Online Polls and Surveys are More Popular Than Ever
Online polls and surveys have become a direct measure of public opinion in recent times. Public opinion and customer feedback are of immense value to product manufacturers and service providers, who are keen on keeping pace with the ground realities of the marketplace. Webmasters may also be equally interested in visitor comments to improve the aesthetics and content of their websites.
Given the wide reach of the Internet, more number of companies are opting for online surveys and polls to enhance their offerings in the competitive business environment. Let's take a look at why this approach is favored by companies, after understanding the basic difference between a poll and a survey.
Difference between a Poll and a Survey
A poll is basically a tool to gauge public sentiment or opinion, generally used in a social context or events. Polls help trace thought patterns or trends within a society on different issues - be it elections, fashion and lifestyle, education or social concerns.
A survey, on the other hand, is a more elaborate feedback that helps assess the quality of an offering - be it a product, service or content (across different media).
Why People Respond to Online Polls?
The popularity of polls basically is driven by the people's enthusiasm to voice their opinions on select issues, contribute to a social change by voting in favor of an effort.
The possibility of being able to influence the result of a poll, even if in an anonymous way, is often the motivation. Additional bonuses such as prizes and freebies also make online polls popular.
But, do they really reflect public sentiment is a question that needs careful consideration, as polls are, in fact, open to all those who are willing to participate, even if the matter does not directly concern them.
Why Online Surveys are Popular?
Online surveys have, in recent times, become immensely popular because of several reasons. There are quite a few benefits for both companies who seek feedback, as well as people who participate in these surveys.
Online surveys are preferred by companies because they:
• Have a wide reach. These surveys are in fact, open to people across all age groups, from students to seniors.
• Are cost-effective than other conventional survey mediums (phones, email, face-to-face, etc.) that need dedicated resources to engage with customer, get the details, and then compile and consolidate the results. HR, utilities and materials costs are also heavily slashed.
• Can be programmed to easily direct the participant to relevant sections of a survey based on their responses to certain queries, instead of listing out all queries with an (N/A) option, or giving elaborate instructions on answering queries.
• Are definitely faster, as the links to the survey can be easily mailed out to participants who have signed up and details are usually recorded in a database, making it easier to sift through and compile the results programmatically.
• Are targeted towards a pre-qualified niche based on demographic information obtained during sign-up and, hence, are more relevant.
• Are more interesting interactive and informative, especially when supported by multimedia information on the product or service.
• Are not influenced by the attitude, tone or appearance of interviewers, as in face-to-face surveys.
Given these benefits, it is not surprising that most companies choose to include online surveys as part of their marketing campaigns. This leads us to the query, what exactly makes online surveys popular with participants? Here are a few compelling reasons:
• Most online surveys reward participants for their opinions in the form of cash or points that can be accumulated and exchanged for discounts or gift cards. Paid online surveys are one of the ways to make money on the Internet, provided one chooses a genuine survey company. People can earn a decent income, right from the comforts of their home, by effectively utilizing their spare time, as these surveys are hardly time-consuming.
• Easy to sign-up and participate, with no special skills needed to complete the surveys.
• Participants who sign-up to review products usually get to keep those products for free once they've completed the survey. This makes for a pretty neat collection of products, based on specific interests.
Online polls can help garner votes for almost any cause, while surveys definitely help with research, customer engagement and profiling, making them important tools to study customer expectations and, hence, this popularity with businesses. Popularity among Internet users, however, is mainly due to the financial rewards. The prize may not be huge, but is still lucrative enough for people to voice their views.
Given the wide reach of the Internet, more number of companies are opting for online surveys and polls to enhance their offerings in the competitive business environment. Let's take a look at why this approach is favored by companies, after understanding the basic difference between a poll and a survey.
Difference between a Poll and a Survey
A poll is basically a tool to gauge public sentiment or opinion, generally used in a social context or events. Polls help trace thought patterns or trends within a society on different issues - be it elections, fashion and lifestyle, education or social concerns.
A survey, on the other hand, is a more elaborate feedback that helps assess the quality of an offering - be it a product, service or content (across different media).
Why People Respond to Online Polls?
The popularity of polls basically is driven by the people's enthusiasm to voice their opinions on select issues, contribute to a social change by voting in favor of an effort.
The possibility of being able to influence the result of a poll, even if in an anonymous way, is often the motivation. Additional bonuses such as prizes and freebies also make online polls popular.
But, do they really reflect public sentiment is a question that needs careful consideration, as polls are, in fact, open to all those who are willing to participate, even if the matter does not directly concern them.
Why Online Surveys are Popular?
Online surveys have, in recent times, become immensely popular because of several reasons. There are quite a few benefits for both companies who seek feedback, as well as people who participate in these surveys.
Online surveys are preferred by companies because they:
• Have a wide reach. These surveys are in fact, open to people across all age groups, from students to seniors.
• Are cost-effective than other conventional survey mediums (phones, email, face-to-face, etc.) that need dedicated resources to engage with customer, get the details, and then compile and consolidate the results. HR, utilities and materials costs are also heavily slashed.
• Can be programmed to easily direct the participant to relevant sections of a survey based on their responses to certain queries, instead of listing out all queries with an (N/A) option, or giving elaborate instructions on answering queries.
• Are definitely faster, as the links to the survey can be easily mailed out to participants who have signed up and details are usually recorded in a database, making it easier to sift through and compile the results programmatically.
• Are targeted towards a pre-qualified niche based on demographic information obtained during sign-up and, hence, are more relevant.
• Are more interesting interactive and informative, especially when supported by multimedia information on the product or service.
• Are not influenced by the attitude, tone or appearance of interviewers, as in face-to-face surveys.
Given these benefits, it is not surprising that most companies choose to include online surveys as part of their marketing campaigns. This leads us to the query, what exactly makes online surveys popular with participants? Here are a few compelling reasons:
• Most online surveys reward participants for their opinions in the form of cash or points that can be accumulated and exchanged for discounts or gift cards. Paid online surveys are one of the ways to make money on the Internet, provided one chooses a genuine survey company. People can earn a decent income, right from the comforts of their home, by effectively utilizing their spare time, as these surveys are hardly time-consuming.
• Easy to sign-up and participate, with no special skills needed to complete the surveys.
• Participants who sign-up to review products usually get to keep those products for free once they've completed the survey. This makes for a pretty neat collection of products, based on specific interests.
Online polls can help garner votes for almost any cause, while surveys definitely help with research, customer engagement and profiling, making them important tools to study customer expectations and, hence, this popularity with businesses. Popularity among Internet users, however, is mainly due to the financial rewards. The prize may not be huge, but is still lucrative enough for people to voice their views.