Making online surveys work
We love surveys. They are quick to create, garner invaluable insight and make us all feel that we really do understand our customers. But there is a problem, one which you have probably experienced many times, and that is inappropriate questioning during my online experience.
Yep, it sounds a little complicated, but really it’s about asking the right questions at the right time. Why ask someone at the end of the checkout process who well their visit went, when they are bound to answer well as they have just completed the task they came to your site to do?
Or even better, why ask someone how well things are going today with their visit when they have only just got to the site?
Our favourite is a survey that ran in the UK recently that asked customers why they were leaving and what could be done to improve their experience. Answer; nothing we all leave once we are finished!
Now of course there are some fantastic solutions to this dilemma that use amazing algorithms to track customers across your site before intercepting them at the critical point. But these are very costly to set up, run and report on, too much for most mere mortals whose dwindling budget can not cater for such expenses.
Opt-in, email out
The answer to our prayers took some finding and a little developing. The result is an enterprise level tool at a self serve price that allows us to do this:
- Customer enters site, opt-in questionnaire is offered to xx%
- A few simple questions are asked to understand their reason for visiting the site and their email is captured
- They are then sent a post-visit email survey that they must complete within 24hrs of their visit
This emailed survey is linked to the initial opt-in, seamlessly joining both sets of data and is used to measure everything from what they actually did to how well it worked and their likelihood of return or recommendation.
High success rates guaranteed
The best part is that the users visit to the site is hardly interrupted and their attention is focused on completing their tasks not rushing through a survey. The resulting data is very high quality as we are able to compare initial drivers against actual tasks and outcome verses perceived success.
We have also seen a very high uptake of this type of survey due to the fact that it can be completed at a more appropriate time and in reflection rather than prediction.
Given the huge costs savings that this mini-enterprise survey provides, more and more clients are now running quantitative and qualitative research projects together, combing online surveys with lab based or remote usability studies.
customer insight, internet research, market research, usability research