by Carol Phillips
Most organizations maintain an opt-in email list of customers, prospects, members, or donors and use the lists as a way to learn about customers and prospects.
Insights from ”friends and family” email lists can yield significant learning and save money by helping inform more costly external studies. A simple survey can help marketers profile the differences between a brand’s best customers and more causal customers or prospects. These differences can range from simple demographics to motivations for joining, buying, or donating. Contrasting internal survey results with findings from a broader sample can provide insights about how customers view the category and brand and valuable clues about how to migrate prospects to customers.
Getting the most from internal surveys requires the same level of attention you would give to any other market research study. Response rates can vary considerably from study to study, as some populations are naturally more responsive than others. Even with a responsive list, quality of responses can range from cursory to highly engaged.
Much of the difference is in the control of the researcher and results can be optimized through careful preparation and implementation. Here are some ways to get the most from your internal surveys.
- Designing the Survey
- Keep it short and interesting. While commercial survey panelists are interested in taking surveys, most of your customers see surveys as an intrusion or”favor.” Completion rates decline after five to ten minutes. Focus on simple, engaging questions that can be answered with a few clicks. Research by Lightspeed shows the key response killers are subject matter (35%), length (20%), grids (15%), slow download speeds (20%), and open ended questions (5%) [Source: Lightspeed/Kantar]. Interactive question formats have been shown to enhance completion rates.
- Don’t “force” responses. Allow respondents to advance without answering — partial answers are better than no answers at all.
- Provide encouragement and feedback. Set realistic expectations upfront of how long it will take to complete the survey. Most sophisticated software packages include a visual indication or