If you initiate a simple search on Hub Pages or the "Net" in general via a search engine using the term "online survey", many of the links delivered will highlight the potential to be "paid" to take surveys online. This is NOT one of those pages!

This Hub was prepared with the small and home business owner in mind that may be considering a new product line or additional means of lead generation or lead qualification. Online surveys can be a great tool to help evaluate the mood of the market for a new product or establish the potential affinity of customers towards an opportunity. Or at least they can if the survey is not a direct sales pitch, is well designed and respects the potential respondent's time, effort and privacy ......

A Little Background Please .....

Each time we start to consider a new venture, one aspect of the business plan involves an evaluation of information about potential customers, the competition and the overall nature of the marketplace. The data and information gathered while conducting market research to help develop a better plan for your new venture is obtained from a combination of sources. These potential sources include existing reports and databases; interviews with experts in the field; consumer focus groups, and surveys just to name a few. One of the easiest ways to collect data when evaluating web-based ventures is the use of online surveys. Maximun effectiveness is acheived by carefully crafting the online surveys to collect useful information during the quest to better understand the nature of the overall marketplace.

When part of formal market research supporting an overall business plan, individual surveys should be created to address the different segments of the market including customers, competition and other markets to be addressed by the venture. During the survey design phase you need to define the objectives of the assessment and then ensure that questions can be created to enable quantitative evaluation of the results. Difficulty in developing straight-forward questions for the survey indicates other research tools (interviews, focus groups, etc.) are likely a better choice.

Rather than being part of the market research phase when developing a business plan, online surveys can be used to help evaluate the introduction of a new product line to existing customers; assist in prospect generation; or lead qualification if designed specifically for one of those purposes. An added advantage to online surveys is that they can be administered via static websites/blogs by having customers (or transients) visiting the site or actively solicit participation via an email campaign.

Using surveys designed to assess one of those puroses can yield fantastic information for home and small business owners since it can reveal:

1.whether their customer's use similar products or services;

2.attitudes about the products and services in question;

3.frequency of use of the products and service; and

4.basic demographics, etc.

Sound Interesting?

Now that you have decided to conduct an online survey here are several points that you need to consider as you prepare to design and get ready to launch the survey:

1.Review the objectives by revisiting the ultimate purpose and what you hope to learn;

2.Consider how you are going to evaluate the results (basic statistics, charts, etc.);

3.Set the sub-topics assessed in the survey (product use, demographics, etc.) and then set the format for how they will be sequenced;

4.Clearly define the purpose of the survey at the outset;

5.Select question types that are simple and provide the requisite information to be effective;

6.The length of the survey should be brief (no longer than 5 minutes) and usually no more than 15 questions;

7.Add an incentive (free e-book, free video, discount on product etc.) to increase response rate;

8.Clearly state that their privacy is protected and the results are solely evaluated by you and their data never sold or given away;and

9.Remember to include a lead capture feature (another reason for incentive).

Make sure to clearly show the potential respondents that you respect their time, effort and privacy. If you do, the survey will usually provide the results you seek and some of the data necessary to make an informed decision.

Now Where Do You Go ...... Online Survey Websites:

There are a number of online survey sites available; many of which offer both free and paid accounts. As you might expect the main difference between the free and paid version typically pertains to the number of surveys, questions, respondents, delivery format (web-based or email based), data export capability, etc.

Several of the companies offering both account types include SurveyMonkey (one of the more popular); Poll Daddy; Free Online Surveys; Surveypro and Zoomerang. Don't be afraid to check out each site (the links are live) and determine which one best suits your needs.

Best always in all your surveys and ventures!

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Jim was formerly an "old school" network marketer now helping home and small business owners to utilize attraction marketing and relationship building methods to grow their Internet presence. You can access additional information resources and tips to propel the growth of your business by visiting Jim's home business connection site <== CLICK THERE.