How Online Surveys Help to Outsourcing Research Services

Surveys ensure examination. Retailers, manufacturers, distributors and diverse organizations have sole aim, i.e. pushing sales. But first, market should have demand for their products/services. Let’s check how demand and supply cycle raises need for surveys.   

How demand and supply cycle triggers need for surveys?

Customers and operations are the fundamental blocks of demand and supply cycle. Both are individual entities but are interlinked. None can deny that need is the mother of invention. Let’s sense it through this example. Almost all customers begin their day with the sip of coffee/tea/milk. It indicates milk is the need of all. Thus, customers create its demand. Thereafter, the role of dairy producers begins. They measure how much milk is required daily by each customer. Suppose, a customer demands 2-litre milk every day. The dairy registers demand from approximately 100 customers. So, its owner multiplies quantity demanded with the number of customers per day, i.e.100 X 2-litre= 200-litre. The measured estimated demand is sent to its supplier. This way, the supply chain processes demand.

Now, the supplier wants to expand demand for milk and its products so that his profit margin will increase. Therefore, he opts for online survey to know the most preferable milk brands; diverse milk products (like butter milk, toned milk and so on), prospective customers’ count and their pocket-size. It costs dirt cheap and expansive reach.

Why online surveys?

Online surveys have direct intrusion to customers for the time-being. This market research method allows the respondents to privately complete online surveys. Then, researchers access and process them immediately. Therefore, they get rid of enduring overhead expense of conducting interviews.

The researcher should plan how to enhance engagement on online surveys.

How to make surveys engaging?

·         Survey designs matter a lot: A messy and complex survey always misses respondents. It should be short and easy to comprehend. Respondents never want to spend precious hours on clicking answers frequently for 10 to 15 minutes. So, it should have easy language and can be wrapped up in 5 minutes.    

·         Listen to and execute: As online surveys are interpersonal communications. The respondents love to answer the authentic listeners. To ensure the respondents, ask logical questions. For example, “What’s the taste you love to prefer in upcoming Coca Cola” is asked in Coca Cola survey. Sweet, sweet-n-sour and strong are provided as its answers to choose. Such kind of questions builds up trust.          

·         Offer incentives: Incentives attract quick response. Be it points to win cash in Paytm Wallet or discount on eateries in KFC, it always proves a winning theory to magnetize respondents.  

Personalize the invitation: The researcher should focus on inviting the right respondents. Design a sample in which the clear message should be drawn. It should state why the targeted respondent is chosen. (for e.g.: Thanks for shopping through Flipkart last Sunday! Answer and win discount coupon for further shopping experience…..)

What are the adverse impacts of online surveys?

Independent and outsourcing research services prefer capitalizing on online surveys’ simplicity and efficiency. The overwhelming respondents’ count inspires such companies to go for online surveys. With just one survey, they penetrate global community. But this reach emerges as its major drawback. Online survey invitations are accepted by a huge population. But long and several objective questions make the survey sloppy. As a result, its clutter piles up. The storage of huge data causes worry for the researchers. All these points are the grey areas for the researchers:     

·         Slashing respondent rates: The response rate of many online surveys remains restricted to single-digit, i.e. 1 % to 9%. And the extreme aspect is respondents’ opinion. Ambiguity remains in them as they are inferred as either happy or furious. When one confronts outliers, obtaining balanced opinion an uphill battle.           

1.       Declining interest of customers: The questionnaire for online surveys, usually, carries 50+ questions. The respondents run away after finding it lengthy. And an array of many questions irritates the remaining respondents them. They burn through the questions hastily without talking turkey.   

Saturated market: Online surveys are exploding. According to dmdatabases.com, the number of businesses in the US is 18, 204, 679. Imagine if its half businesses conduct online surveys, most of the respondents will enter black mood. And mostly will piss off.