The use of the traditional paper questionnaire to conduct surveys is going down as online surveys go up. Why is this so? It is way easier to collect data on the internet compared to the past where only print and telephone surveys were conducted. Let us have a look at more reasons to try online surveys.
1. Online Surveys are Cost-effective
The online survey software gives you the chance to edit an online survey easily in the comfort of your office. Some of this software have already created questions that you can copy while coming up with the survey questions. This saves you the time for developing questions from the very first word to the last. You can edit the questions to fit into your survey’s point of view.
Most of the online survey software allows users to send multiple versions of the survey to different respondents depending on what they aim at achieving. Online surveys save users on the costs of printing and circulating the questionnaires. They just need an internet connection and survey software to keep them rolling. You also do not need to incur the costs of designing templates as they are provided for you. It is even an added advantage that these templates can be customized to suit your interests directly.
2. Real-Time Data Collection
Just like it was in the past, conducting an online survey aims at collecting data. Whether you are doing market research for your products or services, or you just want to find out more on certain topics, you need to carry out a survey.
The good thing about online surveys is that the results come in just as soon as the respondent hit the submit button. You have the opportunity to get real-time answers to your questions as the results continue to flood in. Online surveys allow you to reach thousands of respondents across the world too.
3. It is a quick method of data collection
With the right online survey software, the survey is just a click away from your hands to those of your respondents. Efficient software allows the user to upload surveys, manage the collection of data, administer panel files, do a real-time data analysis, and send reports. You can do all that directly from your own account and therefore administer surveys quickly.
The paper methods take a lot of time to have the response ready in your hands. You have to distribute the papers to the target respondents, give them time to answer then go back to collect the responses. It also saves you from the risks of human error as the questions are computer-generated.
4. Improve your business as you learn from the results
Businessmen can gather information about the products they are selling or the services they offer through online surveys. They give them an opportunity to gather customer input and opinions towards their products and services.
Through surveys, a researcher can gauge the customers’ satisfaction, understand how they use the products and services, gather future ideas and record the feedback for future considerations. The whole idea is to learn and improve your business from this feedback. Customers will also be motivated to buy from you or use your services when they see their opinion being put into practice.
5. Easy follow up with the respondents
Online survey software gives users the chance to track the respondents. They are able to see how many of them have completed their surveys and how many have not. This allows users to send reminders to those who have not completed their surveys.
Online surveys give immediate and real-time results which make it far much better than the traditional methods of data collection. Users can also increase the rate of response by inviting respondents to participate in their surveys through email, response quotas, and reminders.
6. Confidential survey results
Through online survey data collection, users have control over the responses and results in general. They secure this information with passwords and other secure connections. They are safer compared to paper surveys that can easily be misplaced or respondents may forget to fill and submit them.
Online surveys software users can create anonymous links, host data on secure servers or give surveys that are password protected. This allows for online data collection and management that is secure and confidential at all times.
7. Online surveys allow users to gather valuable data
Survey companies like Vindale who carry out surveys on industry trends end up collecting valuable data at the end of it. There is a high chance that people in the same industry find this data valuable as well. Some surveys even offer a remuneration, this means you can get paid for your opinion. After a thorough analysis of the data they have gathered, posting the results gives them the opportunity to become a thought leader on that topic.
This is simply because other marketers find the results beneficial to them too. The collected data is also beneficial to the researchers themselves as they can use it to grow their businesses as well.
See more on Vindale research survey process at Survey Guide.
8. Come up with un-influenced and actionable results
Online surveys guarantee you the results that you are looking for. Other methods of data collection such as paper or interviews tend to have some level of influence or bias. Online survey software gives you the freedom of how to present the questions with the skip logic and advanced routing.
The respondents get the chance to complete the survey in a free environment and at a time that they feel convenient for them. In short, the online survey provides room for receiving accurate as well as honest responses. The respondents answer the questions away from the pressures of giving answers to questions that they are not comfortable answering.
In Summary
Researchers and businessmen conduct surveys to get answers to questions that are important. They need to collect information that is free from bias and as we have seen, the traditional methods of conducting surveys are not the best. This is why online surveys are widely being embraced nowadays as a way of collecting accurate and honest responses.
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