Loyal customers are a company’s biggest asset, but how does one manage to build a loyal customer base when people are so elusive, change their purchasing behaviors in the blink of an eye, and no one knows what they want anyway? In reality, the mentality that customers are a huge unknown is outdated and belongs in the times when businesses didn’t have the tools to understand the market.
Now, in the age of Big Data and social media, you can interact with your audience, gain valuable insights on who they are and what they want from providers, so that you can make smart business decisions.
Without market research, your business is wandering in the dark. Your business decisions are based on a confusing process of trial and error: when something goes right, you don’t know exactly what you did well, and when something goes wrong, you don’t know what needs to be improved.
But what most business owners don’t realize is that the customer isn’t this huge unknown. Consumers aren’t abstract mathematical equations. They’re people, and they actually want to make their voices heard. They want to interact with businesses, create meaningful connections, and they want to feel that their feedback matters. Of course, when you’re about to make a major business decision, it makes sense to include consultants and market analysts into the process because they can give you crucial insights. However, don’t forget that your customers’ input matters too. According to data from Google, less than 40% of marketers use consumer research to drive decisions, and if you don’t, you’re missing out. Gathering consumer insights is no longer time-consuming, and by harnessing the power of polls, you can learn a lot in a short time, and with a minimum investment.
Benefits of polls for your business.
We’ve all filled in a poll at some point. In fact, polls have been around for decades, and they’re one of the oldest forms of market research. When they’re done online, opinion polls offer many benefits that you shouldn’t ignore:
They’re fast.
The modern consumer is notoriously busy and has a short attention span. When you ask for feedback in a way that requires them to input a lot of text, they can refuse or send you an incomplete answer, but polls are quick and don’t require a lot of effort.
You can reach a wider audience.
When working with companies such as Opinipoll Consumer Research, your online poll will be distributed instantly to your target audience, regardless of the location. If you have a global presence or plan to expand, this will save you a lot of time on market research.
No data entry.
Online polling is automated. Once someone answers a poll, their choice is automatically processed, so you don’t need someone in the background to do data entry. Consequently, the risk of input errors is basically non-existent.
Polls are easy to process.
Because the results of the poll are received in digital format, you can easily process them and display them in pie charts, graphs, and other graphics that help you get a clear overview.
How to use polls for business growth.
Now that you know the benefits of online polls, you may be wondering what’s the best time to use them. The answer is simple: whenever you need insights into consumer behavior. That can be before you launch your business, before you expand to a new market, or whenever you want to gain consumer feedback.
Here are a few scenarios where polls can empower you with crucial information.
Before launching your business.
Polls can help you find out what the state of the market is, what expectations consumers have, and if there is an actual need for your product. They can also help you figure out if now is the perfect time to go to market, or if you should wait instead.
Before launching a new product.
Polls can help you make sure your new product arrives at the right time and that it is well received. They can also tell you if the product is good enough as it is, or you should make some changes to it first.
To understand the market and spot trends early.
Contrary to common belief, the market doesn’t move randomly. Most of the time, you can estimate its direction and spot new trends by surveying customers. This way, you’re always one step ahead and offer people the products they need before they know they need them.
Before rebranding.
Rebranding can be a sensitive process that should be tackled carefully so as not to confuse or lose your customers. What’s more, when rebranding, you should know how customers perceive you, and rebrand in such a way as to meet their expectations. Polls can tell you if you’re headed in the right direction. For example, if your rebranding strategy includes a website redesign, polls can tell you what customers think of the new design.
To gain feedback and keep customers engaged.
You don’t need to wait until you’re faced with a major business event to ask customers for their opinion. You can do this any time, whenever you want to get their input and keep them engaged. For example, after a customer makes a purchase, you can send them a follow-up poll via email to ask them what they thought of the experience. Or, you can post polls on social media to boost engagement.
No matter the size of your business, polls are a versatile market research method. Without requiring a big investment, polls can give you essential insights into market trends and consumer preferences, while at the same time making customers feel included in decision making. So, next time you don’t know what your customers wouldn’t like, don’t second guess things and send them a poll instead.
