JFollette --
The Net Reflector page is actually very good at providing an outline
for survey creation. You may wish to look at other online survey
pages for additional ideas in structuring a survey:
Zoomerang
Home Page
http://www.zoomerang.com/Login/index.zgi
Note that with a Google search you can type in "Net Reflector" or
"Zoomerang" and it will provide a link to "Similar Pages" that help
you find other companies in the online survey business.
YOUR SURVEY
---------------------
Want you're seeking is direct feedback from someone with experience in
surveying, so most of my comments from here are related to that. I've
been involved in high tech marketing for 20+ years, so am familiar
with many of the issues involved.
HTML E-MAIL
---------------------
Your survey is clean, easy to read and well-constructed. It appears
that you intend to use a web page, linking from a URL inside a
text-based e-mail (as opposed to an HTML e-mail with the survey
questions included).
There are many reasons that HTML e-mails get rejected, from keywords
that users block within messages; to firewalls at companies that don't
allow any HTML e-mail; to problems with viewability depending on the
application used. You'll note some excellent user comments on this
Google Answer:
http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=259386
So, the first tip:
* use a text-based e-mail with a single click to your survey site
WHAT'S IN IT FOR ME?
--------------------------------
There are two or three questions that come to mind any time one comes
across a survey:
? why should I give up any information about us (especially in these
days of spyware)?
? who is this asking, anyway?
* what's in it for me to take 10 minutes of my valuable time and put
this on my priority list?
Your e-mail invitation should indicate precisely who you are (with
whom you're affiliated) and what you seek to do with the information.
If you're doing research to try to develop a new commercial service --
fine. State it -- and perhaps include a reassurance that any
information will not be used for direct sales. If you're doing
research for a community development organization let people know as
well.
There are several techniques to get busy people to respond to survey information:
? make it a criteria for something they want
? rewards
? altruism
Thus, Internet site and controlled-circulation publications often
include reader demographics at the time you're registering for the
publication.
Rewards are commonly-used. When auto dealers are testing new models,
they routinely pay $50 to have potential buyers come and rate cars.
Microsoft routinely rewards product testers and usability research
participants with software.
And finally, if people are highly-interested in the research they tend
to participate more often. Tip #2:
* offer something to participants -- even if it's just a summary of
survey results. As a small business person in Albany, I may be
interested enough in what my colleagues are doing to participate. . .
Q&A STRUCTURE
---------------------------
The best thing to do with a survey is to beta test it -- checking it
with people similar to your audience. They'll find holes or lack of
clarity in questions.
Though generally excellent, here are some comments:
Q1: Do workers travel and require access to e-mail?
Be careful here: a friend runs a toy distribution company with about
60 employees. He might answer "No" even though he travels to China
and routinely uses e-mail to communicate.
Q2: Be aware that even in a small company, different business units
might have different structures. Sales will almost undoubtedly have a
"central searchable database," even if it's on a Rolodex. Unless you
know exactly who you're reaching with a survey, you might get very
different answers from within the same company.
Q3: The person you're surveying may have no idea what the answers are.
In fact, they might be using multiple e-mail services, including
web-based mail like Hotmail, and the answers might be quite different.
Q4: Again, the person you're survey may have no idea what the answers
are. If telecommunications are outsourced, the cost of e-mail may be
hidden in the total costs of ISP and leased lines. Also, try to
always have a "don't know" category, particularly as answers get
harder.
I'm a little surprised that the speed of connection doesn't have a
specific technology (dial-up; DSL; cable; T-1, T-3) -- as that's the
one thing that most users do know.
Finally, realize that any response to "if you have a problem, how fast
is your service?" will be highly-biased to what happened LAST WEEK.
Best regards,
Omnivorous-GA |
