Customer survey is an important research tool in marketing and PR activities, so you need to approach it responsibly. There are the following types of interviews: oral, written and focus group.
Necessary
- - survey workers
- - plan of questions
Instructions
Step 1
Before you start interviewing people, you need to decide who to interview. To do this, determine the target audience: gender, age, financial position - according to these parameters, a person can be assessed visually. Conduct a survey in places where your target audience is most likely to visit.
Step 2
Oral questioning involves direct contact with the buyer. This type of survey allows a deeper understanding of what a person is thinking, since in addition to a verbal response, he gives non-verbal signals in the form of posture, facial expressions, gestures and intonations, which can then be interpreted.
Step 3
Oral interviews are often conducted over the phone, which is why some of the information is lost. Oral surveys with personal interaction can be conducted by the seller himself, if the store is small and there are no queues at the moment, politely asking the buyer to answer a couple of questions. But most often, oral interviews are conducted by specially hired people. Typically, oral interviews involve repetitive reading of the questionnaire, which is ineffective. It is best to ask just a couple of questions, but keep a close eye on how the respondent answers them.
Step 4
The main form of a written survey is a questionnaire. An ideal questionnaire fits on one sheet, has an introduction that reveals its goals and motivates a person to answer it, consists of a number of simple questions on the topic and a small passport. A questionnaire with closed questions, that is, including ready-made answer options, is easier to fill out and analyze. But a questionnaire with open-ended questions, without fixed answers, allows the buyer to express their real thoughts.
Step 5
It is better to let the person fill out the form with questions on their own, and not read out the questions. But if the buyer himself asks you to do this, you do not need to refuse him. The questionnaire is a universal survey tool - it does not require the participation of a correspondent. If you place a form to fill out on the website or offer it as an attachment to a purchase, the respondent will decide for himself whether to fill it out and, if so, will answer the questions more honestly, since he will be free from supervision.
Step 6
The focus group consists of interviewing a group of volunteers. These people are the first to try a new product, after which, under the guidance of the moderator, they discuss it. Everyone should express their opinion, dialogues and demonstration of different views are not prohibited. One of the main rules of a focus group is that its participants should not be familiar with each other. The role of the moderator is to nudge those who are embarrassed to express their opinion to the conversation, as well as to prevent possible conflicts between the most active participants.
Step 7
For further analysis and interpretation of the results, everything that happens is recorded on video. A focus group is more expensive than an oral survey or questionnaire, since it includes not only the costs of conducting it, but also the cost of small gifts for the participants. At the same time, this is the most effective type of survey.
