ABOUT THE ONLINE SURVEY
An online survey is a questionnaire that the target audience can complete over the Internet. Online surveys are usually created as Web forms with a database to store the answers and statistical software to provide analytics. People are often encouraged to complete online surveys by an incentive such as being entered to win a prize.
Companies often use online surveys to gain a deeper understanding of their customers’ tastes and opinions. Like traditional surveys, online surveys can be used in two basic ways: To provide more data on customers, including everything from basic demographic information (age, education level and so on) to social data (causes, clubs or activities the customer supports) To create a survey about a specific product, service or brand in order to find out how consumers are reacting to it. In contrast to traditional surveys, online surveys offer companies a way to sample a broader audience at a lower cost.
ADVANTAGE OF THE ONLINE SURVEY
- Increase response rates by reaching your target audience fast
- Conduct market research at a fraction of the usual cost
- Get real-time results for quick and easy analysis
Faster The time span needed to complete an online survey project is on average two-thirds shorter than that of traditional research methods. Because information is being gathered automatically, you don't have to wait for paper questionnaires to come back to you - response time is almost instant. Online marketing experts say that more than half of responses are received within the first three days of the research project.
Cheaper Using online questionnaires reduces your research costs. You will save money on postage and you don't have to allocate time and resources to enter the information into a database. Responses are processed automatically and the results are accessible at any time.
More accurate The margin of error is greatly reduced with online surveys because participants enter their responses directly into the system. Traditional methods rely on the attentiveness of staff to enter all details correctly, and naturally human error can creep in whenever a person has to perform a repetitive task.
Quick to analyse The results of the online survey are ready to be analysed at any time. View results in real-time so you can act quickly, create graphs for reporting, export data for further analysis and share your results with anyone.
Easy to use for participants The majority of people that have access to the Internet prefer to answer surveys online instead of using the telephone. With an online survey, participants can pick a moment that suits them best and the time needed to complete the survey is much shorter.
Easy to use for researchers The main benefit of online surveys for researchers is that they increase productivity by saving time. Data is instantly available and can easily be transferred into specialised statistical software or spreadsheets when more detailed analysis is needed.
Easy to style An online survey is an opportunity to imprint your brand in the user’s mind and remind them of the benefits you provide. Your survey can be styled to match your business website with customised backgrounds, images, logo, fonts, final re-direct page and even the URL of your survey. Ensure that your online survey provider supports mobile responsive surveys, enabling you to increase your reach, whilst maintaining your brand across all platforms.
More honest Market researchers have found that participants overwhelmingly prefer to complete online surveys rather than take part in written questionnaires or telephone interviews and usually provide longer and more detailed answers. By designing and sending relevant and targeted surveys, people are more likely to respond with honest answers.
More selective With an online survey you can pre-screen participants and allow only those who match your target profile to complete the survey.
More flexible The order of the questions in an online survey can be changed, or questions can be skipped altogether, depending on the answer to a previous question. This way, a survey can be tailored to each participant as he or she proceeds.
To sum up, online surveys are a great option for people and organisations who would like to conduct their own research – they are less time consuming, they are cheaper, you get the results faster, and you can transfer and use the data in various applications to answer important questions.