Whether you’re looking to get a buyer’s pulse or market research tips, an online survey can give you the information you need. Knowing what your market needs or looks for can give you an edge against the competition. However, it’s hard to convince the constantly distracted people online to do surveys.
Surveys take a while to complete, and not everyone is willing to answer questions or take minutes off their precious time. You can’t put a hefty bounty on the survey either if you’re a small business. So, what’s a cost-effective way to get people to take an online survey? Here are a few ways to do it.
- Make Questions More Fun
Most people won’t answer a survey unless it’s fun. Many questions are primarily boring, tedious, and just too plain. You want to have entertaining queries and will help people enjoy reading your survey.
Use humor in your questions and answers. A funny, friendly tone can help convey a more casual conversation and makes people more likely to answer. People spend an average of eight minutes on a survey, and you want them to go more comprehensive. Creating a concept test survey should help you see if your questions are connecting with readers.
You want your online survey to be entertaining. Poke around with the questions and cut down the number of choices if you can. Make everything in your survey revolve around being personable, making users feel like they’re talking to a friend.
- Make It Simple
People online are distracted by many things like social media, work, and life. Not many people are willing to spend more than a few minutes on something as tedious as a survey. Chances are they wouldn’t want to spend time on an academic-level survey too.
When doing online surveys, you need to keep your questions short and sweet. Close-ended questions are preferred, mainly to reduce the number of variations in the details you’re looking for. Make the question easy, usually using one short sentence.
Keep your questions only around a few seconds long to read. Only ask essential things and filter out unnecessary information. You may have many questions to ask, but you don’t want to overload your survey takers. If you need nuance, make the answers on a scale to see how people feel.
- Use The Power of Social Media
The best way to get the word out for your survey to as many people as possible is to use social media. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn are all popular options. You can advertise your survey via social media platforms if you have the budget. Otherwise, you can post a survey link on your social media page.
Many people don’t mind answering questions about them and their habits on social media. Social media has powerful advertising potential, and online businesses have been capitalizing on it for quite a while now.
You can get the word out there about your company by posting your survey using social media. People who follow you on social media are already familiar with your brand and want to see more from you. Social media is free, so you won’t have to shell out money to market your survey unless you go for paid advertising. However, you should make sure you have enough followers to see results. Let people know about your social media page and where they can find your survey.
4. Use Email
You can send the email to get people’s attention and let them know about a survey. People check their emails regularly, and it’s a popular way to communicate. However, getting people to sign up for your survey is another story.
You want to use your email marketing strategy to get your survey-takers to sign up for it. An incentive can help drive people to follow the link to your website. You also want to make sure that you inform customers of the survey; otherwise, you may get yourself into trouble.
You should make your incentive something people love. Instead of offering a gift card or product, you can offer them a discount on one. Give them something they can’t refuse!
5. Hire a Survey Company
Survey companies can help you get your questions out to the right people. These companies have a pool of people ready to answer questions for you and will likely even have question takers from several types of demographics.
You can send your questions to a survey company, and they’ll gather up people to take your answers. You don’t have to advertise for them, and they won’t cause distractions. All you need is to hire them and provide the questions you need.
There are certain survey companies that charge per survey. However, you’ll still save money overall because they will handle the entire logistics for your questions. You won’t have to pay for advertising or promotion on sites or social media
6. Embed The Poll On Your Website
If you’re trying to test your website and want to know if it’s working or if people see it, you can embed the poll on your website. This will show people about your business and generate some buzz. If you have a new product, you might want to embed a poll on your home page.
If you have time to do your research, get your questions out in the open one by one. Make it a daily poll, especially if you have a community willing to answer several of your questions. These will accumulate and help you get the answers you need.
7. Use Incentives
One way to get more people to sign up for your online survey is with an incentive. An incentive can be anything from a discounted product to a free product. Incentives will help people take more surveys and are more likely to associate with your brand.
Many companies offer discounts to survey takers. You could provide a deal for those who live in the same city as your business. Or, you could give a small discount on a product. However, don’t offer something that will hurt your business or put you below cost.
One problem for businesses is that incentives cost money. Make the incentive something with low monetary value but still holds a lot of intrinsic value to your audience. This can be an ebook, an app, or even a discount coupon.
Final Thoughts
Surveys are still one of the most common ways to gather data. It’s a relatively cheap and easy way to discover what your target market wants and needs. However, you need the right strategy to get those answers. These tips can help you get the answers you need when you need them.