Functions as Survey Questions

For businesses that have a considerable online presence, there is an opportunity for data collection that most companies miss. On every website there are buttons that allow the customer to move forward. You can take advantage of these buttons to ask a quick and easy survey question that may help you improve your business.

Transactional surveys – that is, surveys that collect data on a recent transaction – are a commonly used method of data collection for retail companies. The idea is that the company can learn more from only a few questions if they ask it directly after the transaction is completed. This same strategy can be used on your website.

Right after your customer makes a purchase they are brought to a receipt/thank you for shopping type of screen. Usually this screen advises them to close their browser so that their information cannot be stolen, with a button that contains the word “Close.” Rather than provide this specific button, this feature can be used as an opportunity to collect data.

For example: “To close this webpage and go back to browsing, please answer the following question: My experience with the transaction process of this website was… a) Excellent b) Good c) Fair d) Poor.” Once they have answered that question the page closes, and you have been able to collect valuable data without necessarily inconveniencing the customer. You should always limit it to one question (after all, you do not want to upset the customer by forcing them to take a real survey), but you have provided yourself with some interesting data while giving them a function they were going to use anyways.

Besides limiting it to a single question, you will also need to make sure that the survey is not an inconvenience. That means you have to use it only after the customer has performed a task, rather than when they are trying to complete a task and the question seems to be getting in the way. Similarly, the question needs to be relevant to what the individual is doing, otherwise they may not be able to answer. But all data collection can be useful data collection, and while a one question makeshift survey may not be the most valuable analysis tool for your company, you may find out something interesting that you can research in the future.