Previously, I discussed mastering qualitative and quantitative questions. This week, I will expand on that and discuss why it is important to design surveys with the end in mind and have set objectives for our research to get valuable results.
Designing with the end in mind.
When tasked with designing a survey, whether for our company or someone else’s, it not only takes time but also planning and strategizing to ensure that we create a ‘GOOD’ survey and not one that simply asks questions of our audience without clear results in mind. If we start by clarifying our objectives for doing this market research and creating the survey, it will allow us to plan what questions to ask, how to ask them, the scales we want to use, etc. We need to ensure we are not wasting our time and the survey takers’ time by asking questions that will not have actionable results for the company for which we are creating the survey. If we are analyzing and reporting the results of this research afterward, it would not be beneficial to spend the money on that research if we do not get results that will add value that exceeds what we spent to create the survey in the first place.
What is in it for the people taking the survey?
It is important to consider the audience’s time and lay out our surveys in a way that keeps their attention and smoothly guides them through with transitional points along the way. Sometimes, the audience is paid, and sometimes, they are given a reward of a different kind (in the pet industry, this could be a discount on their next four scheduled services, for example). Still, it always costs them their time, and we must consider that fact. If there are too many questions, we risk only getting partial results if they leave before finishing or omissions if they begin to skip questions they feel are not as important as others. Too few questions, and we may not get all the information we wish to receive by doing this research in the first place. We need to clarify upfront how long this will take the individual to complete on average and let them know what the section is about ahead of time, with transitional guiding statements along the way to motivate them and let them know when they are nearing the finish line, so to speak. It also doesn’t hurt to thank them for their time again at the end.
How many people should we administer our surveys to?
Remember that it costs money to administer these surveys, and even if you are designing and administering the survey on your own as a pet industry professional, it still will cost you time, which, in turn, is money. We want to ensure we are asking the right questions to the right people and not wasting anyone’s time at the end of the day. We set our objectives, then design the questions around getting answers to help with the objective(s), and afterward decide how many people we need to ask to feel confident in the results we get back from administering the surveys.
Impactful Surveys can help pet industry professionals to:
- Understand pet owner preferences.
- Discover new ideas for product development and innovation.
- Improve existing services or add new ones based on market needs.
- Find new market segments we may want to enter.
- Discover new ways that we can engage with the community!
- And so much more…
“Ask the right questions to the right people in the right ways, and you can gain valuable insight into the industry and the market you wish to enter or grow in!”
Ashley Lee “Pet Pro gone Marketing Pro”
