Online research plays a pivotal role in assessing the impact of a website and its communication efforts on customer perceptions, as well as in gathering feedback for brand enhancement. Let's explore various online feedback tools and research techniques that contribute to digital marketing success:
1. Website feedback
Maintain a continuous feedback mechanism with prompts on every webpage. This allows customers to provide real-time ratings on page content, products, and services. These tools run continuously to ensure ongoing feedback collection.
2. Site user intent-satisfaction surveys
These tools measure the alignment between user intentions and actual achievements on a website. They help identify discrepancies and areas for improvement.
3. Crowdsourcing product opinion software
These tools extend beyond website feedback and enable customers to express their opinions about potential new services or products.
4. Simple page or concept feedback tools
Utilizing crowdsourcing techniques, these tools collect feedback from an online panel regarding specific aspects like webpage layout, messaging, or services.
5. General online survey tools
Platforms such as Zoomerang and SurveyMonkey facilitate cost-effective surveys that engage audiences and provide valuable insights into customer preferences.
Questionnaires: efficient online surveys
Conducting online surveys via questionnaires offers several advantages:
- Cost-Effective: Internet surveys using questionnaires are cost-efficient, less intrusive, and capable of targeting specific populations.
- Encouraging Participation: Techniques like interruption on entry, continuous prompts, incentives, and email surveys encourage active participation.
- Effective Stages: Successful questionnaire surveys involve stages like attracting respondents, offering incentives, reassuring respondents about confidentiality, designing and executing the survey, and providing follow-up feedback.
- Design Matters: Structuring questionnaires effectively involves starting with easy and interesting questions, clustering related questions, moving from general to specific topics, progressing from behavioral to attitudinal queries, and ending with demographic or less engaging questions.
Focus groups: insightful discussions
Online focus groups are valuable for reaching specific, hard-to-access segments and come with advantages like reduced costs and quicker arrangements. However, they lack visual cues and the tactile experience of real-world groups.
Mystery shoppers: assessing real-world impact
Real-world measurement is essential as the online channel must complement real-world customer service and fulfillment. E-MysteryShopper surveys evaluate various aspects, including site usability, ecommerce fulfillment, email and phone responsiveness, and their impact on brand perception.
Incorporating these research techniques into your digital marketing strategy can provide valuable insights and contribute to more informed decision-making. By understanding customer behavior and perceptions, you can optimize your online presence and enhance your brand's effectiveness.
Adapted from Chaffey, D. and Ellis-Chadwick, F., 2012. Digital marketing: strategy, implementation and practice (Vol. 5). Harlow: Pearson.