Is the survey a useful tool for market research?
Posted: Mon Jan 06, 2025 9:09 am
Surveys can be a very useful tool to gather information and research your market. They can be carried out in two ways: Online and Offline.
Find your niche market using online surveys.
Conducting your own survey involves several steps:
Defining survey objectives
Developing survey questions
Do a pilot test
Conduct the survey
Analyze the results
Defining survey objectives
Having a clear idea about why you are conducting the survey and what information you need to collect will help you design your survey.
For example, if you want to find out what people think about bahamas phone number your brand you will need qualitative questions. However, if you want to measure the effect of a price increase on sales you can ask more quantitative questions. I recommend reading: Qualitative, Quantitative Research or Both? Choose the right tool .
Your survey objectives will also help determine the size and demographics of your sample group.
Developing survey questions
imageFor best results keep your survey simple and short.
Focus your time on what matters most: the questions . The hardest part of the survey process is developing the questions. To avoid errors in the information you collect, your questions should:
use simple and familiar technical language
Avoid abstract or vague concepts
be short and to the point
not to lead the defendant to a particular response
Do not ask more than one question at a time.
Survey questions can be either “closed” or “open.” Closed questions typically offer fixed response options while open questions allow the respondent to answer using his or her own words.
Closed questions are easier to analyze, while the answers to your open-ended questions can vary considerably making it harder to identify trends. Open or closed questions – which do you prefer?
Recommendations for an online survey
The questions should be:
Arranged in a logical order, starting with very general questions and becoming increasingly specific.
Grouped according to how they relate to each other.
You may be interested in reading: How to make a survey using logic in the questions .
Demographic information should be collected at the end of the survey when the respondent is finished and engaged with the tool. These questions will help you segment responses based on age, gender, geographic location, education level, income, among others that you consider relevant to your study.
Pilot survey
It is useful to test your survey with a small sample group before distributing it to a wider audience. A pilot test determines whether the data collection instrument is correct, when it validates that the questions are appropriate and how the responses relate to the objective of the survey .
Questions that may not be appropriate for respondents' understanding should be corrected before distribution to your broader sample group.
Remember that it is vitally important for you that the information collected is exactly what your study needs. By carrying out a pilot test you will be saving time, money and resources.
Conduct the survey
There are several methods for conducting a survey: online, by phone or face-to-face. The method you use will usually depend on your budget and the time it takes to have the data and report completed.
Regardless of the method used to distribute the survey you will need to ensure that your sample size is large enough to produce reliable results. A small sample size will have a higher risk of error and may produce misleading results. How to determine the sample size for marketing research?
As a general rule, 100-200 respondents should be sufficient for a small area, 400-500 for a metropolitan area, and 600-1000 for integrating several cities. These sample sizes provide reliable results.
You can study small groups of people, however, you will not be able to trust the data statistically, let alone assure your end client that the results are 100% reliable.
You can engage market research companies to conduct the survey on your behalf or purchase direct marketing lists online.
Find your niche market using online surveys.
Conducting your own survey involves several steps:
Defining survey objectives
Developing survey questions
Do a pilot test
Conduct the survey
Analyze the results
Defining survey objectives
Having a clear idea about why you are conducting the survey and what information you need to collect will help you design your survey.
For example, if you want to find out what people think about bahamas phone number your brand you will need qualitative questions. However, if you want to measure the effect of a price increase on sales you can ask more quantitative questions. I recommend reading: Qualitative, Quantitative Research or Both? Choose the right tool .
Your survey objectives will also help determine the size and demographics of your sample group.
Developing survey questions
imageFor best results keep your survey simple and short.
Focus your time on what matters most: the questions . The hardest part of the survey process is developing the questions. To avoid errors in the information you collect, your questions should:
use simple and familiar technical language
Avoid abstract or vague concepts
be short and to the point
not to lead the defendant to a particular response
Do not ask more than one question at a time.
Survey questions can be either “closed” or “open.” Closed questions typically offer fixed response options while open questions allow the respondent to answer using his or her own words.
Closed questions are easier to analyze, while the answers to your open-ended questions can vary considerably making it harder to identify trends. Open or closed questions – which do you prefer?
Recommendations for an online survey
The questions should be:
Arranged in a logical order, starting with very general questions and becoming increasingly specific.
Grouped according to how they relate to each other.
You may be interested in reading: How to make a survey using logic in the questions .
Demographic information should be collected at the end of the survey when the respondent is finished and engaged with the tool. These questions will help you segment responses based on age, gender, geographic location, education level, income, among others that you consider relevant to your study.
Pilot survey
It is useful to test your survey with a small sample group before distributing it to a wider audience. A pilot test determines whether the data collection instrument is correct, when it validates that the questions are appropriate and how the responses relate to the objective of the survey .
Questions that may not be appropriate for respondents' understanding should be corrected before distribution to your broader sample group.
Remember that it is vitally important for you that the information collected is exactly what your study needs. By carrying out a pilot test you will be saving time, money and resources.
Conduct the survey
There are several methods for conducting a survey: online, by phone or face-to-face. The method you use will usually depend on your budget and the time it takes to have the data and report completed.
Regardless of the method used to distribute the survey you will need to ensure that your sample size is large enough to produce reliable results. A small sample size will have a higher risk of error and may produce misleading results. How to determine the sample size for marketing research?
As a general rule, 100-200 respondents should be sufficient for a small area, 400-500 for a metropolitan area, and 600-1000 for integrating several cities. These sample sizes provide reliable results.
You can study small groups of people, however, you will not be able to trust the data statistically, let alone assure your end client that the results are 100% reliable.
You can engage market research companies to conduct the survey on your behalf or purchase direct marketing lists online.