enabling technology

Use surveys to influence prospects

Did you know simply asking customers their opinion can make them better customers?

We conducted a simple experiment to test this idea for one of our clients. We selected a sampling of 500 prospects from our client’s prospect database, then divided it into two equal sized groups.

The first group (Group 1) were called, emailed and direct mailed with a request to participate in a single, 10-to 12-minute telephone survey, or given the option to complete the survey over the Internet.

The second group (Group 2) of 250 randomly selected prospects wasn’t surveyed and served as the control.

We tracked these two groups for six months to see how many would move into the sales pipeline. Aside from the survey, both groups received the same attention from marketing and sales over the test period.

From the first group, 58 prospects either participated in the phone interview or completed the web-based survey. The survey asked respondents to rate various features of the service. Near the end of the survey, they were asked to rate their awareness of the company. Most said they were only slightly aware of the company.

The final question in the survey asked these prospects if they would like to participate in an in-person, open-ended, moderated discussion forum with their peers about business issues that could potentially be solved by the company. Fifteen prospects elected to participate. This face to face meeting included dinner. Our client was coached not to “sell” and instead facilitate, teach and educate.

Six months after the survey was conducted, seven of the 58 Group 1 prospects surveyed were transitioned into customers. Three of these participated in the in-person focus group. In Group 2, (the prospects we did not survey), only three become customers.

We admit and recognize that our study was conducted with little scientific rigor and that our study methodology may not withstand the scrutiny of serious evaluation. All the same, we believe there is a direct relationship between the additional sales derived from Group 1 and the attention they received from our program. And we aren’t satisfied to explain away the results as ‘some people like to eat rubber chicken’.

A more satisfying explanation says prospects love to be loved and that surveys properly conducted reinforce that love. The act of canvassing and conducting the survey also increases people’s awareness of a company’s products. Whether or not this encourages future purchases is certainly subject to debate.

An even more subtle argument says simply asking people how they feel about something “forces” them to form opinions about that thing. How the survey is designed can influence these positive feelings.

For market researchers, these are probably fighting words. But for anyone who carries a quota, we believe this is evidence enough that surveys offer huge potential to influence behavior. Our proof? The client saw an ROI of 15 times the initial program costs.

ACTION ITEM! How do you use surveys in your lead generation campaigns? Let us know.

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