Good Surveys Spark Conversations, Poor Ones Exhaust Prospects’ Patience

While good surveys spark conversations with prospects and customers, poor surveys waste their time and exhaust their patience.

Good Surveys Spark Conversations,
Poor Ones Exhaust Prospects’ Patience

About once a week or so I get a request that looks like:

Can you please fill out my 40 question survey to help me understand the market need for my new B2B product?

Here’s the thing. In B2B markets, you want the survey to start a conversation, not to extract as much info as possible but leave you without the potential for a relationship. What are the three most important things you need to know? Can you frame your questions in a way that communicates an understanding of the prospect’s needs and a commitment to solving their problem?

If I don’t know you, you must provide links to blog posts or other indicators that you are a real person with a deep interest in the problem you plan to address.  Give me reasons to start a conversation with you if I believe I have the problem you are asking about.

Only ask questions that you are prepared to take action on, consider asking a mix of multiple choice questions and open-ended questions that allow prospects or customers give answers in their own words.

Related Blog Posts

• Customer Development Surveys Always Suck For B2B
• Pictures Are to Words as Conversations are to Surveys A conversation is worth a thousand survey questions.
• Simple Client Satisfaction & Process Improvement Survey
• The Three Question Test at the Bootstrappers Breakfast