Online surveys have changed the entire game of marketing research. Marketers used to once manually do everything on their own, but now, that is a whole different story. 

Moreover, if you are focused on gathering data regarding statistics, then, online surveys are the right choice for you. They have been a popular way of gathering data, but are getting even more popular year by year.

Online surveys offer market research data that is qualitative and quantitative that can be analyzed and studied over time. This provides businesses with the proper information and helps them operate better in the future. 

Let’s not wait any further and find out the seven most important reasons you should conduct online surveys. 

7 reasons why you should use online surveys 

1. Cost-effective 

If we had only one reason to show you why you should use online surveys, it is the fact that they are so cost-effective. Online surveys provide direct results and don’t allow you to invest in different departments that will result in unnecessary losses.

Moreover, you have your results at all times and aren’t limited to anything. It isn’t the same as mail-in surveys in which you had to pay fees and wait a long time to receive the results. Additionally, telephone surveys were also expensive when the internet wasn’t widespread, whereas you had to write everything down manually and remember the data. 

2. Faster results

Unless you send out very complicated online surveys, the time that it takes you to get access to the data is instant. As soon as your users complete the online survey, you can get the results right away. Moreover, this is roughly 2/3 times faster than any other research method. 

Compared to phone survey interviews, or even mail-in surveys, you don’t need to wait for anything such as questionnaires to come back from a phone interviewer. The response time is fast and easy. 

3. Easy to set up and user-friendly

If there is one thing that is fascinating about online surveys, it is their ease of setting up and that they are user-friendly. Depending on how many questions you set up on the online survey, you can set it up in a short period of time and there isn’t anything complicated about it; neither for you or your users. Moreover, you can use a template to do the work for you if you lack the time. You can click here to check 123 Form Builder’s survey templates. 

Consumers nowadays won’t like it when you call them on the phone and ask them many questions, or even send them boring emails that they will most likely put in their junk mail. 

With an online survey, customers pick any time of the day they want to complete the survey. Moreover, you aren’t bothering them on the phone or interrupting anything important they have to do. Users have all the freedom they need and even only need on average 10 to 15 minutes or less to complete the survey. 

Furthermore, there isn’t anything complicated within the survey that users have to do except answer the question. The only thing that ever may be difficult is if you include questions that require lots of thinking time to answer (don’t do that by the way). 

4. High reach 

Compared to old school surveys, telephone surveys, and even other market research methods, the amount of people you can reach with online surveys is considerably high. 

If you really think about it, even governmental institutions and many other large corporations around the world use online surveys in order to generate large data that they need regarding an entire population. Additionally, there is no limit to how many people you can reach, and the more data you gather, the better it will be for you to come to a conclusion of what you are looking to gain from the data you gathered.  

5. Flexibility 

Online surveys allow you to alter the questions, or even skip them altogether, depending on what answer was given in the previous question. Hence, this means that a survey can be set up based on how the participant chooses to proceed. 

Generally speaking, online surveys are an excellent option for organizations who want to do their own research, are less time-consuming, and only consume the amount of time you allow them to. Moreover, you don’t have to pay much money to set them up, and you can transfer the data between applications to answer any questions you need to. 

Furthermore, the good thing about online surveys is the time participants can take it. There is no rush, so they can fill in the survey whenever they are free. Whether it is on a Sunday evening, Friday morning, or any other day, it doesn’t really matter. They are as flexible as you want them to be.

6. Accuracy

Traditional survey methods had a large margin for error, but this is different from online surveys. The margin of error for online surveys is significantly reduced and allows all participants to enter their answers directly into the survey. 

Comparatively, traditional methods relied on the attendance of other staff members to check for errors and see if the details were entered correctly. Moreover, as human beings, we will always tend to make mistakes when we encounter repetitive tasks. However, having accurate data insights is crucial for the success of your business. 

7. Easy to design and for reporting

An online survey is a chance for you to leave a good impression on your participants. Your survey can be designed based on what kind of design your business represents. For example, establish a design that matches your backgrounds, logos, fonts, and much more. You can check out fascinating design examples such as some that are shown on QuestionPro’s website.

Let’s not forget that online surveys also provide quantitative data that can easily be analyzed for reporting. Qualitative data, such as phone surveys will offer this, but on the other hand, analyzing responses will become more difficult. Additionally, there are online survey programs that offer you advanced tools you can use to analyze the survey data for determining the reliability and validity of data. 

What to avoid doing when conducting online surveys

Even though online surveys can be a great way of gathering data and learning more about your target audience, there are a few things you want to avoid doing when using them.

Long questions 

According to a study by SurveyMonkey, any survey that is more than 7-8 minutes will have an increased abandonment rate. The average time spent answering questions was 30-40 seconds, so if you include long-end questions, you will most likely have a decrease in open rates. 

Sending surveys to random people

Now, this may sound weird but you want to avoid doing this at all costs. You should only send out your online surveys to your target audience and disregard anybody else. 

If you send out surveys to random audiences that have different interests, you won’t get any replies and increase your abandonment rate.

Sending out surveys too frequently 

Okay, so this is one of the most important things to consider when you are conducting online surveys. Never make the mistake of sending out online surveys too often or else your audience will get tired of your emails and get annoyed. 

No one has all the time in the world, so they are busy doing other activities. According to research done by Quantumworkplace, you should be sending out surveys a maximum of four to five times per year in order to achieve the desired results. Anything more than this isn’t considered a good strategy. 

Wrapping it up 

Well, that’s about it for this article. These were our seven important reasons you should consider for conducting online surveys. Keep in mind that whenever you are setting up an online survey, it’s always important to set a good first impression. 

In short, this article seeks to show you the reasons why you should conduct online surveys, but also keep in mind that you should carefully read through the section where we explain what to avoid when setting up these surveys. 

Use all the resources you have, from humans to technology, in order to ensure you create the best surveys possible. An online survey is the only easy way to gather data online and do the proper market research. Otherwise, if you follow the right steps, you are on your way to setting up a great online survey!