Survey faux pas: 7 common mistakes that companies should avoid

SURVEY FAUX PAS:7  COMMON  MISTAKES  THAT    

COMPANIES SHOULD AVOID

Companies must pay close attention to

survey design in order to optimize results.

Not too long ago, I was approached by a friend who is in the restaurant business. He was worried because his restaurant was receiving all sorts of negative comments on social media.

He hired a local market research firm to pinpoint the issue. Unfortunately, he stated that the results were useless. He felt stagnant and that caused a great deal of frustration.

I asked him to show me a copy of the survey and its results. To start off, it was a tedious and long survey. The wording was confusing; therefore, some questions did not make sense. Analyzing the firm’s final report, it seemed that the respondents had become uninterested and answered the questions without putting much effort.

During the conversation, he confessed that he was barely involved in the market research process. He argued that he was busy and assumed that the firm knew what they were doing.

These are just a few of the mistakes that businesses make during the market research process. Managers must be involved throughout the planning of a survey. A well executed survey brings useful data to improve business processes.

If you are looking to conduct a survey, pay close attention to the following:

1. THE SURVEY DOES NOT HAVE A GOAL.

Not knowing the purpose of your survey equals to driving without a destination. How are you supposed to arrive if you have no direction?

My friend was aware of the negative comments of his restaurant, but he was vague on what he wanted to accomplish. If he would have been clear on the objectives of the study, the execution would have been different.

Let’s say he wanted to measure customer satisfaction, the survey design would have the appropriate structure to collect specific data. Instead of asking 20+ questions covering different subjects, the survey could be engaging and lean. Therefore, participants would be willing to put in some effort into the survey, rather than dropping out.

A survey with an objective is able to deliver solid results. Making data-driven decisions will enable you to improve specific business processes.

2. THE SURVEY IS LONG AND HAS FILLERS.

At some point, most of us have experienced a tedious survey.

What happens when we encounter one of these studies? We lose interest, we don’t put much effort in responding correctly or we simply exit the survey.

Some businesses have a misconception that the more questions they ask, the more information they will collect. Rather, they should focus on including the relevant questions that will drive the accurate data that they need. An appropriate length for a survey is between 10-15 questions.

Adding unnecessary questions can throw off the survey’s structure causing the respondent to lose interest quickly.

3. THE QUESTIONS ARE CONFUSING.

Confusing questions is the kryptonite to any survey.

Let’s go back to my friend’s survey. After going over the structure, some of the questions were not clear enough. Others were conditioned to receive a certain response.

The problem with this is the confusion it causes to the respondent. The questions were not easy to understand, the participant felt a sense of uncertainty augmenting their time of response.

It caused a major conflict, the logic of the questions were unclear and the collected information or data was compromised. For that reason, this is why he felt that the survey results were useless.

It is imperative for a business to work on and review the survey questions. Removing or editing confusing questions can go a long way to optimize survey results.

4. THE SURVEY IS NOT CUSTOMIZED.

Potential respondents are more likely to participate if you brand your survey. Customers feel valued when you take their opinions into consideration; especially, when it contributes positively to your business.

It is important to add the company logo, color scheme and font types. This adds more credibility to your survey; therefore, it translates into higher response rates and substantial data quality.

If you have the right tools to customize the survey, it should be quick and easy. A platform such as Survmetrics allows you to do so. Within minutes, you can create a beautiful and powerful survey.

5. THE WRONG TARGET AUDIENCE.

It happens, companies sometimes design a survey for the wrong audience. In my opinion, defining the purpose and the target audience determines the success of the survey.

Without a defined target audience:

• It complicates the survey design process. If you can’t identify who your audience is, then you will have a hard time creating the right questions to ask.

• You don’t know if the purpose of your survey is relevant to the participant. For example, a dog food survey to a cat owner.

• You don’t know which communication channels are most effective to reach the participants.

Companies should understand their target audience prior to the survey design. It will save you time, money and a headache. Most importantly, you will collect the information that you need from the audience that you want.

6. NOT FOLLOWING UP ON THE SURVEY.

Due to lack of time, some respondents do not participate right away. Nowadays, it is fine to send a few reminder emails. You never know if these participants might share valuable information to your brand, so follow up.

Most importantly, once you’ve compiled the data and have results, share them with the respondents. Make them feel that their feedback is of utmost importance and their input is invaluable to your brand. Again, follow up.

If you are not following up, chances are respondents might not feel encouraged to participate in future studies.

7. SURVEY IS NOT MOBILE FRIENDLY.

Smartphones and tablets allow us to stay connected on the go. Is your survey mobile friendly?

If your company plans to conduct a study, make sure that it is compatible to all the technological gadgets. One survey platform that is designed to keep your survey mobile is Survmetrics. You don’t have to worry about device compatibility, rest assured that your participants will be able to give their feedback flawlessly.

If you want to stay on top of the survey design game, then focus on providing the best experience to the respondent. Make sure that your survey is accessible on mobile devices and simplify the market research process.

We have covered the most common mistakes that companies make when they implement surveys. Grab these points and put them on a checklist. Go over them and design an impeccable survey that delivers the required results.

I can’t stress enough how Survmetrics has simplified the survey design experience. This is the most complete platform in the market today. You can design and brand your surveys, it also boosts the mobile market research experience. Plus, it has the most thorough analytics tool delivering powerful data.

A platform this complete will keep your surveys mistake-free.

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