You are currently viewing The continuum of the survey as a data collection method over generations in the business world

The continuum of the survey as a data collection method over generations in the business world

The survey is an age-old method of collecting vital information from participants in marketing research. Why do surveys still matter?

Surveying involves inquiring people for information through questionnaires, either online or offline. Parasuraman’s SERVQUAL model developed way back in 1988 that comprises of multi-item scale is still used in surveys to assess customer perceptions of service quality in service and retail business. 

Do you know that the total amount spent by companies on market research that has surveys was more than $68 billion worldwide as per a survey conducted in 2015 in the USA?

In today’s world, people are growing foresighted in spending their money and time wisely. This frugality is deliberately seen in collecting information or seeking opinions from others. There came the most efficient data collection tool called “survey” to serve the purpose. It is often regarded as the easiest research approach to record the opinions of participants. It saves money and time, also helps in collecting data from a larger group of the population at a go.

Surveys have proved to be a promising efficient tool in collecting honest feedback, opinions, and responses from customers and use that information to improve different areas of the business. They help in understanding ever-changing customers’ wants and needs.

It is interesting to know that Apple company uses NPS (Net Promoter Score) surveys to generate over $25 million additional revenue. According to Survey Police, Apple, Verizon, Nest, and other big tech companies use market research and customer satisfaction surveys to find out what their customer base wants, and it does not stop at the tech industry: LEGO and McDonald’s are also top organizations that use survey data to grow.

Questionnaires and interviews are two main types of survey techniques. Questionnaires comprise a list of questions that participants in a research study can answer individually. Interviews involve asking a respondent a series of questions and following up with additional questions based on their answers.

Market research survey, lead generation survey, brand awareness survey, customer satisfaction survey, event evaluation survey, employee satisfaction survey, job satisfaction survey, training evaluation survey, and exit interview survey are the most widely used types of surveys in the business milieu. Online surveys are the most cost-effective data collection method and can reach the majority of participants to seek their responses. Thanks to the pandemic that made the research world explore more options and found that online surveys can serve the purpose more efficiently, saving time and money.

The survey acts as a crucial marketing tool for small businesses too, one can use surveys at any stage of a marketing campaign to keep track of customers’ ever-changing preferences and volatile market conditions. Thus, even in this high-tech digitally advanced era of analytics, surveys sound almost quaint.

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