As Marketing professionals, we are all aware of
need to measure program results. We can measure website hits, bingo card responses, 800-number calls and increased product purchases. Unless we ask our customers, however, we will never know WHY particular programs are successful and others are not.When was last time you asked 500 of your best customers why they are loyal to your products, services, website or promotions? How much did it cost? How long did it take?
The most effective Marketing strategies include some level of market research. Whether you choose services of a large professional organization or you conduct an in-house telephone survey, you know that research can be complex, time-consuming and expensive. What do you do when you need answers quickly? Consider implementing a web-based survey. Here are several areas where you need on-going feedback and can implement tactical surveys to rapidly gather information that you need now.
Who is visiting your website?
Demographic information about your website visitors is crucial. To whom does your site appeal? Why does your website appeal to them? How long do they stay on site? Although you can extrapolate some information from log files analysis, these questions cannot be answered except by asking visitors themselves. By implementing an online survey in a pop-up window, you can get important demographic and site-use information. Either by appealing to visitors’ need to express opinions or by offering an incentive, you can rapidly gather data to help you improve your online presence. Interestingly, customers who feel that they contribute to your programs are more likely to remain loyal.
Are your services meeting customer needs?
I recently launched a survey to assess effectiveness of a literature and sample fulfillment service that cost $250,000 per year. By designing a brief nine-question survey and e-mailing an invitation to recent sales prospects, I was able to gather information about service satisfaction as well as brand loyalty, sample usage and general demographics. I launched survey on Thursday at noon and by Monday afternoon had received an unprecedented 34% response. By Tuesday morning, when I met with Business Unit Manager for that product, I was able to recommend (and provide substantiation) for maintaining both samples program and particular brand identities. And my cost? Less than two hours of work and under $500.
Are your advertising campaigns driving traffic?
Many advertisers now list their web address as part of their advertisements. This is a two-edged sword. Since most prospects have access to Internet, they will not return bingo cards, so ad response rates may appear significantly lower than just a few years ago. Unless you implement special response URLs, gateway pages or on-line mirrors of your advertising campaign, you cannot reliably capture which site visitors are driven to your website by traditional advertising means. These solutions require significant time investments and can be expensive add-ons to your already-costly advertising campaign.
With budgets that often reach into millions of dollars, Marketing professionals need a reliable method to prove program effectiveness so that they can focus their spending to increase return on investment. By implementing an online survey linked to your advertised product’s web page, you can find out what draws your visitors to site. Additionally, you can also discover what prospects’ needs are, what appealed to them about your advertising campaign and what other media sources they rely on. Far beyond unique URL solution or expensive industry-wide research, surveys give you tangible, objective data about why particular programs are effective with your unique audience.
