Marketing is a key component of any business and is built on the opinions of the masses. Without the public or consumer’s approval and buy-in, getting a concept or product off the ground is nearly impossible.
Surveys are critical for these research efforts and there are many options to choose from. Surveys are no longer the domain of large organisations. Cost efficiencies and streamlined processes such as online surveys make it possible for small businesses to conduct research and leverage data insights to make a marked difference in the success or failure of their brand.
So, how can surveys help small businesses as they plan for the year ahead?
1. Building brand identity
Surveys allow you to collect valuable consumer feedback and utilise it to give your brand authenticity. Knowing what consumers think of your business can help guide important branding decisions and give ideas on how to appeal to your target market in the most effective way.
The data gleaned can help you gauge perceptions about your brand and learn what your business is doing well and what you can work on.
2. Deeper conversations and engagement with customers and prospects
Customer engagement is key to a successful business. Sending surveys directly to customers to learn more about their experience with your business gives customers the chance to share their thoughts and shows that your business values their opinions. Use your website, marketing emails, end of blog posts and email signature to advertise your survey.
3. Tapping social media audiences for valuable insights
Social media can drive a lot of website traffic. A social media survey can be a cost-effective marketing tool, generating more vital information than other data collection methods.
Through social media, you can captivate prospects and reach a multi-generational audience. For multivariate audiences, survey your audience across all your social media platforms and use the same survey, as this provides consistency in your results.
4. Enhancing customer profiles
With surveys, audiences may also choose to share first-party data like age, demographics and contact information by offering an incentive in exchange. With an incentive attached, customers are more likely to complete a survey and provide these important details.
Customer insights allow you to improve your business to better serve these groups or appeal to their specific needs and interests and create customer personas for marketing purposes.
5. Boosting lead generation
Quizzes are popular among people of all ages, especially when the quiz is relevant to their shopping experience. You can also use quiz-like surveys to educate your audience about your services and products.
6. Aligning product roadmaps with consumer feedback
Online surveys can help determine what your customers need and prefer. Asking open-ended questions about what your customers think about a service or what features they would like to see in a product can help you analyse whether you’re meeting all of their needs and what you can do to improve your offerings.
7. Improving customer service by monitoring customer satisfaction
Your business can improve customer service by gathering feedback following a successful sale. This can be done by sending out a post-sale survey after a purchase or including a survey link on your customer receipt. Include questions about customer satisfaction that can help identify the problem areas in your customer service.
Everyone benefits from knowledge-driven data, especially small businesses. The insights gleaned from data conducted from surveys can give your business, brand and product the edge against your competitors, arming you with the ability to provide more targeted marketing strategies to meet your customers’ demands and expectations.
