If you had to choose only one reason for which to use online surveys you'd probably be facing a difficult challenge. But, do you agree with us when we say that it’s the best way to get to know the consumer?
As we have explained in previous articles, online surveys are a tool of great utility to gather information to help you define the profile of your ideal customer (Customer Persona) and therefore engage them in a better experience which gives way to more personalized communications in accordance to their expectations.
Online surveys are also very useful to know the customer journey, the total sum of all the interactions with your company or brand, an inventory of all the touch points your customer interacts with throughout the experience, which is a useful resource to extract conclusions from and to create recommendations.
In relation to what we previously mentioned, there are multiple aspects for which we highly recommend the creation of online surveys. That’s why we invite you to read the 5 reasons of why this method helps you get to know better the user:
Know their environment
What makes your consumer choose your product and not the one created by the competition (or vice versa)? To what offers are they exposed on a daily basis? Are they conditioned by any external factor?
Online surveys help us answer these questions and many others, and also help us recognize other valuable details. For instance, sociodemographic data like gender, age or city help us determine if the product will be more used by men or women, by a certain age range, or a certain geographic zone. This contributes by helping us realize if the target is effectively being reached.
Discover their influences
This is an especially important theme as people tend to act impulsed by external influences and therefore it's useful to know who is actually behind the decisions being made. Who is the person who most influences them? Their couple? Their friends? An instagrammer or a youtuber? How does it influence them?
We recommend including in your forms a multiple-choice section with closed answers in order to quantify better the results.
Ex: a)my couple, b)my friends, c) my parents, etc.
Don’t forget to include “others” with a text box option so that the respondent can answer in an open way. Additionally, you can make them choose only one option or several ones.
Distinguish between what the consumer shows and hides.
Sometimes clients say they liked your product but then they don’t buy it again. What happened? Online surveys help detect those incongruences shown in consumer behavior.
For instance, you can create an online questionnaire and to start with, ask them to rank their experience with your service from 1 to 10 using the format Net Promoter Score. Afterwards, you can ask them if they would recommend it to their friends using the same format.
If they answer the first question positively but then they don’t show interest in recommending it to their friends, there might be something that went wrong. You haven’t succeeded in building customer loyalty.
Maybe it’s not a bad impression what you caused him, but you still haven’t completely earned his trust.
Identify what satisfies the consumers that already know you.
Why would a consumer return to your hotel or restaurant? Why would they buy again in your shop? What reasons would make them hire your services again?
Online surveys are useful to understand what results clients are seeking for and what standards they use to measure success.
They will help you develop strategies to seduce and incentive consumers, for example; make him stay in your hotel for a second time.
If they point out cleanness as the one attribute which they value the most in a hotel, and then in the online survey you ask them to evaluate their satisfaction in their stay and they answer positively, then you have accomplished your mission.
Discover the preferences of your potential consumers.
What obstacles stand among your company and your client? What characteristics are more valuable about your product? Why do they choose other brands?
An online survey can be helpful not only to know better your actual customers but also your potential ones which now are preferring your competitors. With some type of incentive as an excuse like a gift or a discount, it is the ideal resource to dig up on where they prefer buying things, and which are their motives for choosing other brands over this one.
You can even invite them to answer these questions offering them several options and asking them to rearrange them in order of importance. This way, you will be able to understand what aspects are more valuable over others, and act upon your marketing and commercial strategies.
Surveys will help you identify what satisfies consumers that already know you and discover the preferences of your potential customers.
To sum up, getting to know the consumer is a difficult task as it includes measuring several aspects. The five best pieces of advice enumerated above are a successful way to establish your objectives. At the same time, it is highly recommended to make online surveys periodically, to extract bigger conclusions.