Chime School

Posts Tagged ‘promotion’

For any business that wants to offer products or services that are focused and well targeted market research is essential. Business decisions that are based on good intelligence and good market research can minimise risk and pay dividends. By making market research part and parcel of the business process and conducting market research throughout the life cycle of a product or service market research will bring the following benefits:-

• Market research will help you better communicate – Your current customers experiences are a valuable information source, not only will they allow you to gauge how well you currently meet their expectations they can also tell you where you are getting things right and more importantly where you are getting things wrong. By asking you take the guesswork out of customer services and demonstrate to the customer that you care.
• Market research helps you identify opportunities – If you are planning to launch a new product and want to know how people will react then market research will help, not only in predicting how well the product will be received, but also by testing the marketing message to see if that needs to be adjusted.
• Market research will minimise risk – Market research can identifying what is needed for a new service and product and ensure that the development of a product matches demand.
• Market research creates benchmarks and helps you measure your progress – Unless you measure you may not be able to gauge how well your business is performing. Early research may highlight glaring holes in your service or short falls in your product, regular market research will show if improvements are being made and, if positive, will help motivate a team.

Considering the benefits that market research will bring to any organization it is perhaps surprising how few businesses invest sufficient resources to gather good intelligence that will help them improve business. Many may think that market research takes too much time and effort but that is just not the case anymore as through the power of the Internet online survey software is readily available and vital market research data can now be gathered in a quick, simple and cost effective manner.

The small time promoter has to work hard and on a shoestring to get an audience of a few hundred people to fill a venue. Flyers, word-of-mouth and social networks are just some of the tools promoters use to fill small venues or club nights. It is not easy building up a loyal following from scratch. It can take a great deal of effort to attract enough people to fill even the smallest of venues and that effort should not be wasted and the actual event used to establish a relationship with the audience that will continue beyond the end of the evening.

With a little thought and small outlay online surveys can be used to provide the promoter with valuable feedback and the opportunity to engage in further contact with the audience. Using online Survey Software a promoter can now quickly and easily create an online survey.

With an online survey a promoter can find out exactly:-

• who attended;
• what persuaded them;
• what they thought of the event;
• would they expect to attend again;
• would they recommend future events to their friends.

One way to ensure a good response is to have a supply of business sized cards that are marked clearly with a slogan like “Feedback”, “Everyone’s a critic”, “What do you think”. On each card a web address will point either directly to the survey or to a website where a link to the survey can be placed. Cards can be issued at the door with the tickets, or handed out among the crowd and if they are made the size of business cards they will be small enough to be slipped into a pocket, purse or wallet. A small incentive such as a chance to win a free guest pass for a future event, a signed CD or T shirt may improve the response rate.

Using the results from online surveys the promoter is able to:

• Obtain a profile of the audience
• Gauge the overall success of the event;
• Measure the effectiveness of different promotion;
• Receive feedback on the venue and facilities;
• Receive feedback on the act;
• Promote on a one on one basis;
• Build a targeted database for future events;
• Build a loyal audience;
• Link to merchandise and other promotions.

It takes considering effort to promote an event and only a little extra effort to use online surveys to encourage further contact and reap a number of short and long term benefits that contact will bring.

The following example shows the feedback that could be used for a breaking band. Not only does the process collate good feedback it also continues to promote the band, their CDs, downloads and gives the opportunity to encourage further contact.

Sample Feedback Survey

To view the summary results of the survey: Sample Survey Results

The small time promoter has to work hard and on a shoestring to get an audience of a few hundred people to fill a venue. Flyers, word-of-mouth and media name checks are some of the tools promoters use to fill small venues or club nights. Building up a loyal following from scratch is no easy task. It can take a great deal of effort to attract enough people to fill even the smallest of venues and that effort should not be wasted and the actual event used to establish a relationship with the audience that will continue beyond the end of the evening.

With a little thought and small outlay online surveys can be used to provide the promoter with valuable feedback and the opportunity to engage in further contact with the audience. Using online Survey Software a promoter can now quickly and easily create an online survey.

With an online survey a promoter can find out exactly:-

• who attended;
• what persuaded them;
• what they thought of the event;
• would they expect to attend again;
• would they recommend future events to their friends.

One way to ensure a good response is to have a supply of business sized cards that are marked clearly with a slogan like “Feedback”, “Everyone’s a critic”, “What do you think”. Each card would display an address that points either directly to the survey or to a website where a link to the survey can be placed. Cards can be issued at the door with the tickets, or handed out among the crowd and if they are made the size of business cards they will be small enough to be slipped into a pocket, purse or wallet. It may not even be necessary but a small incentive wouldn’t harm the response rate perhaps the chance to win a free guest pass for a future event, a signed CD or T shirt.

Using the results from online surveys the promoter is able to:

• Obtain a profile of the audience
• Gauge the overall success of the event;
• Measure the effectiveness of different promotion;
• Receive feedback on the venue and facilities;
• Receive feedback on the act;
• Promote on a one on one basis;
• Build a targeted database for future events;
• Build a loyal audience;
• Link to merchandise and other promotions.

It takes considering effort to promote an event and only a little extra effort to use online surveys to encourage further contact and reap a number of short and long term benefits that contact will bring.

The following example shows the feedback that could be used for a breaking band. It not only gathers valuable feedback, but continues to promote the band, their CD and gives the opportunity to encourage further contact.

Sample Feedback Survey

To view the summary results of the survey: Sample Survey Results

Even public transport operators who already use passenger surveys may not fully appreciate the multiple benefits that surveys can bring. Surveys provide an efficient method for conducting market research that will then help identify passenger dissatisfaction and they are also an ideal tool for measuring the effects of any improvements that have been implemented and can help promote the new initiatives.

Establishing a Starting Point

When embarking on any change management programme it is always good practice to establish a base line before any changes are made. This baseline survey can serve four purposes, it will:-

• allow the proper targeting of investment
• allow measurement of the effect of change
• assist in the moral of those implementing change
• ensure that new issues are kept separate from the original plan and budget

Targeting Investment

There are many areas of any public transport system that can cause passenger dissatisfaction all of which need to be monitored to ensure that the service being provided meets, and where possible, exceeds, performance level targets.

Issues that can be of concern to passenger include:-

• safety and security
• punctuality
• fares and ticket types
• capacity and overcrowding
• quality and design of vehicle
• cleanliness
• facilities at stations and terminals
• facilities for passengers with disabilities

Often limited resources and budgets means that investment needs to be carefully planned and properly targeted.

Passenger surveys allow operators to identify those areas that are of most concern to their customers. By analysing passenger feedback the operator can ensure that their improvement and investment plans are in line with passenger demands and concerns. Issues can be classified into high and low priority, as well as long and short term plans.

Major capital investment such as the building of infrastructure for example new terminals, runways, laying new track or upgrading air traffic control or rail signalling equipment may take many years to implement. However, the initial survey may identify some high profile areas where a solution to the raised problems can be implemented almost immediately.

Measuring Change

From having established a comprehensive programme from an initial survey the objectives for running periodic surveys are twofold.

One objective will be to confirm that passenger concerns have been addressed by any changes and initiatives that are implemented. A second objective will be to promote and advertise the initiatives that have been implemented and also educate and inform passengers of ongoing improvements and future plans.

Passengers can appreciate that it can take time to resolve some of their concerns and will hopefully become more understanding towards the operators if they know that the problems have been identified and are not being ignored.

Keeping Moral

Those implementing change can often develop a siege mentality. Passengers may be slow to appreciate any improvements that are made as it can take time for changes to have an effect.

By canvassing passenger opinion and measuring the results against earlier surveys a successful change programme should see passenger issues change over time, some issues that were problems will no longer be raised.

Those tasked with implementing change and making improvements can become very demoralised as suffering passengers are slow to appreciate the efforts that are being made and are therefore negative in their comments. It is vital that a team implementing change can see clearly the effects of their efforts.

Identifying New and Old

In any long term change management programme issues can change over time. The situation can change instantly so that due to an event what was important, is no longer important and what wasn’t an issue, is suddenly an issue.

The baseline survey will ensure that the passengers concerns are chronologically documented. The needs of passengers evolve over time, individual requirements change, fashion changes, life styles develop along with technology, low cost budget carriers now compete with luxury travel and there is a clear demand for both, in some cases even form the same set of people depending on whether their travel is for business or pleasure. With surveys run periodically any changes in passenger attitudes can be monitored.

Online Surveys Make It Easy

Online surveys can reach a broad cross section of any travelling public. They are quick to design and implement and they provide feedback in a format that is ready for detailed analysis. There is no longer the need to publish a single one size fits all survey, being low cost and flexible multiple online surveys can be published that target specific groups who may have real concerns.

Online passenger surveys will make it easy to collate important market research data and will also allow an operator to demonstrate that they have a genuine commitment towards improving levels of passenger satisfaction.

Passengers will benefit from having an effective channel to raise issues and through regular surveys they will begin to appreciate that the operator is committed to investing and improving the service. The following are links to samples of Passenger Surveys

Sample Passenger Survey for an Airline Carrier: Airline Passenger Survey

Passenger Survey for a Train Operator: Train Operator Passenger Survey

Sample Passenger Survey for a Bus Operator: Bus Operator Passenger Survey

How to create a survey using Survey Galaxy

Writing surveys is easy; or is it? The truth is that creating surveys is easy but creating effective surveys is more difficult. The following twenty tips will help you write more effective surveys.

1. What is the purpose of the survey?

There are many reasons for conducting surveys. By correctly phrasing the questions and structuring the answers surveys can be used in a multitude of ways and for a variety of reasons. When compiling a survey don’t lose sight of the survey’s purpose.

2. Give the survey a good title

The survey title is a golden opportunity to instantly summarise a survey’s objective and encourage respondents to participate. Respondents need to invest time in completing the survey so you need to encourage them that their investment will be worthwhile.

3. Keep the length of the survey as short as possible

Every question asked should be asked for a reason. Minimize asking questions that will provide you with ‘nice to know’ information and concentrate instead on ‘need to know’ questions.

4. Use plain English, maintain consistency, avoid jargon and acronyms and don’t ask questions that may result in ambiguous answers

Take care when wording a question. There is every chance that if respondents can interpret any question that is not clearly written differently to that intended by the survey’s publisher then any analysis of the survey results may be worthless or at the very least misleading.

5. Avoid having long questions

Try to use succinct sentences wherever possible. Long questions can cause a respondent to lose concentration and can lead to a higher level of incidents where respondents abandon a survey.

6. Ask one question at a time

Avoid confusing the respondent with a question like ‘Do you like golf and tennis?’

7. Don’t influence the answer

Do not load the question. ‘Should irresponsible shop keepers who sell cigarettes to minors be prosecuted?’ is unlikely to have any value.

8. Ensure that the selected answer format allows the respondent to answer the question being asked

Ensure that the respondent is able to answer how they really feel or they may abandon the survey. As a last resort consider the benefit of including a “Don’t know”, “Can’t say” or similar response option.

9. When you are compiling your survey consider how you will analyse the results once the survey has been published

When asking questions that allow for a free text open ended response, such as when asking the respondent for their comments, appreciate that such information is likely to be difficult to score and/or summarised. Consider how the answers could be grouped. For example “Indicate your length of service?” – ‘less than 1 year’, ‘between 1 and 6 years’ and ‘more than 6′.

10. Try and ensure that the questionnaire flows

Group questions into clear categories as this will make it easier for the participants completing the survey.

11. Target your respondents carefully

In some cases you will want to target a specific group, in others a cross section. If you can’t control who responds to your survey consider including questions/answers that will allow you to filter out respondents who don’t fit your target profile.

12. Provide a channel for your respondents to expand on their answers or make comments

Allowing respondents to make additional comments will increase their satisfaction level and the comments will also give valuable feedback on the specific questions and/or the survey as a whole. Remember that for large sample collections free text open ended responses may prove difficult to analyze.

13. If the survey you are conducting is to be confidential ensure that you honour your pledge

If you have assured the respondents that the survey is confidential ensure that the individual data is not to be shared with anyone and the information is not going to be used for any other purpose. Confidentiality must be maintained at all times and any identifying information destroyed once the survey has finished.

14. Consider the advantages and disadvantages of allowing respondents to be anonymous or identifiable

If your respondents are to be anonymous then you will be unable to follow up specific complaints or match “pre” or “post” surveys. Allowing people to remain anonymous will however allow people to respond without possible peer pressure.

15. Carefully consider what the best response format will be

Being consistent with the format used for responses is good practice. When designing your survey keep in mind that when analysing the data radio buttons are easier to analyse than check boxes that offer the respondent multiple responses. Do not use a check box format if a radio response format would do.

16. Give the respondent an estimate as to how much time the survey will take to complete

If the survey appears to be a stream of never ending questions then respondent drop can increase. It is good practice to indicate how long the survey is likely to take so that the participants can choose the best time to complete the survey.

17. Inform the respondents of the survey end date

Encourage your invited respondents to complete the survey as soon as possible but advise the respondents of the survey’s end date so that they have the opportunity to schedule the necessary time.

18. Test the survey

Before publishing a live survey publish a small pilot survey to check for questions that are ambiguous or confusing and to ensure that the survey is aesthetically pleasing.

19. Before publishing the survey proof read the survey carefully

Check and check again that the survey is grammatically correct and makes sense. If practical get someone else to proof read the survey before you publish, if no one else is available then take a break before checking again.

20. Say ‘Thank You’

To complete surveys respondents have to devote their time and should be thanked at the end of completing the survey or in a follow up letter. You may even want to consider an incentive such as a reward or entry into a prize draw.

For further information please visit Survey Galaxy

The small time promoter has to work hard and on a shoestring to get an audience of a few hundred people to fill a venue. Flyers, word-of-mouth and social networks are just some of the tools promoters use to fill small venues or club nights. Building up a loyal following from scratch is not easy. For an up and coming band a lot of effort can go into attracting enough people to fill even the smallest of venues and those promoting the event need to take every opportunity to establish a relationship with the audience that will continue beyond the end of the performance.

For a small outlay online surveys can be set up to provide the promoter with feedback and the opportunity to maintain an on going relationship with their audience. Using online Survey Software a promoter can now quickly and easily create an online survey.

With an online survey a promoter can find out exactly:-

• who attended;
• what persuaded them;
• what they thought of the event;
• would they expect to attend again;
• would they recommend future events to their friends.

A way to ensure a good response is to have a number of business sized cards that are marked clearly with words like “Feedback”, “Your opinion counts”, “Tell us what you thought”. Each card would display an address that points either directly to the survey or to a website where a link to the survey can be placed. The cards can be issued at the door with the tickets, or handed out among the audience and being the size of business cards they are small enough to be stuck in a pocket, purse or wallet. Small incentives such as a chance to win a free guest pass for a future event, a signed CD or T shirt would help towards improving the response rate.

Using the results from online surveys the promoter is able to:

• Obtain a profile of the audience
• Gauge the overall success of the event;
• Measure the effectiveness of different promotion;
• Receive feedback on the venue and facilities;
• Receive feedback on the act;
• Promote on a one on one basis;
• Build a targeted database for future events;
• Build a loyal audience;
• Link to merchandise and other promotions.

Considering the effort that it takes to promote an event and the little extra effort required in using online surveys to encourage further contact and all the immediate and long term benefits that will bring – it really couldn’t be any easier.

The following sample survey shows the feedback that could be used for a breaking band. Not only does it gather valuable feedback, but continues to promote the band, their recorded music and establishes the opportunity to encourage further contact.

Sample Feedback Survey

To view the summary results of the survey: Sample Survey Results

Those public transport operators who already use passenger surveys may not fully appreciate the multiple benefits that surveys can bring. Not only are surveys an efficient method of market research that will help identify areas of passenger dissatisfaction, they are also perfect for measuring the effects of improvements and can, at the same time, help promote new initiatives to customers using the service.

Establishing a Starting Point

When embarking on any change management programme it is always good practice to establish a base line before any changes are made. This baseline survey can serve four purposes, it will:-

• allow the proper targeting of investment
• allow measurement of the effect of change
• assist in the moral of those implementing change
• ensure that new issues are kept separate from the original plan and budget

Targeting Investment

There are many areas of any public transport system that can cause passenger dissatisfaction all of which need to be monitored to ensure that the service being provided meets, and where possible, exceeds, performance level targets.

Issues that can be of concern to passenger include:-

• safety and security
• punctuality
• fares and ticket types
• capacity and overcrowding
• quality and design of vehicle
• cleanliness
• facilities at stations and terminals
• facilities for passengers with disabilities

Often limited resources and budgets means that investment needs to be carefully planned and properly targeted.

Operators can use passenger surveys to confirm what their customers consider as the main issues. Through the analysis of passenger feedback the operator will be able to ensure that their improvement and investment plans are in line with passenger demands and concerns. Issues can be classified into high and low priority, as well as long and short term plans.

It may take many years for capital investment to take effect such as the building of new terminals, runways, laying new track or upgrading air traffic control or rail signalling equipment. However, the initial survey will almost certainly identify some main concerns that can be implemented almost immediately at a relative low cost.

Measuring Change

From having established a comprehensive programme from an initial survey the objectives for running periodic surveys are twofold.

One aim will be to check that passenger concerns have been properly addressed by any of the changes and initiatives that have been implemented. A second objective will be to advertise and promote the initiatives that have been implemented and also inform and educate passengers of ongoing improvements and future plans.

Passengers will hopefully be more positive when they can see that improvements have been made and if they know that problems have been recognised and are in the process of being addressed they can be more accepting of the outstanding problems.

Keeping Moral

Those implementing change can often develop a siege mentality. It can take time for any change to take effect and for the passengers to appreciate any improvement.

By canvassing passenger opinion and measuring the results against earlier surveys a successful change programme should see passenger issues change over time, some issues that were problems will no longer be raised.

Passengers will take time to appreciate progress and often those working on a change project will be demoralised with constant criticism from what is often a negative public. It is vital that a team implementing change can see clearly the effects of their efforts.

Identifying New and Old

In any long term change management programme issues can change over time. Events can happen that make what was important, no longer important and what wasn’t an issue, an issue.

A baseline survey will help ensure that the passengers concerns are chronologically documented. The needs of passengers is in constant flux, individual requirements change, low cost budget carriers now compete directly with luxury travel and even from the same sets of people there is a clear demand for both depending on whether their travel is for business or pleasure. Annual surveys will ensure that any changes in passenger attitudes are monitored.

Online Surveys Make It Easy

Online surveys can reach a broad cross section of any travelling public. They are quick and easy to design and implement and they provide feedback in a format that is ready for detailed analysis. Being low cost and flexibility online surveys allows the operator to target specific groups of passengers ensuring that their specific concerns are properly understood.

Passenger surveys will collect important market research intelligence and provide a platform to allow the operators to promote and advertise their commitment to achieving high levels of passenger satisfaction.

Passengers will benefit from having an effective channel to raise issues and through regular surveys they will begin to appreciate that the operator is committed to investing and improving the service. The following are links to samples of Passenger Surveys

Sample Passenger Survey for an Airline Carrier: Airline Passenger Survey

Passenger Survey for a Train Operator: Train Operator Passenger Survey

Sample Passenger Survey for a Bus Operator: Bus Operator Passenger Survey

Even public transport operators who already use passenger surveys may not fully appreciate the multiple benefits that surveys can bring. Surveys are not only an efficient method for conducting market research that will help towards identifying any passenger dissatisfaction, they are also the perfect tool for measuring the effects of any improvements and can simultaneously help promote new initiatives to the customers using the service.

Establishing a Starting Point

When embarking on any change management programme it is always good practice to establish a base line before any changes are made. This baseline survey can serve four purposes, it will:-

• allow the proper targeting of investment
• allow measurement of the effect of change
• assist in the moral of those implementing change
• ensure that new issues are kept separate from the original plan and budget

Targeting Investment

There are many areas of any public transport system that can cause passenger dissatisfaction all of which need to be monitored to ensure that the service being provided meets, and where possible, exceeds, performance level targets.

Issues that can be of concern to passenger include:-

• safety and security
• punctuality
• fares and ticket types
• capacity and overcrowding
• quality and design of vehicle
• cleanliness
• facilities at stations and terminals
• facilities for passengers with disabilities

Often limited resources and budgets means that investment needs to be carefully planned and properly targeted.

Operators can use passenger surveys to ascertain from their customers what the main concerns are. By analysing passenger feedback the operator can ensure that their improvement and investment plans are in line with passenger demands and concerns. Issues can be classified into low and high priority, as well as short and long term plans.

Major capital investment such as the building of infrastructure for example new terminals, runways, laying new track or upgrading air traffic control or rail signalling equipment may take many years to implement. However, significant problems can be identified by the initial survey that have a quick and simple solution and that can be immediately resolved for a minimal cost.

Measuring Change

From having established a comprehensive programme from an initial survey the objectives for running periodic surveys are twofold.

An important objective will be to ensure that the changes and initiatives that are implemented have been effective in addressing passenger issues. A second objective will be to promote and advertise the initiatives that have been implemented and also educate and inform passengers of ongoing improvements and future plans.

Passengers need to know that their concerns have been understood and once that they know that the operators have acknowledged the problems and are taking steps to address them they can become more tolerant towards the outstanding problems.

Keeping Moral

Those implementing change can often develop a siege mentality. It can take time for changes to take effect and for any improvements to be noticed by the passengers.

By monitoring passenger opinion and measuring the results against earlier surveys a successful change programme should see passenger issues change over time, some issues that were problems will no longer be raised.

Passengers who are suffering can be very impatient that improvements are not instant and their negativity can cause those tasked with implementing change to become demoralised. It is important that a team implementing change can see clearly the effects of their efforts.

Identifying New and Old

In any long term change management programme issues can change over time. The situation can change instantly so that due to an event what was important, is no longer important and what wasn’t an issue, is suddenly an issue.

A baseline survey will make sure that the passengers concerns are chronologically documented. Passengers are an evolving group, individual travel arrangements change, fashion changes, life styles develop along with technology. Annual surveys will ensure that any changes in passenger attitudes are monitored.

Online Surveys Make It Easy

Online surveys can reach a broad cross section of any travelling public. They are quick and easy to design and implement and they provide feedback in a format that is ready for detailed analysis. Because of the flexibility and low cost of online surveys it is practical to publish multiple surveys that target specific groups ensuring that the needs of people are fully understood.

Online surveys will ensure that important market research intelligence is gathered and provides a platform to the operators to enable them to promote and advertise their quest to achieve high levels of passenger satisfaction.

Passengers will benefit from having an effective channel to raise issues and through regular surveys they will begin to appreciate that the operator is committed to investing and improving the service. The following are links to samples of Passenger Surveys

Sample Passenger Survey for an Airline Carrier: Airline Passenger Survey

Passenger Survey for a Train Operator: Train Operator Passenger Survey

Sample Passenger Survey for a Bus Operator: Bus Operator Passenger Survey

Customers are tough and demanding. They are extremely media aware and increasingly cynical and it is a clever marketeer who can get through to them. Online surveys breath new life into the traditional survey format and offer a unique way of interaction – providing you with all the benefits of the Internet without the programming. Here are ten reasons why they may be the silver bullet marketeers’ need, complete with examples supplied by Martin Day, managing director of Survey Galaxy – one of a new breed of websites making online surveys quicker and cheaper

1. It’s cheap as chips
Select the right survey website and creating surveys can be free of any charge and the cost to publish very reasonable.
Useful information derived from survey analysis can be reused and repackaged in other marketing and PR for use in press outlets making it a very efficient form of information gathering.

2. It’s easy
Anyone can develop an online survey. Online surveys are quick and simple to create and design, no programming skills are required and when publishing completing the surveys is straight forward.

3. Anyone can play
Promoting an online survey can be via email (with a link enclosed), through a link from a website or as a referenced by other forms of advertising. Anyone who has the URL can be connected instantly to the survey, at a time that’s convenient to them, 24×7.

4. We have an opinion – and we like to give it
Customers do not often view surveys as spam and the majority welcome the opportunity to voice their opinion and the chance to have an impact on a brand. They can be particularly good for broaching sensitive subjects with concerned employees; a survey asking a workforce on their opinion of change allows the key issues to be raised in a positive manner and encourages employee participation. Online surveys ensures that the message reaches each individual and the feedback is compiled in a manageable form.

5. Get inside your respondents heads
You can lead a customer to an advertisement but you can’t make them read it. Surveys have the advantage of engaging each respondent, who thinks about the question before giving their response.

6. Beautiful relationships start here
It needn’t all end once a survey has been completed – while you have their attention you can ask if they want to sign up for more information or a regular newsletter – making the most of the window when you have their interest.

7. Have you also seen….
Maximise the interest of those responding to your survey by referencing related information. By including links within the survey to websites that offer detailed information you are able to reinforce the marketing message.

8. Subtly does it
In the mind of the respondent a surveys can help associate a product with a number of positive attributes. By listing the many features of a product and asking the respondent how important they are, regardless of their response, the product will be associated with the features; if they are rated as important the positive impact is endorsed by the customer.

9. Not just marketing
A survey is an effective, quick and easy method to promote and gain acceptance for a difficult proposal; maybe a public body trying to gain acceptance and support for a particular scheme.
Take the example of a city trying to gain support from the general public for their bid to host a future Olympic Games. A survey can explain each benefit putting the respondent in a much better position to appreciate what the real advantages are that might just combat any negative headlines. As well as promoting the cause, useful feedback is gained that can be used to fine tune the overall marketing strategy.

10. Engage your target group
By thinking laterally a lively and imaginative approach to surveys could provide a ‘hook’ to engage respondents. The survey subject can be aimed at a particular group on a subject close to theirs hearts. A survey’s marketing message can take the form of a simple brand awareness message by stating that the survey is being sponsored by brand name, or by finding a link from the subject matter to the product – something that is surprisingly easy and highly effective.

Discover the benefits of including in your website a Public Survey section as many people who enjoy completing crosswords and doing word puzzles enjoy completing surveys. Having a public survey notice board as part of a website is a low cost and automated method that helps to increase traffic and establish a loyal and returning following. Unlike discussion boards there is no opportunity for people to disrupt the site by inappropriate remarks as the survey results are displayed in summary form enabling them to dispense with moderators and maintenance.

Customers do not often view surveys as spam and the majority welcome the opportunity to make their voice heard and a chance to have an impact on a brand.

Many of the techniques and a few more are contained in the following Sample Marketing Survey.

Even public transport operators who already use passenger surveys may not fully appreciate the multiple benefits that surveys can bring. Surveys are not only an efficient method for conducting market research that will help towards identifying any passenger dissatisfaction, they are also the perfect tool for measuring the effects of any improvements and can simultaneously help promote new initiatives to the customers using the service.

Establishing a Starting Point

When embarking on any change management programme it is always good practice to establish a base line before any changes are made. This baseline survey can serve four purposes, it will:-

• allow the proper targeting of investment
• allow measurement of the effect of change
• assist in the moral of those implementing change
• ensure that new issues are kept separate from the original plan and budget

Targeting Investment

There are many areas of any public transport system that can cause passenger dissatisfaction all of which need to be monitored to ensure that the service being provided meets, and where possible, exceeds, performance level targets.

Issues that can be of concern to passenger include:-

• safety and security
• punctuality
• fares and ticket types
• capacity and overcrowding
• quality and design of vehicle
• cleanliness
• facilities at stations and terminals
• facilities for passengers with disabilities

Often limited resources and budgets means that investment needs to be carefully planned and properly targeted.

With passenger surveys operators can identify those areas that are of most concern to their customers. Through the analysis of passenger feedback the operator will be able to ensure that their improvement and investment plans are in line with passenger demands and concerns. Issues can be classified into high and low priority, as well as long and short term plans.

Major capital investment such as the building of infrastructure for example new terminals, runways, laying new track or upgrading air traffic control or rail signalling equipment may take many years to implement. However, the initial survey can also lead to some high profile problem areas being identified that have solutions that can be implemented almost immediately.

Measuring Change

From having established a comprehensive programme from an initial survey the objectives for running periodic surveys are twofold.

An important objective will be to ensure that the changes and initiatives that are implemented have been effective in addressing passenger issues. A second objective will be to advertise and promote the initiatives that have been implemented and also inform and educate passengers of ongoing improvements and future plans.

Passengers may be more positive if they can see that improvements have been made and more accepting of outstanding problems if they know that problems have been recognised and are in the process of being addressed.

Keeping Moral

Those implementing change can often develop a siege mentality. Not all the changes that are made will have an immediate effective and it may take some time before the passengers appreciate the change.

By canvassing passenger opinion and measuring the results against earlier surveys a successful change programme should see passenger issues change over time, some issues that were problems will no longer be raised.

Those tasked with implementing change and making improvements can become very demoralised as suffering passengers are slow to appreciate the efforts that are being made and are therefore negative in their comments. It is vital that a team implementing change can see clearly the effects of their efforts.

Identifying New and Old

In any long term change management programme issues can change over time. The situation can change instantly so that due to an event what was important, is no longer important and what wasn’t an issue, is suddenly an issue.

A baseline survey will make sure that the passengers concerns are documented chronologically. Passengers are themselves an evolving group, individual travel arrangements change, fashion changes, life styles develop along with technology. Annual surveys will allow changes in passenger attitudes to be monitored.

Online Surveys Make It Easy

Online surveys can reach a broad cross section of any travelling public. They are quick and easy to design and implement and they provide feedback in a format that is ready for detailed analysis. The low cost and flexibility of online surveys allows passenger concern to be targeted at specific groups and particular concerns.

Online passenger surveys provide operators with valuable market research data and will establish a platform to advertise and promote their commitment to passenger satisfaction.

Passengers will benefit from having an effective channel to raise issues and through regular surveys they will begin to appreciate that the operator is committed to investing and improving the service. The following are links to samples of Passenger Surveys

Sample Passenger Survey for an Airline Carrier: Airline Passenger Survey

Passenger Survey for a Train Operator: Train Operator Passenger Survey

Sample Passenger Survey for a Bus Operator: Bus Operator Passenger Survey