An online survey can be an invaluable business tool and one that can really make a difference to your company’s profit margins. Done properly, an online survey can generate a mountain of useful data about every aspect of your ‘front of house’ business – from packaging right through to quality, customer satisfaction, even how easy the website is to use. All of this information can be data-mined and used to plan your future business strategy.

But do people really answer online surveys? And is the information generated by these surveys really as useful as it first appears?

Why people take part in an online survey

Everyone likes to be asked their opinion. Human nature is one of natural curiosity, so an internet based survey will always find some willing participants. Customers in particular are no longer satisfied with just buying a product and assuming that’s the end of the interaction. Now, thanks to an Internet that allows people to express themselves in a multitude of ways (think Twitter, blogging, Facebook and a host of other platforms), everyone has an opinion about everything. From hairdryers to moisturising creams, cars to accountancy, the public wants to let retailers and suppliers know exactly what they think.

And it is the wise business that takes notice of this collective voice. By tapping into the information provided by an online survey you can instantly find out what you’re getting right – and what you’re getting wrong. An online survey is the perfect opportunity to gauge your customer’s opinions about your product, your customer care standards, whether you’ve got the pricing right or even if they like the packaging.

A survey can also generate new business ideas from the suggestions of the product’s end user – the customer. If you keep seeing the same suggestions coming up over and over in your surveys, it may be wise to start thinking about incorporating those suggestions into your business plan. Doing so could give your business the jump-start it needs.

What’s the best way to do an online survey?

One option is to turn the process over to an internet survey specialist. These agencies are well practised in developing and running online surveys and generating detailed analysis of the results.

But for businesses that want to do it themselves, there are plenty of template options available on the Internet. By making your online survey part of your website you can encourage more direct interaction with your visitors.

Something for nothing?

If you want to make your survey more tempting then offering your survey participants some sort of reward for their time is a good way of generating a better response. Often the reward for participating in online surveys may be a money-off voucher for the retailer’s products. This can also be an extremely effective promotional technique as it can encourage the recipient to become a repeat customer. So simply by asking your customers for their opinions and rewarding them for responding you can create an effective marketing tool that boosts your company’s finances.

So an online survey is much more than just a questionnaire asking your customers what they think of you. It can be an effective marketing tool, a great way to drive traffic towards your website, an opportunity to boost your public’s perception of you and a sounding board for ideas and new concepts. So if you want your online survey to do more, talk to an expert agency and find out how a survey could make you take a fresh look at your business.