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You may already be conducting a market research survey for your business. However, if you're making the same mistakes as so many researchers and businesses are with their surveys, you might not be getting the right kind of information for your business. Here are 7 market research survey mistakes to avoid.
1. Using Closed-End Questions Only (should include open-ended questions)
When you use closed-ended questions, you are basically stopping the conversation right there and not leaving room for your respondents to elaborate. With these types of questions, you get what you expect and mistakenly limit your respondent's answers to what you think is true. Worse, you can even bias respondents into giving you certain answers and indirectly influence them. You should always add in some open-ended questions to let your audience explain things to you.
2. Creating a Long Survey
Don't bore your respondents with a long survey since your readers may have limited time and you lose their attention fast, causing them to quit the survey before they're finished; increasing your abandonment rate. Limit your survey tool to only 25 questions which shouldn't take your respondents longer than 5 to 7 minutes to complete.
3. Doing One and Done
If you're asking your consumers or vendors to take part in a survey, you can send them more than one survey. It's a good idea to stay in touch with your audience and get their ideas and opinions. If they've already agreed to participate, you have their permission. Just don't overdo it, or it will look like you're spamming them.
4. Failing to Use Online Survey Software
Using survey software can shorten the time span needed to complete your market research project much faster than traditional research methods. Since online survey software allows you to gather up information automatically, your response time is nearly instant and you're not waiting on the mail for your paper questionnaires to get back to you.
5. Not Knowing the Exact Information You Want
Don't begin a survey software research project without first knowing exactly what type of information you are looking for from your consumers. Be specific and ask probing questions. Are you looking to see what your customers want from your business? Are you trying to find out their opinion on certain products or prices? This is the information you should already have in the back of your mind when you conduct your surveys.
6. Failing to Act Upon Feedback
Just sending out a market research survey is only one part of the entire process. When you get your surveys back, you need to analyze the data and formulate a plan of action to follow up on the feedback. After you execute this plan, you should send out a follow-up survey to see if you've met the expectations of your respondents.
7. Making Assumptions
It's too simple for small business owners to assume they know best. However, your products or prices might not necessarily be what customers are looking for. Don't base your decisions on speculation. Instead, base them on the data you collect from your market research.
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