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261651 intro.2.qxp12/18/073:25 PMPage 3Introduction3Foolish AssumptionsYou know what they say about people who make assumptions, but because you hold this book in your hands, we haveto presume a few things about your present state — such as:! You own a company, are planning to launch a new venture, or are running an organization that needs answers.! You know how to use a Web browser.! You’re willing to invest a few hours to gain valuableinsights into customer preference and behavior.Of course, if you picked up a book like this, we have to figureyou’re more than a little hungry for customer data — or thatyou’re working for someone who is. Because this book dealswith online surveys and how to use them to glean revenuegenerating insights that thrust you toward your organizationalgoals, we have to assume that you can take action on whatyou glean from this book.This book won’t do all the work for you. You have to understand your business model and your organization’s specificneeds. But it will help you get the answers you need and teachyou how to analyze response data so you can take steps toimprove your bottom line.How This Book Is OrganizedThis book won’t put you to sleep. To the contrary, it will wakeyou up to new opportunities in data mining. But it is organized like your traditional reference manual. You can start withany chapter in the book and get the information you need onthe spot. You don’t necessarily have to read the chapters inorder like you would an action thriller or a mystery novel.What you’ll quickly discover is online surveys don’t have tobe difficult with QuestionPro software. The book is dividedinto several parts: getting started building surveys, analyzingthe results, and, of course, the Part of Tens.

261651 intro.2.qxp412/18/073:25 PMPage 4QuestionPro For DummiesIcons Used in this BookLike all For Dummies books, this book uses icons to highlightcertain paragraphs and to alert you to especially useful information. Here’s the lowdown on what those icons mean:A Tip icon means we’re giving you a valuable tidbit of information that may help you on your journey or provide some extrainsight into the concepts being discussed.When you see the Remember icon, take note. That meanswe’re offering information that is worth remembering.The Warning icon does just that — it warns. It helps you avoidcommon mistakes, misconceptions, myths, and pitfalls. Thebomb symbol sort of gets your attention, doesn’t it? Be sureto look for it so you don’t do more harm than good as youwade through the world of online surveys.Understanding Web-BasedSoftwareIn a Web 2.0 world, it’s no longer necessary to downloadand install every piece of software. New technology and newbusiness models are seeing the software industry evolve toembrace Web-based services, of which QuestionPro is one ofmany. Web-based software offers plenty of benefits — it savesyou time, slashes your paperwork, and reduces errors. Webbased software offers you anywhere, anytime access to yourdata. (That means you can launch a survey from your laptopat the poolside!) With Web-based software, the administrationduties — including security — fall on the shoulders of thevendor. You have less risk all the way around. These are thekey reasons why Web-based software is taking the world bystorm.

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261651 pt01.2.qxp12/19/072:18 PMPage 5Part IGetting Startedwith Surveys

261651 pt01.2.qxpI12/19/072:18 PMPage 6In this part . . .f you need to know the basics about surveys andsurvey building, this is the part for you! Chapter 1answers your common questions about this valuable tool.Chapter 2 and Chapter 3 tell you everything you need toknow about survey building. Chapter 4 tells you how totrack respondents, while Chapter 5 shows you how tosend your survey to the masses.

261651 ch01.2.qxp12/18/073:33 PMPage 7Chapter 1Answering CommonQuestionsIn This Chapter! Discovering the world of online surveys! Finding out if online surveys are right for you! Perusing the benefits of QuestionPro’s service! Selecting your target audienceIf your mind is rolling over and over with questions aboutonline surveys, never fear, the answers are here. If youcome from the old school of market research, your brain maywant to tilt when it sees all the modern technology. But yourbrain will thank you when you tap into the power of onlinesurveys because it makes your life so much easier. Instead ofusing your brain power to crunch numbers, for example, youcan use it to dig deeper into meaningful insights that willdrive results and make you look like the superhero of yourorganization.Surveys aren’t merely a luxury. They have become a necessityfor almost any type of research. Whether it’s a satisfactionsurvey (which is a survey designed to measure consumer satisfaction) your boss is insisting you complete by noon, or acomplex public health study that’ll help you earn your PhD, aWeb-based survey is the most affordable window into theworld of your subjects.This chapter opens your eyes to the wonderful world ofonline surveys of which QuestionPro is a vital part. If you’restill wondering what an online survey is, you’ll get your

261651 ch01.2.qxp812/18/073:33 PMPage 8Part I: Getting Started with Surveysanswer. If you want to know who should use online surveys,we’ve got that covered, too. Wondering why you should useQuestionPro in particular? This chapter gives you plenty ofgood reasons. We also share how you can find some helpfulresources to make your experience super user-friendly and,finally, we offer you some valuable tips on selecting yourtarget audience. After all, the best questions in the world fail ifthey don’t fall on the ears of the right respondents — thepeople who complete your survey.What Is an Online Survey?Just as you can skin the proverbial cat in many ways, you canalso conduct a survey in many ways. You could go door todoor with a pen and pad, stand outside your local grocerystore with the same, make telephone calls, or do mass mailings through the post office. Or you could do it the easyway — with an online survey. An online survey is just that;collecting survey data electronically from your target audience over the Internet.Online surveys give you the best of all survey worlds. They’rethe easiest way to distribute and collect information and thefastest way to create customized surveys based on differenttarget demographics (population characteristics). Online surveys are an anonymous way to get feedback from customers,clients, and partners about products, services, marketingcampaigns — and just about anything else. In short, onlinesurveys give the survey creator and the survey taker flexibility, freedom, and convenience.Who Should Use Online Surveys?For all the virtues of online surveys, this tool is admittedlynot the best solution to every information-seeking mission.Sometimes you need to be in the thick of the action to get theresults you need. (Voter polling is a good example.) But formost other companies, online surveys are a viable option forgathering opinions, reactions, and other feedback.

261651 ch01.2.qxp12/18/073:33 PMPage 9Chapter 1: Answering Common Questions9Ask yourself these questions to determine whether online surveys are the right vehicle for your information needs:! Do you want to save time and money? Paper-based surveys can be costly and time consuming to develop, distribute, and analyze. Online surveys have a broadergeographic reach so you don’t have to put people onthe street — or on the phones — to survey the land.! Do you want some quick feedback right now? Onlinesurveys offer real-time responses. That means you canget play-by-play action on the answers as they roll in.What could be more fun than a “live” look at the results?! Do you need to thin slice charts and graphs? Paperbased surveys demand data input and analysis skills.Online surveys offer analysis tools that do the numbercrunching for you.! Do you want to change course midstream? After youprint your paper-based surveys, you’re stuck. Withonline surveys, you can change questions, delete questions, and add questions as you discover the need.Online surveys are a great alternative to expensive mail ortelephone surveys. There are a few caveats to online surveys,however, that you should know. If you’re trying to survey arepresentative sample of the general population, rememberthat not everyone is online. And among those that are online,not everyone is willing to take an online survey.Why You Should UseQuestionProWith online surveys becoming more popular all the time, agrowing number of online survey vendors are vying for theirshare of the market. So why should you use QuestionPro? Forthe same reasons Microsoft, Yahoo!, 3M, Texaco, Google, andother leading companies do. QuestionPro is one of the leadingproviders of online survey services today. From simple Web

261651 ch01.2.qxp1012/18/073:33 PMPage 10Part I: Getting Started with Surveyssurveys to large, complex, international market research,QuestionPro offers a solution.QuestionPro’s technology requires very little technical expertise to produce meaningful surveys and actionable results. It’sa hosted solution that lets companies of all sizes reliably analyze data for their customers. QuestionPro takes you beyondsome of the simple survey services out there with sophisticated tools that add real value to the data collected.QuestionPro never leaves you out in the cold. You’ll find comprehensive resources, voluminous help files, strategic whitepapers, FAQs, articles, and more. All you have to do is click onthe “Help” link at the bottom of any page on the QuestionProWeb site and you will be whisked away to the help portal. Visitwww.questionpro.com/help.html for more information.Selecting Your Target AudienceYou wouldn’t ask a 6-year-old which arthritis medicine worksthe best. Likewise, you wouldn’t ask a 66-year-old which pacifier offers the most comfort. In other words, your questionsshould be appropriate to your target audience in content,tone, and sophistication. You can’t reach out to an audienceand compel people to respond without knowing whom youare trying to reach and compel.It may sound simple to select a target audience. After all, youshould know your organization’s target, right? True, but different surveys seek different information. For example, is yourtarget audience composed of people who have been usingyour goods and services since you launched them? Is yourtarget some subsection of users, such as women in Ohio, orLatinos, or people who make more than 40,000? The betteryou define your target for a specific survey, the more accurateyour results will ultimately be.Here are a few suggestions for narrowing your target audience:! By age, race, gender, or some other demographic! By geographical location

261651 ch01.2.qxp12/18/073:33 PMPage 11Chapter 1: Answering Common Questions11! By recreational interests! By specific behavior patterns, such as how often they dobusiness with your company or how often they buy theproduct in question from any companyThese are just a few of the potential qualifiers that can helpyou get the precise answers you need from exactly the typesof people you’re interested in.

261651 ch01.2.qxp1212/18/073:33 PMPage 12Part I: Getting Started with Surveys

261651 ch02.2.qxp12/18/073:41 PMPage 13Chapter 2Everything You Needto Know aboutSurvey BuildingIn This Chapter! Gathering the right survey ingredients! Writing questions that get responses! Going deeper into online surveysYou wouldn’t build a skyscraper — or even a single-familyhome — without gathering the tools and materials youneed to do the job right. The same is true of online surveys.Building a survey that’s going to elicit responses that helpdrive revenue growth at your organization depends on havingthe right tools and materials. Think of the tool as QuestionProand the materials as the questions themselves. Of course, youalso need to know how to actually build the building, or inthis case, actually conduct the online survey.So what do you need to know about building online surveys?You need to know something about your organization andyour respondents, first. Who is your target audience? Whatare your organization’s goals, and what is the particular goalof your survey? Is an online survey the best method of gathering the information you need? These are all questions youshould ask yourself before you venture into online surveybuilding. You also need to know how to develop clear, concisequestions. There are various different types of questions youcould ask, but which are the right ones for your survey?

261651 ch02.2.qxp1412/18/073:41 PMPage 14Part I: Getting Started with SurveysIn this chapter, we tell you how to prepare for your onlinesurvey and about the tools and materials you need to build aneffective one, the types of questions you should ask, how todive in deeper with some advanced options, and how todelete your test data so it doesn’t skew your results. So put onyour work boots, so to speak, and roll up your sleeves. It’stime to begin building.Preparing to Launchan Online SurveySo, you’re ready to conduct an online survey. You’ve probablygot a few questions rolling around in your mind at this pointas you explore this cost-effective tool for finding out moreabout your customers, clients, employees, and partners. Thefirst step is to determine the objectives of your study. Thesecond task is to phrase the objectives as questions ormeasurements.If you can’t determine your objectives or phrase them asquestions or measurements, then you’re better off looking atother ways to gather data, such as focus groups. Online surveys tend to focus in on more “quantitative” data collection.Here are some tips to help you prepare your onlinequestionnaire:1. Review the basic objectives of the study. What areyou trying to discover? What actions do you want totake as a result of the survey? The answers to thesequestions help you make sure online surveys are rightfor you.2. Visualize the relevant information you’d like tohave. What will the output report look like? Whatcharts and graphs will be prepared? What informationdo you need to be assured that action is warranted?3. Rank your answers to Questions 1 and 2 accordingto the value of the topic. List the most importanttopics first. Revisit Questions 1 and 2 again to makesure the objectives, topics, and information you needare appropriate.

261651 ch02.2.qxp12/18/073:41 PMPage 15Chapter 2: Everything You Need to Know about Survey Building15You can’t solve the problem if you ask the wrong questions. Taking the time to make sure you understandwhat you need to discover, how you will organize thedata, and what actions you will take when you receivethe responses is a vital starting point.4. How easy or difficult is it for the respondent to provide information on each topic? If difficult, is thereanother way to obtain the information by askinganother question?This is probably the most important step. Online surveys have to be precise, clear, and concise. Due to thefickle nature of the Web, if your questions are too complicated or difficult to understand, you’ll have a highdrop out rate.5. Create an unbiased sequence for the topics. Makesure the questions you ask first don’t bias the resultsof the questions that come later. Sometimes providingtoo much information, or disclosing the purpose ofthe study, can create bias. After you have a sequenceof topics, you can create the basic layout of a survey.Always try to add some introductory text before youstart firing off survey questions. Your introductionshould explain the project and what the respondent isrequired to do.6. Determine what type of question is best suited toyield the type of answer you’re looking for, thenprovide enough robustness to meet your analysisrequirements. Many question types exist — probablymore than you ever imagined — and you must walk afine line as you decide which ones to use. See the section, “Getting Acquainted with Question Types” formore information on this topic.Generally, tougher analysis requirements lead to amore complicated questionnaire design. However, acouple of tools are available to make life easier: pagebreaks — a break in the survey that sends you to thenext page — and branching — a feature that lets youjump to a specified question based on responses toprevious questions. In essence, branching serves updifferent sets of questions to different people. Formore information on these topics, see the sidebar“Break or branch? You decide.”

261651 ch02.2.qxp1612/18/073:41 PMPage 16Part I: Getting Started with SurveysBreak or branch? You decideIf you’re working on a complexsurvey, you may wind up with asurvey design that’s rather intimidating for your respondents — unlessyou use page breaks and branching.Here’s how these nifty tools work:! Page breaks let you avoid havinga huge scrolling survey and youcan introduce them as often asyou see fit. However, there is onecaveat with page breaks to beaware of: Don’t use too much ofa good thing. If you use so manypage breaks that you end

etips.dummies.com o Jennifer LeClaire Co-author of Web Analytics For Dummies A Reference for the Rest of Us! FREE eTips at dummies.com xplanations in plain English “ get out ” information s op ten lists A dash of humor and fun Take the mystery out of online surveys! Understand onl