Creating Surveys: A Magic and Proven Method to Better Serve Your Clients or Customers
Do you ever have the problem of not having enough customers? Or does it seem like you are not meeting enough of your clients’ needs? Maybe you believe you could do a better job, if you understood them better, and what they are looking for from a company such as yours.
Find Out What They Are Looking For
If you have ever gone through this, or are dealing with these issues right now, there is a magic and proven method for helping you meet the needs of your clients or customers: creating a survey. Creating a survey allows you the flexibility to find out exactly what they are looking for in products or services so that you can meet their wants and needs head-on. This means and shows that you are taking a strong interest in them as individuals, and what their likes and dislikes may be.
A Real-Life Example
Several years ago, I was hired as a program director for a neighborhood community center. I was excited about the opportunity, and looked forward to bringing in great ideas for programs. After about a week or two, I was distraught. I had put in several programs that I thought would draw interest, and yet very few people were attending. I called my college professor to ask for advice, and his input was simple: find out what the community wants - make out a survey and bring it to them!
I followed my wise professor's advice and put together a survey for the neighborhood residents. I found out what they would like to participate in, but more importantly, by visiting with them, I built a relationship with them as well as trust that I was interested in giving them what they needed. Pretty soon, members started showing up to classes and activities, as well as events, and it wasn't long before I had to nearly beat them off with a stick! While the surveys were mainly geared toward adults and seniors, the youth and parents were also asked what they wanted, and had programs developed for them.
At another position that I held as a youth program director, I held a meeting for the kids to fill out a survey to help design the kind of programs they would like at their youth center, and received all kinds of input about what their interests were. This helped lead to more popular activities and field trips being created, and greater overall attendance!
The key to having surveys is to make them comprehensive, so that you do not have to hand out another one to gather more information in a short period of time afterward. You need to make them complete enough to gather all of the information that you need to make good decisions, and yet short enough to hold their attention long enough to finish it. Especially like when I was working with children, the main thing was to make things interesting and yet short enough to keep their attention.
Quantitative and Qualitative Research
When putting together a survey, there are two types of research you can conduct: quantitative and qualitative. Quantitative data is mainly statistical and objective. Qualitative information is more in-depth and can be based more on opinion.
Quantitative results can be taken from “closed-ended” questions, such as with multiple choice, or numbered ratings.
Using the program director surveys as an example, a “closed-ended question” might be:
What was your level of satisfaction with the program you just attended? Circle the corresponding number:
1 Extremely satisfied
2 Very satisfied
3 Moderately satisfied
4 Very unsatisfied
5 Extremely unsatisfied
You can also form a question to be multiple choice with multiple answers as well. This way, you can list several specific activities that you can offer, while asking them which ones they would prefer. This form of question can be especially appropriate for youth, as it targets their focus, as compared to some qualitative, “open-ended” questions. For instance, you could ask:
Please circle which of these activities you would most like to participate in?
Art
Cooking
Board Games
Dance
Kickball
The kids' answers would let you break down many options into a few or several programs that you are more certain would be successful if held at your center. You can even list more activities than this, although I would limit them to keep the youths' attention.
Qualitative results can be taken from “open-ended” questions, which allow the person to elaborate more on their answers, and provide a deeper understanding on their thought-process and decision-making. Still using the program director surveys as an example, some “open-ended” survey questions might be:
1. What are your favorite programs that you would like to participate in and why?
This question allows you to get the answers from the horses' mouths about what activities they would want to come to at your recreation center. The answers can help form the basis of "core" programs that you want to build your calendar around! You will have an idea of what they are most interested in, and be able to tailor your programming to fit these activities.
2. What can we do to improve activities and make them more interesting and fun?
This question allows you to stay ahead of the game in making sure that not only are you providing the kids their favorite activities and classes, but that you are doing your best to make them quality programs that are fun and interesting according to what they need as well. This means that your youth members will not only show up to the programs, but will likely continue to attend them over time.
3. What activities, classes, and events would you suggest that we have that are not already programmed?
Asking this question allows you to tap into the creativity of the kids, by having them come up with suggestions for programs that you may never have thought of otherwise. On one survey, I asked a similar question, and got suggestions for field trips that I had not considered. It's a great way to get ideas for programs that may be a bit off the beaten path.
There are several other types of questions that you can ask, and it can be very beneficial to survey the parents as well, but these few questions can serve as a key starting point.
One important method of providing surveys that is often neglected is having "exit" surveys. After a program has taken place, it can be very helpful to survey the participants and ask about:
1. Did you like the program?
2. Would you attend it again?
3. What suggestions would you have to make it better?
4. What other programs would you like to attend that are similar?
In this way, you can monitor your programs as you go along, and see how you can continue to improve upon them to make them high quality and sustainable, as well as come up with new ones that may be successful.
A Surefire Way For Quality Results
These methods can be used, and, for possibly better results, combined, for a company’s client or customer base, as well. Quantitative, “closed-ended” questions can help build statistical data, for more a more accurate viewpoint on the products or services provided. Qualitative, “open-ended” questions can develop a better understanding of clients’ or customers’ interests, and reasoning for their choices. Also, exit surveys can help in receiving information that is fresh from their minds, and possibly more honest, as a result.
Now you know of a surefire way to gain more clients or customers, and improve the quality of your products or services. Surveys have a magical way of making it easier to make quality changes that show you care, as well as make sure they sustain good results over time. Make sure to provide them periodically to be aware of any major changes that may take place in terms of needs or interests. This will help make and keep your company, and its offerings, popular, and in demand!
For more information on quantitative and qualitative research, you can go to:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/mp/quantitative-vs-qualitative-research/
If you are interested in using online survey tools, an article that rates and compares the best ones can be found here:
https://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2014/11/10/best-online-survey-tools
Happy surveying! :)