Surveys are a great way to learn more about your target audience and what they think of your products or services at trade shows. According to an article in the Harvard Business Review, shorter surveys are more effective than those that include many different questions. This is not the only tip to keep in mind when creating a great survey that will help you, and potential customers, in the future. Below are more tips for creating an effective trade show survey.
The Four Questions to Ask
Generally speaking, you really just need four open-ended questions for your survey. Open-ended questions will provide much more data for you to work with, even though it can make coding responses more challenging. The exact wording you use will depend on what fits with your company’s brand but the four questions to ask are as follows:
- Why did they stop by your display? Was it a product or display at the trade show that caught their eye, or was it your advertising before the show that made them interested?
- What did they like most about your product, service, or display?
- What did they not like about your product, service, or display?
- Are there any changes you could make to your product, service, or display that would make it ideal for them?
By focusing on the above four questions, you can obtain the important data you need without wasting visitors’ time.
Sorting Through the Data
Asking open-ended questions does make sorting through the data more difficult, but the results make it very worthwhile in the end. You, or your assistants and interns, should sort through the responses looking for trends. Create headers such as “Would like the product in a different color,” or “Staff members seemed too busy to help,” and cross-reference them so you know which visitor left a certain comment. After this process, you should be able to tally the different trends in an effective way.
The Follow-Up Survey
Trade show surveys can provide you a great deal of information about your target audience, but they can also help your company, too. For example, a trend may emerge that visitors would like your product to be available in a different color. You conduct some research and discover that it is possible to provide this option. At this point, you can send a follow-up survey to the attendees that asked for it.
When sending a follow-up survey also provide the visitor with a nice piece of company swage or a gift card. Thank them for the time they took to fill out the survey and ask them for a few more minutes of their time to complete another one. This will not only provide you with additional information you may need, but it will also make the potential lead feel as though they were seen and heard, which can greatly benefit your company.
We Can Incorporate a Survey in Your Custom Trade Show Display
At ExpoMarketing Group, our custom trade show display experts can incorporate many different elements in your display, including surveys. Call us now at (949) 250-3976 or contact us online to learn more about your future custom display.