Market research methods

Surveys

Surveys involve asking a series of questions to a sample of the target population that is large enough to be statistically valid. Surveys generally offer primarily closed-ended questions, although some open-ended questions may be included. Surveys can be administered by mail, telephone, email, Internet or in person.

Best Uses

• Develop a profile of your users:
  • identify client segments
  • determine client characteristics
• Validate or prioritize user needs
• Assess client satisfaction
• Gauge client awareness:
  • general awareness
  • post-advertising campaign awareness
• Track changes in attitudes and opinions

Methodological Considerations

• Ensure that your sample size and composition are appropriate:
  • be clear about whether you are sampling the public, your target audience or clients, or a sub-segment of any of these.
• Use one or more questions to “qualify” respondents, for example, to ensure that they fit the profile for your survey.
• Always pre-test the questionnaire with a selection of users to ensure that the questions are clear and do not take too long to complete.
• Specific considerations for online surveys:
  • Online surveys should take only five minutes (ideal) to fifteen minutes (maximum) to complete.
  • Users self-select; so, you may wish to have a question that categorizes them and removes the results from those that do not fit your sample. For example, if you want to gauge the information needs of clients who have used your products, but 25% of survey respondents have never used your product, it may be appropriate to exclude the results of the non-users from your survey results.
  • If you are using an online survey, enable an invitation to participate in the survey. This can include a link on your website or an “intercept” that interrupts users and invites them to take the survey. Note that you should invite users to take the survey when they have finished visiting your website, not when they start.
  • Put measures in place to ensure that the survey is live, functioning and capturing the data.
• Specific considerations for telephone surveys:
  • Telephone surveys should be limited to a maximum of 15 to 20 minutes.
  • Ensure you have adequate systems/software for capturing data (Excel, Statistical Package for the Social Sciences, and so on).