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Dear Harry,
In this issue of
Hints & Tips Online
Surveys,
you'll
learn about the types of questions you can
use when
creating a survey, what online polls can do
for your
business, the pros and cons of offering
incentives,
and more.
As always, your feedback is welcome. We want to
know what your challenges are and the areas you
want to learn more about in the world of online
surveys and polls. Please send us your
thoughts and suggestions!
Also, a great place to share ideas is our online
community, ConnectUp!
Discuss the topics in this issue on the
Hints
& Tips forum. I'll
stop in a few times a week to say hello and
answer your questions about best practices.
Thanks for reading!
Best wishes,
Amy Black
Editor, Hints & Tips
e-Newsletters
In This Issue:
It's All in How You Ask
Exploring the types of questions you can use in an online survey
By Eric Groves, SVP, Worldwide Strategy & Market Development, Constant Contact
It doesn't matter how I ask my 12-year-old
child a
question; the answer is always one of the
following: "it's alright," "whatever," or "uh
huh."
However, when it comes to your customers, how
you
ask a question will determine what kind of
answer you
receive. In the case of online surveys, the
goal is to
ask questions that will help you get
responses that are
truly useful and that you can take action on.
You have a number of question types to choose
from
when creating an online survey. Each type has
its own
benefits (and in some cases, drawbacks), so
consider the possibilities before deciding
which ones
you want to use. And remember that a good survey
has a mix of question types. Even if one type
is your
favorite, your respondents will get bored
answering
the same type of question again and again.
Engage
them by using a variety of the following
question types.
Single-Select Multiple Choice: This type
allows the
respondent to pick one answer from a provided
list.
This format works well if you ask a question
to which
there can be only one answer, such as age,
birth date,
and gender. The other ideal situation for
this question
type is when you want to force them to commit
to one
thing. A single-choice option compels them to
identify
their top priority.
Example: Which is the most
important consideration when purchasing a laptop?
- Price
- Memory
- Weight
- Screen size
Learn more about survey question types
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SourceAuthority.com
Web-based business increases customer confidence with online polls
Did you ever dream of building a rocket ship
when you
were a kid? SourceAuthority.com, based in
Greensboro, North Carolina, can get you the
parts you
need to do it. This niche company connects
buyers
looking for custom manufactured items made from
metal, plastic, and more to the suppliers who
make
them.
"We market to both manufacturing buyers and
suppliers. We want buyers to register on the
website
and create a request for quotes (RFQ). We want
suppliers to become members of our marketplace,
collaborate with buyers on projects, and then
provide
quotes," says COO Brian Self.
Brian first started using Constant Contact to
send an
email newsletter, the RFQ Weekly. He says,
"We need
to maintain consistent contact with our
rapidly growing
manufacturing community and an email
newsletter is
an easy, affordable, and effective way to do
it. Because
buyers need parts and suppliers need sales leads
frequently, we decided to publish it every
week."
SourceAuthority.com recently began using
Constant Contact's polling feature to create
polls for
their
newsletters. "We wanted to make the
newsletter more
interactive and to show our customers that we
care
about the issues that are important to
them," says Brian.
They ask questions such as, "How do you
believe that
free international trade has affected the U.S.
economy?" with answer options "Helped,"
"Hurt," "No
Difference," and "Unsure." Results from previous
week's polls are highlighted in each issue of
the
newsletter.
Brian hosts all the polls on a website page
and keeps
them live, so whenever a new website visitor
takes a
poll, the new results are seen instantaneously.
Brian has sent six polls out so far and
responses are
steadily growing. "We are seeing a steady
increase in
poll participation. We are getting better at
hitting the
hot topics that are of great interest to our
readers," he
says.
How does polling impact the business? "Polls
help
us to build our customers and potential
customers'
confidence in SourceAuthority.com by showing
that we
are in tune with the industry. The topics we
cover tell
them that we understand their business
challenges
and are developing solutions to help them
achieve
their goals."
Do you have an online survey or
polling success
story?
Share it with us and you may be featured on
Constant Contact's website or in Hints &
Tips.
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"How to" Tips for ListenUp!SM Online Survey
The help you need to put best practices to work with Constant Contact
Do you have questions about survey questions and
polling?
Our online knowledge base has answers. Between
our FAQs and our support blog, you can find
what you
need to succeed!
Survey
Questions
How do I change the question type on my survey?
What question types are available?
What type of preparation or planning should
I do
before creating a survey?
How do I add a question to my survey?
Polls
How do I add a poll to a webpage?
How do I create and preview a poll?
How do I edit a live poll?
How do I determine the status of my survey
or poll?
How do I view poll results?
How do I test my poll without affecting its
results?
On the Support Blog
What do polls mean to you?
See all survey results with the detailed
view
Want more product-focused tips?
Search our FAQs or visit our support blog.
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