Executing survey campaigns can be extremely effective for our clients. The data gleaned from market surveys can be turned into press releases, market briefs and infographics, and, equally importantly, used in email marketing, sales presentations and media campaigns.
These surveys can help emphasize a company’s value, highlighting new trends in the industry and demonstrating an understanding of what’s driving them. Furthermore, the results often have a long shelf-life, with other businesses, articles and reports referencing the data more than a year later.
Given the value these surveys provide, it’s simple to say, “let’s just run a survey.” But, it’s important to ask a few questions before diving in.
- Do we even need a survey? Understand the goal of your survey and what important industry questions and topics the data will address.
- What story will the data tell? It’s easy to get lost in a flurry of potential questions when brainstorming for a survey campaign, but focus on building an intriguing story from the survey data.
- Where is the controversy? Nobody is going to find interest in a survey that explains that 99% of people like sunny days more than rainy days. Finding survey data that bucks conventional thinking or highlights a new trend is far more useful than a survey that backs up what people already know.
- Why? It’s easy to highlight the survey data, but always offer the reasoning behind the data. If 90% of respondents are saying one thing, offer an explanation and an idea for how to capitalize on that.
Survey strategy, like other facets of marketing, are constantly evolving. Don’t forget to take a temperature check every now and then to make sure your survey tactics are still relevant. Just this week at Corporate Ink, our team sat down for a discussion on the best tactics for creating a successful survey campaign, sharing some of our successes and failures and reiterating the core questions behind any survey.
By: Gil Haylon Twitter: @GilHaylon
