How many times have you filled in a survey and never received the "promised report"?

Some organisations don't ever seem to follow up and make the end user (me and you) feel used and abused. All smiles, bells and whistles when they need me but once they get what they want, then they forget me.

Last week I received a couple of requests to fill in a questionnaire from two well known organisations. The surveys in question were actually very interesting and just before I was disposing myself to answer the questionnaires, I came to realise that "I have filled in questionnaires for these guys before and have never received anything!". Never got the discount, never got told who actually won the free ticket to their conference, not even a thank you message. But worst of all... I never got to see the results of the report! Did it actually materialise? Or was it just a cover for internal intelligence gathering with no intention of sharing?

Before you embark on surveying your customers, followers, leads and your own prospect databases be sure to consider these 7 things you must really do when conducting b2b online surveys.

1. It is not about ipads, ipods, free coffee or whatever the latest gadget is anymore

The biggest incentive you can give someone is relevancy and value. They will not need an incentive if the topic/theme/debate matters to them and if there is a real need-to-know.

Tech gadgets are only cool for techy individuals (if that is your target market fair enough), so if you want to reward the people that have taken the time, then do so with an offer that is related to your products and services.

2. Watch your words... people really really really believe what you've just said

There are lots of surveys and polls taking place in your industry at any given time. So whoever engaged with your particular request to "fill in the survey" or "answer these short questions" believed you, your organisation and the value it will provide.

Your "thank you" messages need to be carefully written. This is the climax of the conversation so end it nicely, thankfully and offer a clear procedure on what will happen next. This should not be a "Good-bye" but a "See you very soon".

3. Treat them very very special, they are your biggest fans

Considering the information overload out there, time-poverty and busy schedules of your B2B prospects, the conversion rates for surveys are low. So whoever managed to see your message, read it, took the time to click on it, and completed the survey, must have seen something special/interesting in you, set you apart and gave you "5 minutes" of their time.

So make sure you treat them equally, set them apart and give them that extra time. They can become your biggest fans if you do it right.

4. Share the outcome of your research and analytics

Sounds obvious, but you should share the outcome of your research. Give those who answer it, a first glance before you release it to the public. They are after all eagerly waiting for it so share the love.

5. Deliver what you promise

Let them hear from you when you said you would speak to them. Tell them who won the prize or the raffle. If you are running late with the outcome of the research, let them know, they will understand. Give and honour the discount that you offered. 

6. Follow up...just in case

We are all busy professionals and information is not necessarily received straight away or at the right time. There are spam filters and all sorts of reasons why communications might not reach us at any given time. So just in case, follow up with another short email or a quick phone call. 

7. Shout out loud once you come up with the outcome of the report

After so much effort in getting the report together, it must be shared with the whole wide world - shout about it through social media, blog about it not once but as many times as you have valuable content to share.

In conclusion

Undertaking a survey is a very time consuming excercise, involving a lot of people before, during and after the survey has been done. In some cases organisations have made partnerships or commercial arrangements that require a certain number of responses which then makes it even more difficult for marketers to manage such projects, and it is in the last stages of the process where things tend to fall through the cracks.

Don't let this happen to you and be sure to cover all your bases, as failing to deliver on your promises is really detrimental for your brand and profits.

Has this ever happened to you? Any learnings to share?