Shoestring Marketing: Web surveys becoming more accepted by businesses

Alf Nucifora is an Atlanta-based marketing consultant.

I was recently asked by a client for an opinion about the validity of Web surveys. My immediate inclination was to denigrate the methodology, trotting out the commonly heard negatives, e.g., not random enough, questionable sample composition, hard to verify the data, etc.

But, online research is now beyond the "prove it" stage. The marketing research community, if it chooses to be fair, will concede the point that there is now an irreversible decline in traditional data collection, e.g. phone and mail surveys. The techniques are too costly, too laborious to execute, and subject to limited response rates. Who has the time or the inclination to complete a mail survey or respond to the rote questions from the phone surveyor in a far-off boiler room?

In the meantime, Web surveying is estimated to have achieved a penetration rate of 15 percent to 20 percent of the total quantitative survey space. That makes a lot of sense in an environment where there are now in excess of 190 million Internet users in the United States and Canada alone.

Overcoming the objections

The objections to online research are understandable and, to some degree, rational. But in every case, there are equally valid counter arguments or mitigating factors.

It's not random enough. Neither, for that matter, is the telephone, given the degree of phone screening that prevails and the ubiquity of voice mail.

Response rate. Typical response rates will run 1 percent to 2 percent for mail, 10 percent to 15 percent, for phone. For online surveys that number grows to as high as 30 percent to 35 percent where respondent names are drawn from weighted panels. The response rate is even better for business-to-business research where reliable lists are more readily available.

They tend to lie on the Internet. But, so can they on the telephone. Ever wondered how many administrative assistants fill out the mail surveys for their boss? Internet respondents will freely reveal private demographic information. Ironically, the Internet delivers a perception of anonymity which is greater than the phone or snail mail.

Cost. Committed Web survey user companies maintain that they are not yet seeing significant cost savings although the average 20-minute phone interview can cost in the range of $30 to $50 per completed interview, versus $7 to $10 for one completed online. One suspects that cost decreases as familiarity of use increases.

Timeliness. This is where the online survey wins out hands down. Reports and summaries are developed real-time and can be funneled directly to management in a simple, easy-to-digest fashion (resplendent in color, graphics and charts). Traditional phone/mail surveys require laborious data collection, tabbing, summary and distribution.

Bad lists. Unquestionably, e-mail lists are subject to corruption unless the online research is conducted using names drawn from a reliable panel or verified database. The risk of bad research is real and palpable, and although it attracts more visibility in the online universe, the disease infests every environment that depends on a list of names for its livelihood.

The one area where online research has not proven popular is in the qualitative arena, specifically online focus groups. John Maben of the Denver-based marketing research firm, TwentyTen Research (and a facilitator of online surveys), expresses the view that the jury is still out.

"It's still a difficult process lots of typing and a chat room environment that's not always conducive to delivering rich diagnostic feedback," said Maben.

Even though improved instant-messaging software and Web casting technology have enhanced the process, there is still something about "seeing the whites of their eyes." Traditional face-to-face focus group interaction will always provide a degree of personal involvement and insight that the online environment has difficulty matching. Even for the fast-fingered typist.

Who's doing it?

Current online surveying tends to focus around customer-related needs such as:

market analysis;

new product development;

customer satisfaction studies;

consumer loyalty/retention modeling;

quality measurement;

e-commerce service evaluation;

employee surveys;

advertising effectiveness; and

survey environments requiring feedback from high-level managerial functions (where time is tight).

"There can be no doubt as to the validity and growing acceptance of the Web survey," said Joel Friedman, CEO of SurveyWriter.com. "Use of the methodology hasn't grown faster because most market research firms are conservative in their outlook and practice."

Friedman's 4-year-old firm has conducted more than a million online surveys for more than 150 clients including Hewlett-Packard, Frito-Lay, All State and General Mills.

Equally successful in the online survey space is WebSurveyor, an affordable and downloadable software that allows a company to customize its online research.

"We are not a marketing research tool, as much as a facilitator of customer feedback about anything and everything from product attributes to customer service," said Tom Lueker, chief marketing officer.

The WebSurveyor product has been used by more than 2,000 clients worldwide (including Marriott, IBM and Motley Fool), with 50,000 surveys hosted and 4 million responses processed. The protocol is simple. The user company or buyer downloads WebSurveyor's software, develops a simple, yet customized survey from sample templates, integrates the survey document into the company database (client/prospect) and e-mails the survey document out to a prescribed list which never leaves the client's hands.

Keith Halasy, senior marketing manager for Sagebrush Corporation attests to the ease, value an efficiency of online research. Halasy said he was able to craft a 20-question, in-depth customer survey prior to a new product launch, e-mail it to an extensive client list and turn the project around within three-days. The response rate hit 21 percent, but, more importantly, summary results in chart form were delivered real-time, providing exceptional ease of reporting.

Halasy's claims are now being validated by a number of reputable users.