With the morning sun shining bright you are sitting in your office. With a cup of hot coffee by your side and memories of the weekend’s activities still fresh in your mind, even if you say so yourself, today at least, life is sweet.
As you take a sip of your morning Caffè macchiato you feel a rush of cool air on the back of your neck and catch a movement out of the corner of your eye. In the blink of an eye there is now an smartly dressed stranger sitting in the chair opposite. You are taken back; you didn’t hear a knock and just as you are about to confront this individual he begins in a calm and measured voice.
‘Here is the deal’
‘In every city of the world I am going to advertise your product on billboards at the busiest junctions.’
‘I will be able to tell you how many people see the advertisement, their age, nationality and gender.’
‘I will tell you what they think of your product and in many cases I will give you their contact details. While they are reading the billboard I will make it possible for them to view your website and, if they feel the urge, make a purchase.’
‘I can have all this setup in two days and it will cost you less than a small advertisement displayed in your favourite trade journal.’
He pauses momentarily. ‘Interested?’
Now you might think that you should beware of offers that sound too good to be true, that you are going to wake up soon or maybe that you really should get a lock for that office door.
But let’s just take a minute. If you are still reading this I am that man who has come from nowhere and offered you a deal.
The advertising site is on the Internet and the billboard I’m offering is the humble online survey.
Stop for one moment and start to associate an online survey not with ‘market research’ but with ‘marketing’. Not any type of marketing but ‘Marketing’ with a capital ‘M’ and in flashing neon lights. Marketing that is quick, effective, direct and low cost.
You can advertise a published online survey on a website, or via email and like a billboard by the side of a transport hub, your message will appear in front of people. Unlike billboards where the number of people that see the advert has to be estimated an online survey records the number of times a survey is started.
Online surveys can ask demographic questions such as age, gender and nationality and in doing so allows you to collate metrics about the effectiveness of your promotion and confirm that you are interacting with the target respondent on a one-on-one level.
Unlike billboards where the message is often subliminal, or maybe just trying to achieve brand awareness, with online surveys you have the opportunity to connect with the public to find out what they really think about your product, how it relates to them, how it is perceived.
Using an online survey website it takes only minutes and hours to create a survey and using the power of the Internet an online survey can reach hundreds of thousands of people on a daily basis.
Even if you throw in a prize as an incentive for people to complete the survey, maybe invest in some Pay Per Click advertising to capture a wider, or more focused, audience you are still talking low cost effective marketing.
‘So then, tell me. Is it a deal?’
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