That was what I asked myself as I got another request to fill in an online survey today.
Some I do, some I don’t, to be honest, a lot depends on what’s in it for me.
If I think its going to improve a product/service I’m using I’ll tend to have a go.
If its just someone asking what I think are a load of dumb questions, grabbing my valuable time for their own gains, with nothing in it for me, then, I’m afraid it’s in the trash quicker than a rat down a drainpipe.
This particular survey quickly got on my nerves because it started asking for quite personal stuff, which
- I didn’t think was necessary for their product.
- With identity theft in mind, was way too personal for a company I’d never heard of before.
And finally, it committed the ultimate sin of rambling on for more pages than my patience allowed.
Basic Lessons
I think, if I’m like most people, a few basic lessons to be learned, if making a survey are:
- Consider the – “what’s in it for me” – for the person taking the survey.
Why should they devote their time to answering all these questions. - Don’t dig too deep into the personal stuff (addresses/phone numbers, etc etc).
Especially if this is the first time they’ve had contact with you. - Keep to generic info for initial surveys, when they don’t know who you are.
Such as town, region, broad age range, gender… - Don’t go on and on for pages.
Particularly if there’s no tempting reason for them to keep plowing on.
Having said all that it did make me wonder if there is any mileage in doing online surveys as a marketing tool.
However, I know nothing about how to set one up, or if its worth the effort.
One place I heard about, where you can create surveys for free is at:
I’m still not sure yet, whether surveys are for me, so I would like to know if you’ve ever:
- Used http://www.surveymonkey.com and what was your experience.
- Used any online surveys and why.
- Gained more business due to having done a survey.
A bit of humor...
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