Don’t “Kitchen Sink” Your Survey
You outline your market research objectives. You draft the survey. You circulate the survey and your coworkers ask you to include questions that are out of scope.
Now what?
Collaboration on any market research initiative is essential, it allows everyone the opportunity to weigh in and get their own team’s questions covered. However, don’t “kitchen sink” your survey. In other words, don’t pile in all of the questions at the same time to the point where you no longer know what your survey is about. It confuses the respondent to be answering questions that are unrelated, creating respondent fatigue, risking higher drop off rates and diminishing the integrity of your data.
Here are some tips to get the most out of your market research and consumer insights initiatives:
Share your objectives. Write the research objectives at the top of the survey draft (or discussion guide for qualitative research). That way, anyone who receives a copy will be informed of the intentions and goals of the project. It will also help you to stay focused while drafting the research questions.
Prioritize your survey questions. If the survey seems too long, prioritize the questions once you have drafted the survey. Keep the questions that are most valuable to your business and cut questions that either won’t produce actionable data or not supporting your research objectives.
Consider other methodologies. There are many ways to reach your customers or target audience, whether it be an online survey, phone or in person interview, social media post, or email. If there are business questions that don’t “make the cut” yet are crucial, work with your team to evaluate other methodologies to reach and collect insights from your target audience.
Through teamwork, your collaborative research initiatives will result in data-driven innovation and marketing strategies. HARK Research can partner with your organization to maximize your research efforts and achieve your business goals.
Questions or comments? Email ayala@harkresearch.com.
