James Siminoff

Great reader response to my Survey post

All of your points are valid, and I will offer this insight.

When we (powerfeedback.com) started offering web-based surveys 16+ years ago, we were a pioneer in the field. We used (still do!) professional market researchers (most are Ph.D’s) to assemble the questionnaire in conjunction with the client. We produced great, and meaningful (still do!) surveys that participants enjoyed taking, and brought real value to the client.

By the mid 90’s, a plethora of “free” (nothing is fee!) self-service tools came out. Many firms anointed the marketing guy/gal as the “survey guru”, which they were/are not. As a result, as the old saying goes; garbage in/garbage out, plus surveys were being launched when anyone seemed to have a “brainstorm” and wanted feedback.

Fast forward to today. In a crappy economy, companies feel that they need as much input as they can get, and, they are right! The problem is the approach and process they apply is awful. There are no “experts” guiding the mission as they are resistant to paying a few dollars to working with pros.

The customer experience research has to be equally balanced between what the audience will tolerate, and how to best achieve the desired goal.

Please believe that there really are ways to gain your feedback in a way that will make participating meaningful, and worth your time and effort!