A Survey on Using Survey Data for Marketing: Webinar Recap

Eric Gregg, CEO of Inavero, and Leslie Vickrey, CEO of ClearEdge Marketing, hosted a webinar on September 11, 2014 to discuss the opportunities professional services firms have to collect client data and use it to grow their business.

Throughout the webinar, they extended the candid conversation to the attendees for a status check on their current initiatives. Although many firms in attendance were consistently collecting feedback and using this data to develop and share customer stories across different marketing mediums, the polls revealed many were missing opportunities.

The responses to the poll questions are below, along with recommendations on how to get the strongest return from your integrated survey and marketing efforts.

How often are you surveying your customers on their experience with you? Monthly – 22%

Quarterly – 22%

Annually – 17%

Ad hoc – 33%

Never – 6%

Missed opportunity: Consistently surveying to integrate client feedback into your culture.

Over 50% of attendees are not regularly surveying. As client experience becomes the new advertising, keeping a pulse on client feedback will help promote your brand, identify problems AND find promoters to advocate for you.

Do you segment your data to provide additional insight? By division (or department, sales group, location, etc.) – 18%

By division AND manager – 35%

Minor segmentations – 18%

No – 29%

Missed opportunity: Setting up your surveys in a way that provides segmented and actionable data.With 29% of people not segmenting their data, there are many insights left uncovered. For example, if you have three large offices and one aggregate percentage, it’s difficult to tell if one office is driving the positive reviews and the others need help.

Do you ask clients for permission to use their quotes during the surveying process? Yes – 57%

No – 43%

Missed opportunity: Asking clients for permission to share their story.Only 57% of people surveyed are integrating this stage into their process. Build your lead list for referrals, case studies and testimonials by asking people at the time of their response if you can share their feedback in your marketing efforts.

How often do you revisit your marketing strategy? At least every 3 months – 25%

Annually – 44%

Years ago – It’s collecting digital dust – 6%

I don’t have a documented marketing strategy – 25%

Missed opportunity: Reviewing your marketing strategy on a quarterly basis to ensure that your strategies and tactics still align to the company objectives.Not documenting your strategy (25%) or revisiting it inconsistently (50%) could mean wasted effort and internal confusion. Consistently review your strategy every quarter to confirm it supports the overall mission.

What marketing medium do you use most to share client case studies and testimonials? Our website – 50%

Social media – 13%

Videos (on our site and YouTube) – 6%

Advertising and outbound marketing campaigns – 6%

None of the above – 25%

Missed opportunity: Using your customer’s stories across multiple marketing mediums.

Although most attendees surveyed are using their website to share their stories (50%), this content could easily be repurposed across your different social profiles and turned into video content to ensure that your customers can tell your story for you, regardless of where clients find you online.

Click here to access a recording of the webinar, or review the slides below.If you have questions on creating a compelling survey program that produces data to fuel your marketing efforts, contact the speakers at egregg(at)inavero.com or lvickerey(at)clearedgemarketing.com.