschange.
Andyourbusinesschangeswiththem,whetherornotyouwantitto.1
Itdoesn’tmatterifyouarefacingchangeofyourownmakingordealingwith
inevitablemarketshifts,wellexecutedresearchwillhelpyoumakebetterbusiness
decisions.
Assume nothing
Mostofusareguiltyofthinkingweknowwhatourcustomerswant.Andweputalotoffaithinourassumptions.
Butweneedtodothesimplething—ask—beforeacting.
In1990,DarleneMannwasthedirectorofproductmarketingatasoftware
companycalledVerity.Thecompanyhaddevelopedsomehighlysophisticated
softwarefordocumentstorageandretrieval.
1 Market Research Made Easy. Don Doman, Dell Dennison, Margaret Doman. Self-Counsel Press,
2nd edition. Nov. 1, 2002.
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Indesigningthesoftware,Veritystaffmadetheassumptionthatitscustomerswould
havethehigh-techpersonneltouseit.“Wethoughttheproductwasimportant
enoughtoourcustomersthattheywouldhavehighlyskilledpersonnelrunit,”Mann
wroteinanarticleforInc.Magazine.2
Intruth,customersthoughtitwastoo
complicatedtouse,andtheydidn’t
havethepeopletooperateit.Inthe
end,theonlycustomerthatsuccessfully
installedthesoftwareonitsownwasNASA’sJet
PropulsionLabs—aclearsignalthattheapplicationtookhigh-caliberresources.
Oneyearlater,Veritylaunchedanewv ersionthatwassimplertouse.Thanksto
customerinput,thatproductwasquitesuccessful.
“Thedelaycostusayear,andwelostsignificantrepeatsalesearlyonbecausewedidn’t
doourhomework.Hadwesimplystartedbyaskingourselvesandourcustomersthe
questionsweshouldhave,wewouldnothavewastedallthattimeandmoney,”she
reported.
Assumptionscanbecostly—notonlyintermsoffinancialinvestmentbutinlost
customersandlostmarketshareaswell.Byconductingmarketresearch,youcanavoid
manyexpensivemistakes.
Choose your toolOnceyouhavedecidedtoqueryyourcustomerbase,youneedtochoosethe
appropriateresearchmethod.
Marketresearchtoolscanbequantitativeorqualitativeinnature,orboth.Quantitative
toolsarestatisticallybased.Resultsincludequantities,percentagesandnumbers.(Asin
28%ofourBluePaperreaderswatchTheSimpsons.Or,9outof10readersknowwe
madethatstatup.)
Qualitativetools,ontheotherhand,providelongeranswersthatresearchersanalyzetodiscovertrends.Thinkfocusgroupsandthose“additionalcomments”boxesin
onlinesurveys.Youdon’twalkawaywithhardnumbers,butyoudogetagreater
depthofinformationandoftengainnewinsightsonthingsyoudidn’tthinkto
askabout.
Researchersuseavarietyofmethodstogetresults,oftencombiningmultiplechoice
2 “Hitting the Market.” Darlene Mann. Published at http://www.inc.com/articles/2000/03/19094.htm l. Accessed June 27, 2008.
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Cons:Surveysarenotaccessibletolow-literate
respondents.Oftenrequiresanincentiveand
multiplemailingstoincreaseresponserate.
•Onlinesurveys
Pros:Accesstoawidegeographicarea.Can
provideinstantresponse.Ofteninexpensive
toadministerandgenerallyincludesreportingandanalysistools.
Cons:LimitsresponsetoactiveInternetusers.
KarenHerther,principalofMarketDynamics,adirectmarketingandmarketresearch
consultancyinActon,Mass.,saysfewercompaniesareusingtelephonesurveysbecause
peoplefindcommercialcallsintrusive.Butwhilethey’rehangingupthephone,Herther
sayspeopleareincreasinglyreceptivetogoingonlinetotakesurveys.
Stopandthinkaboutit:It’shardtoleaveaWalgreen’sorTargetwithoutthereceipt
beckoningyoutogoonlinetotakeasurveyandgetachancetowinaprize.Whatused
tobemoreofanichethatfocusedonwhatonlineconsumerswantedisnowusedto
gaugemainstreamopinions.
Ofalltheaboveexamples,thespokensurveys(phone,intercepts,one-on-one,focus
groups)naturallyprovidegreateraccesstorespondentsthathavetroublereadingor
arevisuallyimpaired.One-on-oneinterviewsandfocusgroupsprovideopportunityfor
follow-upquestionsandclarification.Paperandelectronicquestionnairescanprovideanonymityforsensitiveissues.
Consideryouraudienceandresearchgoalscarefully,andchooseasurveytoolthatwill
generatethebestresponse.
Select the audienceTheoverwhelmingmajorityofresearchyoudowillrevolvearoundthatspecialcategory
ofpeoplecalledcustomers:
• Currentcustomers
• Prospectivecustomers
• Lostcustomers
• Members
• Community
• Employees(internalcustomers)
• Shareholders(internalcustomers)
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Gettingtherightsamplesizeinyoursurveyiscrucial,althoughtherearenohard-
and-fastrulesfordeterminingwhatthat“rightsize”is.Thinkaboutwhomyouwant
reflectedinyoursurveyresultsandstrivetoreachasignificantnumberofrespondents
ineachcustomerbase.
Forexample,youmightwanttosurveyonlyhigh,repeatusersto
learnmoreaboutyourbestbrandaficionados.Or,youmightwant
tosurveyawidedemographicrangetoascertainwhois
usingyourproductthemost.
KarenHertherofMarketDynamicssayssheseldomsees
surveysconductedonmorethan1,000respondents
because,ifproperlysegmented,additionalresponses
willnotchangetheresults.
Torepresentalltherightaudiencesforyourbusiness,Hertherremindscompaniesto
surveynotonlycustomersbutprospectivecustomers.InaGirlScoutvolunteersurvey
sheconducted,forexample,shequeriedpeopleonwhytheydidn’tvolunteerforthe
organizationandgavethemanopen-endedopportunitytocomment.
Theanswerhadahugemarketingimplication—itwasassimpleas“weweren’tasked.”
Manypeoplehadn’tsteppedforwardsimplybecausetheythoughtonlyscoutingparents
volunteered.TheGirlScoutsofAmericatookthisinformationbacktotheirdrawing
boardandintegrateditintohowtheymarketedtheirprograms.
Screen respondentsConsiderif(andhow)youwillscreenrespondents.Foranythingbutthe
smallestinterviewgroups,youwillwantavarietyofparticipants.Ifrespondents
don’treflectyourcustomerbase,youwon’thaveastatisticallyvalidsurveyfrom
whichtodrawconclusions.
Someup-frontquestionscaneliminatepeoplewhoseattitudesmightbebiased,who
areinacompetitiveindustry,orwhomightusethefactyouareconductingasurvey
totheiradvantage.3Screeningquestionscanalsopurgepeopleoutsideyourtarget
responsegroup(e.g.youwantrespondentstobethemainpersonresponsiblefor
groceryshoppinginthehouseholdortobeinaspecificagerange.)
3 Market Research Made Easy.
© 2008 4imprint, Inc. All rights reserved
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Ask and you shal l rece iveOneofthemostimportantelementsofthesurveyisthemostobvious—thequestions.This
isn’ttheplacetobelazyandaskalaundrylistofinquirieswithallthe“itmightbenice-to-
know”informationyoucanthinkof.Writingsurveystakesanalmostscientificapproach,
plusadoseofcommonsense.Thatformulaincludesthesetips:
• Provideinstructions.Includeinstructionsforansweringallthequestions
includedonthesurvey.(Asin“Rate5formostlikelytopurchaseand1forleast
likely.”)Soundsstraightforward,butdon’tassumeanything.
• Keepitsimple.Askaboutonlyone
topicineachquestion.Askingabout
moreskewsanswersbecausea
respondentmightagreewithonepart
ofthequestionanddisagreewith
theother.
Confusing:Agree/Disagree“IlearnednewinformationinthisseminarandI
expecttoapplyittomycurrentjob.”Better:Splitthisquestionintotwoparts.
• Writetoyouraudience.Avoidtechnicaljargonandacronyms,anddon’tmake
assumptionsthatpeopleknowwhatyou’retalkingabout.
Confusing:DoyouagreewithCanada’srulingtobanbabybottles
containingBPA?Better:Explainthesituation,gaugeawarenessand
thenaskfollowupquestions,i.e.InApril2008,theCanadiangovernment
bannedtheuseofpolycarbonateininfantbottles.Howwouldyourate
yourawarenessofthisissue?
• Makeittherightlength.Youdon’twanttooverwhelmtherespondent
withmorethanafiveto10minutesurvey,orit’slikelytheywon’twantto
participate.JimKratowicz,experiencedmarketresearcherandpresidentof
PureCartSystems(seecasestudybelow)tendstolimitsurveysto15questions
orless,becauseifyougettoolengthy,youskewtheresultsofthetypeof
peoplewhoparticipate.
• Asktherightquestions.Beclearandspecific.You’llknowifyourquestionsare
toobroadifpeoplecheckeveryitemonthelistofanswers.Startwithgeneral
questionsatthebeginningofyoursurveyandmovetowardmorespecific
questions.Mixitup,too,withavarietyofresponsestylesincludingranking,
agree/disagree,multiplechoiceandshortanswerboxes.
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• Don’taskleadingquestions.Insteadofasking,“Howdidyoulikeour
convenientlayawaypolicy?”ask,“Didourlayawaypolicymeetyourneeds?”
Don’tmakethemistakeofputtingwordsintopeople’smouths.Ifyoursurvey
toolallows,leaveroomforadditionalcommentsafterappropriatequestions
and/orattheendofthesurvey.
• Onlyaskquestionsyouplantoacton.Thisisabigone.Don’twastethe
spaceonquestionsthatmightbe“interesting”or“goodtoknow”ifyou’re
notgoingtodoanythingwiththeanswers.
• Giveitapracticewhirl.Testthesurveywithregularcustomers,friendsor
evenpeopleonthestreet.Askthemforfeedbackonthesurvey’sstyle,
simplicityandtheirperceptionofitspurpose.4
Hel lo? Anyone there? (Gett ing a response)There’snosuchthingasafreelunch—butit’sfreemoney
(sayafewbucks),giftsandcouponsthatcanmakethedifference
betweennoresponseandaccurate,usefulresults.
Thekeytogettingasurveyresponseistoprovidepositive
reinforcement.Peoplelovetoberewarded.
Aworthwhileincentivecanentice50percentofthepeoplewho
wouldnotnormallycompletethesurvey,tofinishitandsenditin.Thisappliestobothpaperandpencilsurveysandonesthatare
presentedontheInternet.5
Incentivesareverypersonal.Itcouldbemoney,agiftcertificatefor
dinner,at-shirt,acoolerorevencoupons.
WhilemostcompanieswillprovideagiftAFTERasurveyhasbeenreturned,somedirect
mailresearchersfindsuccessfromincludingasmallincentiveintheinitialmailing.
That’swhatJerryMader,publisherofseveralWisconsinbusinesspapers,did.Whenhe
mailedarecentreadersurvey,heslippeda$1billineachenvelope.Thecash,hethinks,
createsasmallsenseofobligationtorespond.Itcanbesopowerful,infact,thatafew
4 “What Is Marketing Research?” Published at http://www.sba.gov/smallbusinessplanner/manage/marketandprice/SERV-MARKETRESEARCH.html . Accessed June 19, 2008.
5 “How to Improve Survey Response Rates.” John Towler, Ph.D. Published at www.canadaone.com in June 2003. Accessed June 19, 2008.
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peopleevensentthemoneybackiftheydidn’twanttofilloutthesurvey!
Whenplanningincentives,Hertherwarnsagainstusingpromotionsthatareonly
appealingtocertainaudiences.Adrawingforatriptoawaterpark,forexample,could
skewyourresponsetofamilieswithyoungchildren.
Incentivesdon’thavetobemonetaryinnature.Whenrespondentshaveastrong
attachmenttoabrandorsocialcause,they’reoftenwillingtoparticipateinsurveysasa
wayofsharingtheiropinionorinfluencingthedirectionofaproducttheybelievein.
That’swhatHertherfoundthroughherworkwithMamboSprouts,anorganicproducts
marketer.ShesaidsomerespondentsarejustexcitedtoparticipatebecauseMambo
Sproutsstudiesanareathey’repassionateabout:naturalhealth.
StillHertherusesincentiveslikenaturalproductcookbooksandcouponstoboost
responserate.Incentivesdon’thavetocostalot,shesays.Theyjustneedtohavea
perceivedvaluetoyouraudience.
Acaveat:Remember,asurveythatisoverlylongorcomplicatedwillslashyourresponse
rate—nomatterwhatkindofincentiveyouprovide.
Process ing the dataOnceyourdataiscollected,itneedstobesortedandtabulated.
Ifyourrespondentsampleissmall,youcantabulateresults
byhandandstillgetmeaningfulresults.However,ifyouwant
tocompareresultswithinthesurvey,you’llneeddata
analysissoftware.
Asoftwareprogramwillchartinformationtorevealtrends
(e.g.significantlyhighorlowresponses)andsimilarities
(e.g.trendssharedbyvaryingdemographicgroups).
MoreadvancedresearchersusedataanalysistoolslikeMarketSightandResearch
Analyzer.Ifyou’rerelativelynewtoresearchsurveys,onlinetoolslikeSurveyMonkeyor
Zoomerangwillprovideaccesstoeasy-to-useanalysistoolsthatallowyoutodosome
sophisticatedreporting.
Considerworkingwithalocaluniversityormaster’sstudentwhocannotonlycompile
surveyresults,butpossiblyalsoadministeritandreportontheresultswithoutbreaking
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thebank.
Also,rememberthatyoucanonlyapplytheresultstothesampleyousurveyed.For
example,withMamboSprouts—whichgaugestheopinionsofnaturalandorganic
productconsumers’attitudes—Hertherknowstheresultsrepresentthataudienceonly.
Shecannotprojectthesefindingstothegeneralpopulation,whichincludeseveryone
fromcouchpotatoestodiehardfriedfoodaficionados.
Taking act ionConductingresearchandthensittingonwhatyoulearnedisself-defeating.Notonly
doesitwasteyourresources,butdedicatedcustomersmaybefrustratediftheydon’t
perceivechange.Everysurveyshouldresultinanactionplanforyourbusiness.Where
yourresearchends,everythingelsebegins.
CaseStudy:PureCartSystemsDoyouknowhowgermythatthingis?
PureCartSystems™hadwhatitconsideredtobean
innovativeproductideathatgroceryshopperswould
embrace—literally—everytimetheygrabbedagrocery
cart.Theideawasapush-throughsanitizingunitthat
wouldpurifyanentireshoppingcartinamatterof
seconds—instantlyremovingpubliclytransmittedgerms
andbacteria.
Butbeforeinvestorswerereadytolaunch,theyneededsome
hardfactsandjustification.
JimKratowicz,presidentofPureCart,knewthegermyreality.Studiesshowthatone
shoppingcarthandlecanharborasmanyasonemilliongerms,andcartbasketscanbe
contaminatedbyseepingmeatpackageandevenleakydiapers.Hesuspectedshoppers
farandwidewouldappreciate“de-germed”carts.Healsothoughtthesystemwould
benefitstoreowners,providingavaluabledifferentiatorinatightcompetitivemarket.
ButwhatdidKratowiczknow?Hewasn’ttheonlyonepushingacart.
A20-yearmarketresearchveteran,Kratowiczdecidednottoassumeanythingand
movedtodoasurvey.Andhediditearly—beforehemademarketingmaterials,a
strategicplan,alogoorevenfinancialmodels.Instead,PureCarthitthesurveycircuit
withonegoalinmind:tofindoutiftherewasamarketfortheirproduct.
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Hehiredafirmtoconductanationwiderandomtelephonesurveywithasamplesizeof
500.Respondentswereaskedafewpivotalquestions:
• Arepeopleawareofthegermsinpublicplacesanddotheycare?
Resultsoverwhelminglysaid,yesandyes.
• WouldshoppersuseaproductlikePureCartattheirgrocerystoreoreven
switchtoanothergrocerystorethatdid?
Seventy-fourpercentindicatedtheywouldmostlikelyswitch;33percentofthose
indicatedtheywouldmostdefinitelyswitchtoonethatofferedpurifiedcarts.
Kratowiczalsocollectedsomefinancialinformationtousewhensellingthecartsystem
togrocers,includinghowmuchtherespondentsspentongroceriespermonthandhow
frequentlytheyvisitedthegrocerystore.
Thisfueledhissaleprocess.Hewasabletosaythatnotonlyalargepercentofpeople
saidthey’dswitchgrocerystorestouseonethatofferedPureCart,buthewasalsoable
toshowhowvaluablethesetypesofcustomerswereintermsoftheirgrocerypurchases
andfrequencyofvisits.ItboileddowntoROI.
Iftheresultshadcomebacknegatively,Kratowiczwaspreparedtorethinkstrategyor
perhapsnotevenlaunchPureCart.Buthissurvey’sresultssteeredhimaheadandhe
beganthelaunchprocess—inhopesthatgroceryshoppersacrosstheworldwouldone
daybesteeringtheircartsthroughaPureCartsystem.
Kratowicz’sresearchnotonlydemonstratedmarket
demand,butitgavehimtheammunitionheneededto
sellhisproducttogrocers.Becauseofhisresearch,
Kratowiczknewjusthowmanycustomersastorewould
havetoconvertinordertogetareturnoninvestment.
WhileKratowiczsaysPureCartisstillinstart-upmode,they
havemetwiththemajorityofmajorgrocersintheUnitedStates
andshippedsystemsoutsidetheU.S.
Thecompanyhasfollowedupwithadditionalresearch,usingin-storeexitsurveys
afteraPureCartSystemhasbeeninstalled.Typically,theyconduct400to500surveysas
peopleleavethestore,creatingastatisticallyreliablesample.
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Among the ex it interv iew quest ions:
• Istheshopperawareoftheservice?
• Hasheorshementionedtheservicetoafriendorfamilymember?
Togivepeopleanincentivetochat,PureCartenterstheminadrawingforincentives
like$100storegiftcards.
Whattheexitsurveysrevealed:
• Onaverage,62percentofpeoplesaidPureCartwasoneofthevariablesthey
consideredwhendecidingwheretoshopforgroceries.
Translation:It’sbecomeapartofagrocer’svalueproposition.
• Awhopping90percentsaidtheytoldafriendorfamilymemberaboutPureCart.
Translation:They’vebecomethestore’sadvocatesandcheerleaders.
Thisisn’tidleresearchsoKratowiczandhisteamcanpateachotherontheback.
Kratowicz’sinitialresearchprovidedtheknowledgeheneededtolaunchwith
confidence.Andfollow-upsurveysprovidetheammunitionheneedstomakethesale.
TaketheleadfromPureCart...neverassume.Surveyandrespond.
4imprintservesmorethan100,000businesseswithinnovativepromotionalitemsthroughouttheUnitedStates,
Canada,UnitedKingdomandIreland.Itsproductofferingsincludegiveaways,businessgifts,personalizedgifts,
embroideredapparel,promotionalpens,travelmugs,totebags,waterbottles,Post-itNotes,customcalendars,
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