Assignments

Marketing Team: Select a survey tool. We use www.SurveyMonkey.com exclusively. There are many competitors (Survey Monkey even lists their competition on their pricing page -- they’re that confident).

Some features we utilize:

• Unlimited number of questions.
• Conditional Logic -- Customize the path a respondent takes through your survey which reduces "drop-outs" and overall frustration.
• Require Answers -- Specify if a question requires an answer.
• Randomize Answer Choices -- The ordering of choices within a question can be randomized.
• Add a logo for custom branding.
• Custom redirect upon survey is completion for a thank you or other instructions.
• Downloadable results in graphical and number formats.

Next, marketing needs to determine what outcome they’re looking for in the survey, which will help to construct and organize the questions. You’ll also need to decide how you’ll share results. It’s always a good idea to share results with respondents -- open communication is always a winner.

Lastly, do some testing with a known audience to work out the kinks (there will be some).

Coaching Points

• Use simple sentence construction and word order.
• Avoid jargon and phrases with ambiguous meaning.
• Avoid using absolutes such as "every" or "all," "always" or "never" because many respondents will not select an absolute.
• When a question calls for a "yes" or "no" answer, be sure you can interpret the meaning of a negative response.

Part Three: The Ultimate Corporate Brochure.

JOHN M. FOX is the president and founder of Venture Marketing, a marketing firm for growing companies. He is the author of Marketing Playbook: The Manual for Growing Organizations. Visit www.venturemarketing.com for more information.