Writing Surveys- Everything You Need to Know
One of the simplest ways to optimize your marketing tactics and capture valuable data about clients and prospective clients is through trade show surveys. These simple interactions can provide companies with invaluable feedback about their services and products and even their exhibits and event marketing strategies. By employing a targeted trade show survey, companies can determine their ideal customer’s needs and expectations to create marketing plans guaranteed to succeed.
However, drafting a survey isn’t as easy as writing a bunch of yes/no questions–to acquire valuable information, a survey must be written with care.
How To Write the Perfect Survey
There are three kinds of trade show surveys a company can use. The first is a needs assessment survey. These types usually go out before the event in order to gauge an attendee’s expectations. If it’s sent out with the right amount of time, you can appropriately maneuver your event to meet your prospect’s needs.
Then there are post-event assessments. These surveys are also emailed and are generally meant to evaluate the effectiveness of certain events at the trade show. They help organizers determine whether their attendees, exhibitors, and sponsors found their event to have business value and can highlight where they need to improve next time.
Finally, there are surveys that are administered during the event, which is what we’ll be focusing on in this article. Surveys during the event are going to have to be adjusted for fast moving and busy attendees, so the questions have to be short, targeted, and specific. These are an invaluable way for companies to gather information on the show and your market demographic.
Define Your Target Customer and your Survey’s Goal
In order to write your survey, you need to know exactly who will be taking it. If a survey does not include answers that reflect the survey taker’s unique experience, they’re likely to not finish the survey. Furthermore, only include questions that result in actionable data. Don’t waste your time on gathering information that can only be implemented in a perfect world–stick to the questions that inform your current projects and aims.
Ask Succinct Questions
Trade show attendees are busy by nature–they’re not going to stick around for a long, drawn-out interview. By keeping your survey succinct (seven questions or less), you’ll retain survey takers’ interest.
Accommodate for Neutral Experiences
When you include questions that ask survey takers to “rate their experience” on a numerical scale, make the scale an odd number. This ensures that an attendee can record a neutral answer instead of being forced to pick one side of the other.
Be Specific
Ask only specific questions. Think about your word choice in all questions–is there any way they can be interpreted in a subjective manner? If so, change the wording to be more objective–just the simple reporting of facts. Also, avoid using niche industry language–use only words and phrases that the average customer would understand. Try not to use open ended questions.
Offer a Prize
If you’re going to ask attendees to fill out longer surveys or you want to increase the amount of people that complete your surveys, consider offering a prize. It doesn’t have to be expensive- it can even be entered into a raffle for a single, larger award. By offering a participant a little something for their time and effort, they’re more likely to complete the survey.
Follow Up
If you’re conducting surveys online–either before, after, or during the trade show event–do not forget to follow up. Organize emailing campaigns using a three-way technique: the first email goes out then two more should be sent in the following days to target non-responders.
Takeaways
Not taking advantage of trade show attendees and conducting surveys will only lead to your company missing out on valuable information about your target demographic. By employing the above techniques in drafting trade show surveys, you’re guaranteed to gather unique and valuable intel on clients and prospective clients. This way, you can create better marketing strategies to meet specific needs and expectations.