Whatever the size of your business, online surveys are a fantastic way to gauge customer satisfaction and the effectiveness of your overall marketing strategy. They can also show you room for improvement in the products or services you offer, and point the way forward for your enterprise’s future growth. With the best internet marketing companies nowadays offering a free online survey tool as standard, there’s no reason not to take advantage of this powerful resource. The next stage is, however, to ensure you gain the maximum advantage from your online surveys.

Instant engagement and feedback
Online surveys are the perfect medium for “snapshot” views of your business from the customer or client’s point of view. Not only does the online format mean that people can respond to them wherever they are (so long as your surveys are smartphone-friendly!), but you are far more likely to get a candid response from them without phone surveyors or face-to-face interviewers breathing down their necks. The cost-effectiveness of online surveys also means that you can reach as many people as you like, making your results even more accurate.

Asking the right questions
Be clear about the objectives of your online survey and you will know what you want to ask respondents in order to gain the information you’re after. Concentrate on customer feedback if you want to know whether your customer service is up to scratch; ask for detailed responses to your products or services if you’re seeking to improve the core functions of your business, or ask respondents if they have used the services of your competitors – and what they thought of them – if you’re seeking to find where you stand in the marketplace. Of course, you can ask them all of the above – with online surveys the sky is the limit.

Build on the customer engagement
Online surveys are a good way for customers to get their voice heard, and most will be happy to respond. You have established a dialogue, so build on this and ask if the respondent would also like to become a subscriber to your company’s newsletter or would like to receive special offers and discounts via email in the future. You can also get respondents to sign up to your social media and become a part of your “community”, giving you a solid basis for future business and future useful customer feedback.

Analyse and learn
The sort of free online surveys offered by the best firms are designed to dovetail neatly with other forms of internet marketing, such as the aforementioned social media. They also work well with the various forms of analytical software that’s out there, meaning that you can glean insights way beyond just the immediate. As a way of using customer engagement to light the way to long-term success, there are fewer more powerful tools in a small business’s armoury.