What Are the Benefits of Surveys?
Many business owners neglect to conduct surveys, not realizing how powerful they can be. There are countless benefits of surveys, especially when it comes to content creation. Although it may not hurt your business directly, failing to use surveys is a major missed opportunity.
Here’s the thing…
The content you create heavily influences your business’s growth. To succeed in the modern competitive environment, you must create strong content to market your brand and offerings effectively. But smart content creation is all about strategy. And one way to get valuable and actionable feedback to shape your content strategy is through the use of surveys.
Of course, surveys require a fair amount of planning to do properly. So, we understand you may not be convinced they’re worth the effort. That’s why we wanted to highlight the benefits of surveys so you can see just what you have to gain.
7 Noteworthy Benefits of Surveys
By design, surveys allow you to collect valuable information from current and potential customers. By applying what you learn from respondents, you can enhance the following:
- Content strategy
- Product development
- Customer experience
- Lead generation
- Brand awareness
Here are seven benefits of surveys for content creation, along with other areas of marketing and business improvement…
1) They Give Insight into Customer Pain Points
Your sales and marketing teams must learn to identify your customers' pain points to boost sales and grow your business. Surveys are a great tool to uncover the biggest challenges that prospective customers face. Once these problems are accurately identified, the business will be in a better position to develop an effective solution.
Surveys are essential in pinpointing customer pain points because no two customers are alike. Surveys ask the customers the right questions to enable the business to develop a solution that works for them. The responses that participants leave will help the marketing and sales teams understand the challenges the customers are struggling with. This will provide a way for research and development to remedy them.
2) They Reveal Areas of Improvement
At its core, the purpose of a survey is for a business to uncover answers to specific and important concerns. When a customer has had a great experience with a product or service, then you can feel confident in what you’re doing. However, when customers are dissatisfied, they will likely point out what they are not happy with. This presents an opportunity for you to work on the areas that would improve customer experience in the future.
Even when a customer is mistaken in their perception of a bad experience, a survey can minimize its impact. The reason is that a customer is more likely to give your business a chance if they believe you are putting in the effort to improve.
3) They Provide a Wealth of Content Inspiration
Short, straightforward questions are an ideal yet underrated way to get a pulse on a target audience. Respondents' answers to survey questions can be a treasure trove of ideas for interesting and, more importantly, relevant content. Surveys can help you understand the needs and challenges customers face and possible solutions that may work for them.
Coming up with ideas for relevant, original content that speaks to your target audience can be tough. But a well-thought-out survey can offer endless opportunities.
During her CMWorld 2022 session “How to Get a Year's Worth of Content from One Research Study,” Michele Linn from Mantis Research explained that you can develop the following content from a single survey:
- Cornerstone content – Big pieces such as guides, webinars, and courses
- Brick content – Medium pieces such as blogs and videos
- Feather content – Small pieces such as social media posts and newsletters
Content shaped by answers from a survey is more likely to be in-depth and on point. It will also be easier for you to use the content ideas and topics to build backlinks that support your brand assertions or viewpoints. This approach will go a long way to shape the perceptions and understanding of the target audience in ways other content ideas do not.
4) They Boost Your Authority and Credibility
Information is the most valuable asset in this age, but only if it is credible and originates from an authoritative source. More people than ever have information at their fingertips. And it is up to the content creators to convince them where to get it.
Marketing, especially through content creation, can capture and retain customers' attention and influence their choices. Establishing authority in a specific field is the most efficient way to attract and keep an audience. Your business can achieve this by consistently building credibility and establishing the brand as a source everyone can trust.
One of the benefits of surveys is they allow you to collect first-party data and glean insights that others would find valuable. By sharing original research, you can build trust with your audience. Further, you can demonstrate your authority in your field.
5) They Show Customers You Care
To a business, the key to building a solid customer base is nurturing customer loyalty. Customers will like a brand and even enjoy associating with them when their interaction with the business is positive. When they feel like the brand cares about their ideas, needs, or challenges, they will respect the brand and love the products or services.
A thoughtful and well-written customer survey does much more than collect customer ideas and opinions; it also shows them that your brand cares. The mere process of asking about their experience with the business will help elevate the actual experience they already had.
6) They Increase Engagement
If you’ve struggled with customer engagement, you’ll be pleased to learn that increased engagement is one of the benefits of surveys. You can reengage customers and encourage prospects to interact by merely asking for their opinions and thoughts.
Surveys are a powerful tool to evoke discussions. A good survey prompts respondents to share their feedback and discuss important topics relevant to the customer and the business. The subsequent discussions and engagements will bring to the surface important ideas that greatly benefit your business.
7) They Can Help You Gain a Competitive Edge
Surveys are a cost-effective yet efficient way to gain insights into your products and services. A business can use customer feedback about its products, services, brand, and industry to find unfavorable gaps and to improve its offerings continuously. The feedback loop that generates dialogue between the business and the audience is a significant force that can give the business an edge over the competition.
Further, publishing content based on insights from original research can help your business stand out from others in your space.
Final Thoughts
With so many benefits of surveys, it is surprising how few businesses use them today to serve their customers and grow. The full might of a survey is how insightful the questions are and how the business applies what they gather from customers. After all, a survey is only helpful if you actually use what you’ve learned.
Ultimately, you shouldn’t underestimate the value of surveys. Conducting your own research with help from current and potential customers can go a long way toward improving your marketing efforts and more.
Do you need help with content creation or marketing in general? Schedule a free consult with Viral Solutions today. Our team is always happy to talk strategy.
At Viral Solutions we are committed to seeing YOU succeed. It is our goal to grow your business with proven digital marketing strategies that will help your business for the long haul.
Stay Up To Speed in the Ever Changing World of Marketing!
Sign-up today for FREE, monthly marketing tips, loopholes, and news to EXPLODE your Return on Investment!
Share your knowledge and gain exposure by becoming a guest author on our blog! Learn how to write for us.
