survey basics blue paper

8/9/2019 Survey Basics Blue Paper

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/survey-basics-blue-paper 1/12

Survey Savvy

4imprint.com

http://www.4imprint.com/

http://www.4imprint.com/


http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/survey-basics-blue-paper 2/12© 2008 4imprint, Inc. All rights reserved

Survey SavvyThe lowdown on achiev ing survey nirvana

“ Aw, people can come up with statistics to prove anything, Kent. Forty

percent of all people know that .”–HomerSimpson

Surveydatacanbemanipulated,misquotedandjustplainmadeup.

Nowonderpeopleshyawayfromconductingmarketsurveys.But

whenwrittenwell,appliedtotherightaudienceand—most

importantly—whenresultsareactedupon,amarketsurveyisa

“doordie”elementofbusiness.Thatringstruewhetheryouarea

smallflowershoporabigindustryplayer.

Why spend the t ime, effort and money?

Seeifyourbusinessfitsanyofthesescenarios.Areyou:

• Startinganewbusiness?

• Introducinganewproductorservice?

• Maintainingbusinessinthefaceofchange?

Perhapsyouarethinking,“Mybusinessisn’tchanging.”Ah,butareyousure?

Marketschange.Competitionchanges.Technologychanges.Customerschange.

Andyourbusinesschangeswiththem,whetherornotyouwantitto.1

Itdoesn’tmatterifyouarefacingchangeofyourownmakingordealingwith

inevitablemarketshifts,wellexecutedresearchwillhelpyoumakebetterbusiness

decisions.

Assume nothing

Mostofusareguiltyofthinkingweknowwhatourcustomerswant.Andweputalotoffaithinourassumptions.

Butweneedtodothesimplething—ask—beforeacting.

In1990,DarleneMannwasthedirectorofproductmarketingatasoftware

companycalledVerity.Thecompanyhaddevelopedsomehighlysophisticated

softwarefordocumentstorageandretrieval.

1 Market Research Made Easy. Don Doman, Dell Dennison, Margaret Doman. Self-Counsel Press,

2nd edition. Nov. 1, 2002.

http://www.4imprint.com/005608




Indesigningthesoftware,Veritystaffmadetheassumptionthatitscustomerswould

havethehigh-techpersonneltouseit.“Wethoughttheproductwasimportant

enoughtoourcustomersthattheywouldhavehighlyskilledpersonnelrunit,”Mann

wroteinanarticleforInc.Magazine.2

Intruth,customersthoughtitwastoo

complicatedtouse,andtheydidn’t

havethepeopletooperateit.Inthe

end,theonlycustomerthatsuccessfully

installedthesoftwareonitsownwasNASA’sJet

PropulsionLabs—aclearsignalthattheapplicationtookhigh-caliberresources.

Oneyearlater,Veritylaunchedanewv ersionthatwassimplertouse.Thanksto

customerinput,thatproductwasquitesuccessful.

“Thedelaycostusayear,andwelostsignificantrepeatsalesearlyonbecausewedidn’t

doourhomework.Hadwesimplystartedbyaskingourselvesandourcustomersthe

questionsweshouldhave,wewouldnothavewastedallthattimeandmoney,”she

reported.

Assumptionscanbecostly—notonlyintermsoffinancialinvestmentbutinlost

customersandlostmarketshareaswell.Byconductingmarketresearch,youcanavoid

manyexpensivemistakes.

Choose your toolOnceyouhavedecidedtoqueryyourcustomerbase,youneedtochoosethe

appropriateresearchmethod.

Marketresearchtoolscanbequantitativeorqualitativeinnature,orboth.Quantitative

toolsarestatisticallybased.Resultsincludequantities,percentagesandnumbers.(Asin

28%ofourBluePaperreaderswatchTheSimpsons.Or,9outof10readersknowwe

madethatstatup.)

Qualitativetools,ontheotherhand,providelongeranswersthatresearchersanalyzetodiscovertrends.Thinkfocusgroupsandthose“additionalcomments”boxesin

onlinesurveys.Youdon’twalkawaywithhardnumbers,butyoudogetagreater

depthofinformationandoftengainnewinsightsonthingsyoudidn’tthinkto

askabout.

Researchersuseavarietyofmethodstogetresults,oftencombiningmultiplechoice

2 “Hitting the Market.” Darlene Mann. Published at http://www.inc.com/articles/2000/03/19094.htm l. Accessed June 27, 2008.





http://www.inc.com/articles/2000/03/19094.htm


http://www.inc.com/articles/2000/03/19094.htm



Cons:Surveysarenotaccessibletolow-literate

respondents.Oftenrequiresanincentiveand

multiplemailingstoincreaseresponserate.

•Onlinesurveys

Pros:Accesstoawidegeographicarea.Can

provideinstantresponse.Ofteninexpensive

toadministerandgenerallyincludesreportingandanalysistools.

Cons:LimitsresponsetoactiveInternetusers.

KarenHerther,principalofMarketDynamics,adirectmarketingandmarketresearch

consultancyinActon,Mass.,saysfewercompaniesareusingtelephonesurveysbecause

peoplefindcommercialcallsintrusive.Butwhilethey’rehangingupthephone,Herther

sayspeopleareincreasinglyreceptivetogoingonlinetotakesurveys.

Stopandthinkaboutit:It’shardtoleaveaWalgreen’sorTargetwithoutthereceipt

beckoningyoutogoonlinetotakeasurveyandgetachancetowinaprize.Whatused

tobemoreofanichethatfocusedonwhatonlineconsumerswantedisnowusedto

gaugemainstreamopinions.

Ofalltheaboveexamples,thespokensurveys(phone,intercepts,one-on-one,focus

groups)naturallyprovidegreateraccesstorespondentsthathavetroublereadingor

arevisuallyimpaired.One-on-oneinterviewsandfocusgroupsprovideopportunityfor

follow-upquestionsandclarification.Paperandelectronicquestionnairescanprovideanonymityforsensitiveissues.

Consideryouraudienceandresearchgoalscarefully,andchooseasurveytoolthatwill

generatethebestresponse.

Select the audienceTheoverwhelmingmajorityofresearchyoudowillrevolvearoundthatspecialcategory

ofpeoplecalledcustomers:

• Currentcustomers

• Prospectivecustomers

• Lostcustomers

• Members

• Community

• Employees(internalcustomers)

• Shareholders(internalcustomers)



Gettingtherightsamplesizeinyoursurveyiscrucial,althoughtherearenohard-

and-fastrulesfordeterminingwhatthat“rightsize”is.Thinkaboutwhomyouwant

reflectedinyoursurveyresultsandstrivetoreachasignificantnumberofrespondents

ineachcustomerbase.

Forexample,youmightwanttosurveyonlyhigh,repeatusersto

learnmoreaboutyourbestbrandaficionados.Or,youmightwant

tosurveyawidedemographicrangetoascertainwhois

usingyourproductthemost.

KarenHertherofMarketDynamicssayssheseldomsees

surveysconductedonmorethan1,000respondents

because,ifproperlysegmented,additionalresponses

willnotchangetheresults.

Torepresentalltherightaudiencesforyourbusiness,Hertherremindscompaniesto

surveynotonlycustomersbutprospectivecustomers.InaGirlScoutvolunteersurvey

sheconducted,forexample,shequeriedpeopleonwhytheydidn’tvolunteerforthe

organizationandgavethemanopen-endedopportunitytocomment.

Theanswerhadahugemarketingimplication—itwasassimpleas“weweren’tasked.”

Manypeoplehadn’tsteppedforwardsimplybecausetheythoughtonlyscoutingparents

volunteered.TheGirlScoutsofAmericatookthisinformationbacktotheirdrawing

boardandintegrateditintohowtheymarketedtheirprograms.

Screen respondentsConsiderif(andhow)youwillscreenrespondents.Foranythingbutthe

smallestinterviewgroups,youwillwantavarietyofparticipants.Ifrespondents

don’treflectyourcustomerbase,youwon’thaveastatisticallyvalidsurveyfrom

whichtodrawconclusions.

Someup-frontquestionscaneliminatepeoplewhoseattitudesmightbebiased,who

areinacompetitiveindustry,orwhomightusethefactyouareconductingasurvey

totheiradvantage.3Screeningquestionscanalsopurgepeopleoutsideyourtarget

responsegroup(e.g.youwantrespondentstobethemainpersonresponsiblefor

groceryshoppinginthehouseholdortobeinaspecificagerange.)

3 Market Research Made Easy.

© 2008 4imprint, Inc. All rights reserved













Ask and you shal l rece iveOneofthemostimportantelementsofthesurveyisthemostobvious—thequestions.This

isn’ttheplacetobelazyandaskalaundrylistofinquirieswithallthe“itmightbenice-to-

know”informationyoucanthinkof.Writingsurveystakesanalmostscientificapproach,

plusadoseofcommonsense.Thatformulaincludesthesetips:

• Provideinstructions.Includeinstructionsforansweringallthequestions

includedonthesurvey.(Asin“Rate5formostlikelytopurchaseand1forleast

likely.”)Soundsstraightforward,butdon’tassumeanything.

• Keepitsimple.Askaboutonlyone

topicineachquestion.Askingabout

moreskewsanswersbecausea

respondentmightagreewithonepart

ofthequestionanddisagreewith

theother.

Confusing:Agree/Disagree“IlearnednewinformationinthisseminarandI

expecttoapplyittomycurrentjob.”Better:Splitthisquestionintotwoparts.

• Writetoyouraudience.Avoidtechnicaljargonandacronyms,anddon’tmake

assumptionsthatpeopleknowwhatyou’retalkingabout.

Confusing:DoyouagreewithCanada’srulingtobanbabybottles

containingBPA?Better:Explainthesituation,gaugeawarenessand

thenaskfollowupquestions,i.e.InApril2008,theCanadiangovernment

bannedtheuseofpolycarbonateininfantbottles.Howwouldyourate

yourawarenessofthisissue?

• Makeittherightlength.Youdon’twanttooverwhelmtherespondent

withmorethanafiveto10minutesurvey,orit’slikelytheywon’twantto

participate.JimKratowicz,experiencedmarketresearcherandpresidentof

PureCartSystems(seecasestudybelow)tendstolimitsurveysto15questions

orless,becauseifyougettoolengthy,youskewtheresultsofthetypeof

peoplewhoparticipate.

• Asktherightquestions.Beclearandspecific.You’llknowifyourquestionsare

toobroadifpeoplecheckeveryitemonthelistofanswers.Startwithgeneral

questionsatthebeginningofyoursurveyandmovetowardmorespecific

questions.Mixitup,too,withavarietyofresponsestylesincludingranking,

agree/disagree,multiplechoiceandshortanswerboxes.









• Don’taskleadingquestions.Insteadofasking,“Howdidyoulikeour

convenientlayawaypolicy?”ask,“Didourlayawaypolicymeetyourneeds?”

Don’tmakethemistakeofputtingwordsintopeople’smouths.Ifyoursurvey

toolallows,leaveroomforadditionalcommentsafterappropriatequestions

and/orattheendofthesurvey.

• Onlyaskquestionsyouplantoacton.Thisisabigone.Don’twastethe

spaceonquestionsthatmightbe“interesting”or“goodtoknow”ifyou’re

notgoingtodoanythingwiththeanswers.

• Giveitapracticewhirl.Testthesurveywithregularcustomers,friendsor

evenpeopleonthestreet.Askthemforfeedbackonthesurvey’sstyle,

simplicityandtheirperceptionofitspurpose.4

Hel lo? Anyone there? (Gett ing a response)There’snosuchthingasafreelunch—butit’sfreemoney

(sayafewbucks),giftsandcouponsthatcanmakethedifference

betweennoresponseandaccurate,usefulresults.

Thekeytogettingasurveyresponseistoprovidepositive

reinforcement.Peoplelovetoberewarded.

Aworthwhileincentivecanentice50percentofthepeoplewho

wouldnotnormallycompletethesurvey,tofinishitandsenditin.Thisappliestobothpaperandpencilsurveysandonesthatare

presentedontheInternet.5

Incentivesareverypersonal.Itcouldbemoney,agiftcertificatefor

dinner,at-shirt,acoolerorevencoupons.

WhilemostcompanieswillprovideagiftAFTERasurveyhasbeenreturned,somedirect

mailresearchersfindsuccessfromincludingasmallincentiveintheinitialmailing.

That’swhatJerryMader,publisherofseveralWisconsinbusinesspapers,did.Whenhe

mailedarecentreadersurvey,heslippeda$1billineachenvelope.Thecash,hethinks,

createsasmallsenseofobligationtorespond.Itcanbesopowerful,infact,thatafew

4 “What Is Marketing Research?” Published at http://www.sba.gov/smallbusinessplanner/manage/marketandprice/SERV-MARKETRESEARCH.html . Accessed June 19, 2008.

5 “How to Improve Survey Response Rates.” John Towler, Ph.D. Published at www.canadaone.com in June 2003. Accessed June 19, 2008.


http://www.sba.gov/smallbusinessplanner/manage/marketandprice/SERV-MARKETRESEARCH.html


http://www.canadaone.com/


http://www.canadaone.com/





peopleevensentthemoneybackiftheydidn’twanttofilloutthesurvey!

Whenplanningincentives,Hertherwarnsagainstusingpromotionsthatareonly

appealingtocertainaudiences.Adrawingforatriptoawaterpark,forexample,could

skewyourresponsetofamilieswithyoungchildren.

Incentivesdon’thavetobemonetaryinnature.Whenrespondentshaveastrong

attachmenttoabrandorsocialcause,they’reoftenwillingtoparticipateinsurveysasa

wayofsharingtheiropinionorinfluencingthedirectionofaproducttheybelievein.

That’swhatHertherfoundthroughherworkwithMamboSprouts,anorganicproducts

marketer.ShesaidsomerespondentsarejustexcitedtoparticipatebecauseMambo

Sproutsstudiesanareathey’repassionateabout:naturalhealth.

StillHertherusesincentiveslikenaturalproductcookbooksandcouponstoboost

responserate.Incentivesdon’thavetocostalot,shesays.Theyjustneedtohavea

perceivedvaluetoyouraudience.

Acaveat:Remember,asurveythatisoverlylongorcomplicatedwillslashyourresponse

rate—nomatterwhatkindofincentiveyouprovide.

Process ing the dataOnceyourdataiscollected,itneedstobesortedandtabulated.

Ifyourrespondentsampleissmall,youcantabulateresults

byhandandstillgetmeaningfulresults.However,ifyouwant

tocompareresultswithinthesurvey,you’llneeddata

analysissoftware.

Asoftwareprogramwillchartinformationtorevealtrends

(e.g.significantlyhighorlowresponses)andsimilarities

(e.g.trendssharedbyvaryingdemographicgroups).

MoreadvancedresearchersusedataanalysistoolslikeMarketSightandResearch

Analyzer.Ifyou’rerelativelynewtoresearchsurveys,onlinetoolslikeSurveyMonkeyor

Zoomerangwillprovideaccesstoeasy-to-useanalysistoolsthatallowyoutodosome

sophisticatedreporting.

Considerworkingwithalocaluniversityormaster’sstudentwhocannotonlycompile

surveyresults,butpossiblyalsoadministeritandreportontheresultswithoutbreaking


http://www.marketsight.com/

http://www.gmi-mr.com/market-research-software/market-research-analyzer.php


http://www.surveymonkey.com/

http://www.zoomerang.com/

http://www.zoomerang.com/

http://www.surveymonkey.com/



http://www.marketsight.com/



thebank.

Also,rememberthatyoucanonlyapplytheresultstothesampleyousurveyed.For

example,withMamboSprouts—whichgaugestheopinionsofnaturalandorganic

productconsumers’attitudes—Hertherknowstheresultsrepresentthataudienceonly.

Shecannotprojectthesefindingstothegeneralpopulation,whichincludeseveryone

fromcouchpotatoestodiehardfriedfoodaficionados.

Taking act ionConductingresearchandthensittingonwhatyoulearnedisself-defeating.Notonly

doesitwasteyourresources,butdedicatedcustomersmaybefrustratediftheydon’t

perceivechange.Everysurveyshouldresultinanactionplanforyourbusiness.Where

yourresearchends,everythingelsebegins.

CaseStudy:PureCartSystemsDoyouknowhowgermythatthingis?

PureCartSystems™hadwhatitconsideredtobean

innovativeproductideathatgroceryshopperswould

embrace—literally—everytimetheygrabbedagrocery

cart.Theideawasapush-throughsanitizingunitthat

wouldpurifyanentireshoppingcartinamatterof

seconds—instantlyremovingpubliclytransmittedgerms

andbacteria.

Butbeforeinvestorswerereadytolaunch,theyneededsome

hardfactsandjustification.

JimKratowicz,presidentofPureCart,knewthegermyreality.Studiesshowthatone

shoppingcarthandlecanharborasmanyasonemilliongerms,andcartbasketscanbe

contaminatedbyseepingmeatpackageandevenleakydiapers.Hesuspectedshoppers

farandwidewouldappreciate“de-germed”carts.Healsothoughtthesystemwould

benefitstoreowners,providingavaluabledifferentiatorinatightcompetitivemarket.

ButwhatdidKratowiczknow?Hewasn’ttheonlyonepushingacart.

A20-yearmarketresearchveteran,Kratowiczdecidednottoassumeanythingand

movedtodoasurvey.Andhediditearly—beforehemademarketingmaterials,a

strategicplan,alogoorevenfinancialmodels.Instead,PureCarthitthesurveycircuit

withonegoalinmind:tofindoutiftherewasamarketfortheirproduct.


http://www.purecartsystems.com/

http://www.purecartsystems.com/



Hehiredafirmtoconductanationwiderandomtelephonesurveywithasamplesizeof

500.Respondentswereaskedafewpivotalquestions:

• Arepeopleawareofthegermsinpublicplacesanddotheycare?

Resultsoverwhelminglysaid,yesandyes.

• WouldshoppersuseaproductlikePureCartattheirgrocerystoreoreven

switchtoanothergrocerystorethatdid?

Seventy-fourpercentindicatedtheywouldmostlikelyswitch;33percentofthose

indicatedtheywouldmostdefinitelyswitchtoonethatofferedpurifiedcarts.

Kratowiczalsocollectedsomefinancialinformationtousewhensellingthecartsystem

togrocers,includinghowmuchtherespondentsspentongroceriespermonthandhow

frequentlytheyvisitedthegrocerystore.

Thisfueledhissaleprocess.Hewasabletosaythatnotonlyalargepercentofpeople

saidthey’dswitchgrocerystorestouseonethatofferedPureCart,buthewasalsoable

toshowhowvaluablethesetypesofcustomerswereintermsoftheirgrocerypurchases

andfrequencyofvisits.ItboileddowntoROI.

Iftheresultshadcomebacknegatively,Kratowiczwaspreparedtorethinkstrategyor

perhapsnotevenlaunchPureCart.Buthissurvey’sresultssteeredhimaheadandhe

beganthelaunchprocess—inhopesthatgroceryshoppersacrosstheworldwouldone

daybesteeringtheircartsthroughaPureCartsystem.

Kratowicz’sresearchnotonlydemonstratedmarket

demand,butitgavehimtheammunitionheneededto

sellhisproducttogrocers.Becauseofhisresearch,

Kratowiczknewjusthowmanycustomersastorewould

havetoconvertinordertogetareturnoninvestment.

WhileKratowiczsaysPureCartisstillinstart-upmode,they

havemetwiththemajorityofmajorgrocersintheUnitedStates

andshippedsystemsoutsidetheU.S.

Thecompanyhasfollowedupwithadditionalresearch,usingin-storeexitsurveys

afteraPureCartSystemhasbeeninstalled.Typically,theyconduct400to500surveysas

peopleleavethestore,creatingastatisticallyreliablesample.




Among the ex it interv iew quest ions:

• Istheshopperawareoftheservice?

• Hasheorshementionedtheservicetoafriendorfamilymember?

Togivepeopleanincentivetochat,PureCartenterstheminadrawingforincentives

like$100storegiftcards.

Whattheexitsurveysrevealed:

• Onaverage,62percentofpeoplesaidPureCartwasoneofthevariablesthey

consideredwhendecidingwheretoshopforgroceries.

Translation:It’sbecomeapartofagrocer’svalueproposition.

• Awhopping90percentsaidtheytoldafriendorfamilymemberaboutPureCart.

Translation:They’vebecomethestore’sadvocatesandcheerleaders.

Thisisn’tidleresearchsoKratowiczandhisteamcanpateachotherontheback.

Kratowicz’sinitialresearchprovidedtheknowledgeheneededtolaunchwith

confidence.Andfollow-upsurveysprovidetheammunitionheneedstomakethesale.

TaketheleadfromPureCart...neverassume.Surveyandrespond.

4imprintservesmorethan100,000businesseswithinnovativepromotionalitemsthroughouttheUnitedStates,

Canada,UnitedKingdomandIreland.Itsproductofferingsincludegiveaways,businessgifts,personalizedgifts,

embroideredapparel,promotionalpens,travelmugs,totebags,waterbottles,Post-itNotes,customcalendars,

andmanyotherpromotionalitems.Foradditionalinformation,logontowww.4imprint.com.

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