Knowing what customers and other audiences think and feel is a vital issue for today's business. In a business context which is increasingly competitive and in which all the brands seem to be exposed to diverse commercial and reputational risks, it's necessary to have tools to analyze data generated from the interaction with our audiences and thus be able to detect trends which can affect the future of the business.
Therefore, data analytics has transformed into a vital task to obtain key information and achieve a better comprehension of the customer, user, employee and any other stakeholder.
How to get the raw material for data analytics? How to know what our audience thinks and feels? Today, various means exist that are available to any company. One of the most useful ones are the online surveys, that let you obtain valuable data and additionally come with tools that allow you to analyze them. Some examples on how to do it:
1. Discover new business opportunities
If you want to get insights in order to orientate your business to your customers needs, web forms will serve you as a way to know them better and detect new opportunities.
If you have a retail business, you can create an online survey to learn the buying habits of your clients, and for example, ask them if they prefer to buy online or face to face, at what times and which days.
This way, the web survey may help you realize that it is time to focus more on your online selling platform, as it is an increasing trend within your public. Or that you need to change the days and the times you open your store to adapt it to your customers preferences. In any case, the feedback obtained is invaluable.
2. Identify aspects of service improvement
A web form is a simple and valuable resource to express to our clients that we care about their experience and that we are focused on reaching their expectations.
For example, if you own a restaurant, you can invite customers to answer a short online questionnaire to find out what dishes they chose and how they were, what was it that they most enjoyed, if they disliked something, how they would rate the attention, would they recommend it to their friends, etc.
3. Detect possible internal crisis situations
Online surveys are also very useful for the HR areas, since they serve to evaluate satisfaction of one of the main audiences of any organization: its employees.
In the actual fluctuating laboral context, it's necessary to maintain close ties with them and to have fluid communication channels so that they can express themselves. In that sense, these types of products are an excellent channel to achieve this goal.
It's important to consult the employees about their satisfaction with their workplace, measure their commitment level, allow them to express themselves anonymously, and comment for example, if they have suffered any kind of problem or mistreatment. Their opinions can help prevent and identify internal crises by taking the necessary action before it's too late.
Know the value of an online survey to analyze data
In any of these three cases you could hand in printed surveys to get the information you are looking for. Now, why is it better to invite your public to answer them online? Because custom online forms are more dynamic and enjoyable to complete and can be done from your mobile phone.
In addition, you can use diverse tools to filter data and analyze results more easily, avoiding manual loading of information in spreadsheets or other programs. This way, you gain time and efficiency.