One of the most common questions, especially among those making their first steps in research projects, concerns survey distribution and ways to reach survey respondents. How to make clients aware of the possibility to express their opinion and reach the desired sample keeping your response rate high?
Use different channels to collect customer feedback
If you run an e-commerce, your task is easier, because your clients are also online. Use multiple communication channels to inform your clients about the possibility to complete an online survey. Here are some of the ways you can try :
- Make your survey stand out on the website. You can use a link, an attractively designed button, an eye-candy widget, or a pop-up window.
- Put a link to the survey in your email footer.
- Distribute the link to your survey through your newsletter or a targeted mailing.
- Remember to finish each client chat with a survey link.
- Include the information about the possibility to give feedback on a thank you page that appears after the purchase is completed.
- Invite your fans to complete the survey by sharing the link on your social media.
- You may share your survey link on adequate thematic online forums if you’re looking for respondents who aren’t necessarily your clients.
- Consider integrating online surveys with your CRM (e.g., Capsule CRM). This is a very effective way to build a regular, long-term customer satisfaction and experience feedback program adapted specifically to the needs of your business. You will have the possibility to choose the participants invited to each survey (e.g. clients who made purchases for over 100 $, those who abandoned their shopping carts, or the ones who came back with complaints). You will also avoid the potential frustrations of customers feeling overflooded with survey invites by programming a maximum amount of questionnaires sent out to individual respondents in a given time. In case of negative feedback, it will be easier for you to react fast and improve customer experience, since online survey results in systems such as surveylab.com are delivered in real-time.
What about offline? How to reach customers who simply visit your store or office in a traditional way?
- Make sure you provide clear in-store information about the possibility to give feedback (e.g. posters, leaflets, stickers, etc.).
- Use the receipt to inform the customer about the survey – add a link or better yet a QR code.
- Conduct mobile surveys – this will make it possible for the clients who receive a link to complete the questionnaire right away while in the store on their smartphones or tablets. Choose a mobile survey provider who delivers questionnaires compatible with all types of devices and browsers like surveylab.com.
- Use beacons to automatically send out mobile survey invites to customers who are around by means of Bluetooth or NFC technology.
- Provide a stand with your online survey for the customers who visit you (e.g. at trade fairs).
- Train your staff to instruct and encourage customers to provide valuable feedback.
Some research projects, such as e.g. market research, creative campaign testing, product testing and other require you to reach respondents from outside the group of your current customers or people with very definite features and habits. In this case, it’s very convenient to use an online survey panel that provides respondents for your research. This allows you to quickly reach a precisely defined group of people (e.g. by age, sex, nationality, hobbies, career profile, etc.) and collect the desired sample without worrying about the response rate. You will only be charged for the valid answers you collect, regardless of the distributed number of questionnaires.