| Online surveys are giving marketing professionals | | | | create online surveys using an intuitive wizard |
| dynamic tools to help measure, analyze, and grow their | | | | interface. They present the results of the analysis in a |
| business. The latest Internet survey software provides | | | | variety of formats that help marketing professionals |
| valuable insights into how customers make decisions. It | | | | make informed decisions. |
| helps businesses make smarter choices about the four | | | | Placement and the Purchase Process |
| "P's" that determine success in the marketplace: | | | | Market research surveys can also provide valuable |
| product, price, placement, and promotion. | | | | information about how people prefer to shop. Do they |
| New Product Surveys: Design, Test, Design | | | | typically buy certain types of products online, or do |
| Savvy business owners know that marketing should | | | | they prefer to visit a store? If they like to shop in |
| begin long before their products hit the stores. | | | | person, do they prefer no-frills discount stores or |
| Marketing should begin with the product itself, and with | | | | stores that offer advice and greater customer |
| an in-depth understanding customer's needs and | | | | service? Do they buy from catalogs? If they do, do |
| preferences. | | | | they mail in their orders or use the catalog to shop |
| Powerful new questionnaire software gives | | | | online? |
| businesses a revealing glimpse into the minds of | | | | The purpose of all these questions is to discover how |
| potential customers. Market research surveys can help | | | | people feel about the purchasing experience. |
| a business rethink product design, or maybe just fine | | | | Sometimes two companies might offer virtually |
| tune it a bit. In simple terms, these surveys can help a | | | | identical products, but one company is much more |
| business give people what they want. | | | | successful because it provides customers the kind of |
| New product surveys try to get at the perceived | | | | purchasing experience they find comfortable. For |
| needs of customers. They ask questions like: | | | | example, some car dealers advertise that they do not |
| - How much cargo space do you need in your truck? | | | | haggle over price. They know that some people are |
| - How many watts does your backup power supply | | | | uncomfortable with the sort of price negotiations that |
| need to generate? | | | | are common in the car business. |
| - How often do your drive on icy roads? | | | | Purchase process surveys need to focus on specific |
| Questions like these can help a business decide if its | | | | types of products. For example, some people routinely |
| product line meets the needs of potential customers, | | | | buy DVDs in discount stores, but they would go to an |
| or if there are gaps in the line that need to be filled. | | | | electronics store to buy a DVD player. A well-designed |
| Questionnaire software allows a business to sort | | | | online survey can isolate customers' purchasing |
| responses by age, gender, location, income and many | | | | preferences for different types of products. |
| other variables. This enables a business to target | | | | Purchase process surveys can also help businesses |
| products to the needs of specific market segments. | | | | improve customer service. For example, a survey |
| New product surveys also try to determine the | | | | might reveal that customers find a business's website |
| benefits that are most important to customers. Take | | | | difficult to navigate. Businesses can use this type of |
| vitamins as an example. Are customers mainly | | | | data to make the purchasing experience more |
| interested in vitamins that will help them feel better or | | | | pleasant and convenient for customers. |
| boost their memory or improve their heart health? | | | | Promotion: Advertising Effectiveness Surveys |
| Questionnaire software uses sophisticated ranking | | | | Advertising effectiveness surveys help a business |
| questions to help isolate the benefits that people care | | | | make the most of its advertising budget. |
| about most. | | | | Advertising decisions have become extremely |
| New product surveys also help a business learn what | | | | complicated. Many people - especially young people - |
| features are important to customers. If customers | | | | spend more time online than watching television. But |
| show little interest in a particular feature, a business | | | | are online ads as effective as TV ads? And if a |
| may decide to offer it as an option rather than a | | | | business decides to use TV ads, which of the |
| standard part of its products. On the other hand, if a | | | | hundreds of cable channels should it focus on? And |
| feature shows up on a survey as being very popular, | | | | what about the print media and outdoor advertising? |
| a business might decide to include it in all of its | | | | What place do they have in a well-planned marketing |
| products, and emphasize it in its marketing campaign. | | | | campaign? |
| Conjoint Analysis: Examine the trade-offs that | | | | The answers to all these questions are different for |
| customers make when purchasing a product | | | | different products and for different segments of the |
| Conjoint analysis serves many purposes in market | | | | market. Marketers need reliable data to make |
| research, but it is especially useful in making decisions | | | | informed decisions about their advertising budgets. |
| about price. Here's how it works. Suppose a traveler is | | | | Fortunately, online surveys provide an economical way |
| thinking about booking a hotel room. Two hotels next | | | | to gather and analyze this information. |
| to each other offer rooms at the same price, but one | | | | An advertising effectiveness survey can determine |
| hotel has an indoor pool and the other does not. If the | | | | how consumers react to an ad, what they remember, |
| traveler enjoys swimming, he will probably pick the | | | | how they felt afterwards, how the ad can be |
| hotel with the pool, since there is no difference in price. | | | | improved, and if the ad's intention was served. A |
| Our traveler does a little more research and finds that | | | | sequence of surveys can measure brand awareness |
| the hotel that does not have a pool offers room | | | | before, during, and after a campaign. As with other |
| service, which sounds wonderfully self-indulgent. Now | | | | types of online surveys, the results can be analyzed |
| our traveler has to make a decision. What does he | | | | by age, gender, income, and other variables to ensure |
| value more, a pool or room service? Suppose our | | | | that ads are reaching the correct demographic group. |
| traveler then learns that the hotel with the pool is | | | | Some businesses rely on sales performance to gauge |
| offering a ten percent discount. Now things are really | | | | the effectiveness of their advertising. They assume |
| getting complicated. | | | | that if they are doing better than their competitors, their |
| Conjoint analysis enables a marketer to examine the | | | | ads must be working. This approach ignores the fact |
| trade-offs that customers make in buying a product. It | | | | that sales are determined by a multitude of factors, |
| allows a marketer to see which features of a product | | | | including price, quality, and competition. A business may |
| are most valuable to customers and how much extra | | | | be doing well, but more effective ads could make its |
| they are willing to pay for a particular feature or | | | | performance even better. |
| combination of features. The purpose of conjoint | | | | Boosting the Bottom Line |
| analysis is to determine what combination of variables | | | | Online market research surveys are an inexpensive, |
| is most influential in a customer's decision to buy. | | | | economical way to improve every phase of marketing: |
| Conjoint analysis also helps a marketer set an optimal | | | | product design, placement, positioning and promotion. |
| price for a product. It allows the marketer to see the | | | | Surveys can tell a business what it is doing wrong or |
| point at which price outweighs benefits in the | | | | right and how it can do better. An investment in a |
| consumer's mind. Although this type of analysis sounds | | | | well-planned online survey can pay for itself many |
| complicated, internet survey software makes it simple. | | | | times over in increased sales and a healthier bottom |
| The most sophisticated systems enable marketers to | | | | line. |