Bankable Brilliance: Three Ways to Use Online Surveys in Your Service-Based Business
From figuring out which product to create to planning your blog posts, online surveys can help you get the information you need to make the best choices.
You could guess or make assumptions about what your VIPs and clients really want. But a wrong guess can cost you time and money. Using a survey to get data and feedback directly from your audience means that you’ll be making informed decisions. The end result is a win/win: your clients get what they need and your credibility and profits increase. Here are three ways to use online surveys in your service-based business:
Get Crystal Clear About Your Ideal Audience
This type of survey gathers demographic and psychographic information about the people you want to serve. Typical questions include:
- What’s the age range of your ideal buyer?
- What gender are they?
- What’s their annual income?
- What’s their education or employment level?
- What are their hobbies and interests?
- What values are a priority for them?
- What triggers them to make a buy decision?
Why do you need to know all this? Having this kind of knowledge about your audience is invaluable when it comes to creating effective content. For example, the language that grabs the attention of executive women is will be different than the words that attract stay at home moms. The colors and images you use will change too. Knowing details about your ideal audience means you’ll be better able to use demographic-targeting advertising like direct mail or Facebook Ads.
There are so many benefits to knowing exactly who your customers are and the best way to find out is by asking them- online surveys are a perfect opportunity to do so. For more details about what you need to know about your ideal audience, check out my slide deck 7 Things You Need to Know About Your Ideal Clients.
Match Your Content Creation to What Your Ideal Clients Want
It would be horrible to invest your time and money in building a product only to find out your audience is not interested. Rather than assuming that the product you are creating is a good idea, the first step in your content creation process is to use an online survey to find out what your customers really want. This kind of survey focuses on the:
- problems they most want solved
- results they want or goals they want to achieve, or
- pain points or obstacles keeping them from getting result they want
- additional help and support they want from you
Asking your audience what they want and need decreases your chances of creating something that no one will buy. And if your VIPs and clients know that completing a quick survey will help you serve them better, they’re usually willing to respond.
Learn Where You Might Be Missing the Mark with Your Ideal Clients
Unless you ask, you’ll never know what your customers are really thinking about your product and services. This kind of survey focuses on their experience with you, your systems and your offerings.
- Did the ebook arrive in a timely manner?
- Was the response to your inquiry prompt?
- Did they find your webinar helpful?
- Was the sales page clear?
- Was it easy for them to find what they needed on your site?
- Did the event, product, or service live up to their expectations?
- Would they recommend you or your product to someone else?
If something is not selling, it is wise to get feedback before you start making changes. It increases your likability when your audience believes you are listening to them. More often than not, they’ll be happy to answer a few questions in a quick survey, especially if they’re already a client or customer.
Bottom Line: Without the data a well-crafted survey provides, you are left to guess who your audience is, what they really want and what your ideal clients think about your products and offerings. When in doubt ASK: the more data and feedback you have, the better you’ll be able to help your clients get the results they want.
While it can take time to create and gather data from surveys, the ROI is big. Imagine the confidence and ease of marketing your products and services when you know what your audience wants. You may be thinking that using surveys is easier said than done, especially if you’ve created surveys before and got little or no response. Don’t worry – that happens a lot. There’s an art and science to creating online surveys that will get the responses you need. That’s why I put together a Content Creation Clinic specifically on Creating Surveys That Work.
Click here to learn how you can grab a seat in an upcoming clinic for just $29 and learn the right way to create online surveys.
About the Author Tai Goodwin
Tai Goodwin on a mission to help 10,000 women entrepreneurs create more joy and wealth in their life and business. She's the CEO of Aligned + Bankable and creator of the Bankable Brilliance Course. An intuitive business growth strategist and teacher, her specialty is helping clients create bankable business models that allow them to increase their impact and income without burning out. Tai is a former corporate trainer with a master's degree in instructional design and over 20 years of experience designing course, training programs, and certifications. She is also the author of Girlfriend, It's Your Time and founder of Brilliant Business Girlfriends.