5 Design Tips to Increase Survey Participation: A Gift from the Girl Scouts
Posted on | April 29, 2011 | No Comments
Girl Scouts Western Pennsylvania (GSWPA) doesn’t just deliver cookies… or host summer and day camps… or sponsor leadership award events… or train girls to become leaders. GSWPA also actively monitors the activities they sponsor for ways to make them better.
One of the key tools in their box of feedback practices is Ennect Survey. And with more than 40 surveys – past, present, and planned – under their “sashes,” GSWPA has developed a good deal of expertise in what works when designing surveys.
“We use surveys internally as well as externally,” says Melanie Mannion, interactive marketing manager for GSWPA. “We survey our staff as a follow-up to key meetings or when we want to measure their opinions on something. We collect feedback from troop leaders about their experiences with cookie and fall product sales. We survey our volunteers to get insight into how they came to volunteer with us and how the process is going for them. We collect feedback about our camps. Overall, the surveys help us make better decisions moving forward so that we can continue to improve our services and continue to grow.”
The importance of the surveys to GSWPA points to why it’s necessary to make them easy to use. “People don’t want to waste time figuring out how to answer a survey. Keeping surveys simple helps increase participation,” says Mannion. Here are the practices she recommends:
1 – “Learn to Drive” – Get familiar with the survey package you’re using. That may mean building a few test surveys, taking training the vendor offers, and getting feedback from colleagues who’ve created successful surveys themselves. Learning how to use survey logic and different types of survey questions will help you create better surveys.
2 – “Keep it Short” – Limit the number of questions you ask and the number of questions you place on each page. People get impatient when they click through a survey and see the survey progress bar move only five percent. Survey-takers want to see a nice jump. A simple rule is to keep your survey to four pages with four questions on each page. That increases the progress bar 25 percent each time someone completes a page of questions. It will make your participants feel like they’re completing the survey faster.
3 – “Organize for Efficiency” – Plan your survey so that it flows logically. Keep relevant questions together on the same page, but try to minimize the times when survey participants have to scroll “below the fold.” Also, use survey logic to eliminate unnecessary steps for respondents.
4 – “Make It Simple” – The less work you make for your survey participants, the faster they’ll complete the survey and the more responses you’ll get. When you simplify survey questions to require just “yes” or “no” answers, you automatically increase your responses. People don’t have time. They don’t want to sit there figuring out answers.
5 – “Keep It Timely” – When information is fresh in people’s minds, the answers you get are more accurate. That means the feedback you collect will be more relevant and useful to your organization. GSWPA does a lot of surveys during resident camping season. The feedback is useful in planning future camp experiences.
Follow the GSWPA tips and maybe you’ll earn a “survey badge.” At minimum, you’ll produce better surveys…and better survey results!
Girl Scouts Event Recognizes Women Leaders
Posted on | April 25, 2011 | No Comments
Girls Scouts Western Pennsylvania hosts their 2011 Awards of Distinction
luncheon on May 18th at the Westin Hotel & Convention Center, Pittsburgh, PA. The ceremony recognizes leading community women in several categories and supports the Girl Scout’s mission to build girls of courage, confidence, and character. Support them by attending.
Event details and registration are available here: http://ennect.com/e1505/p10973.aspx
Planners Replace Turnkey Event Registration Software
Posted on | April 15, 2011 | No Comments
As the economy has turned around, so has the meeting planning industry. Careful to keep costs down, nonetheless, meeting planners are cutting funds they previously spent on custom-built registration programs and turning to “do-it-yourself” online event registration software.
Meeting managers at the MBA Roundtable (http://www.mbaroundtable.org), Link Computer Corporation (http://www.linkcorp.com), and DISTek Integration Inc. (http://www.distek.com) are using Ennect’s online event registration software to replace the bespoke programs they previously used.
MBA Roundtable Executive Director Carleen Kerttula left behind an old event registration program and gained the flexibility to track participants’ dietary restrictions as well as easily offer tiered pricing options for members and non-members who chose to attend event functions in-person, virtually, or both.
For DISTek Integration Inc., which hosts a by-invitation-only Electronics Conference, abandoning its previous ‘home grown’ site helped it stay on budget while attracting guests from around the world, hide private aspects of its conference agenda, and provide controls for online registrations.
At Link Computer Corporation replacing its home-grown registration program improved online payment and collections tracking for its annual tech conference, LinkUp, which attracts 500+ attendees, 60 to 70 vendors, and prominent tech industry speakers. It also allowed the attendees for the first time to pay for attendance online with credit cards, and allowed the meeting hosts to bill guests who hadn’t pre-registered when they showed up.
*To see report on meeting industry trends CLICK HERE.
Event Marketers Rejoice: Events Are Officially Back
Posted on | March 29, 2011 | No Comments
Two recent reports from the trade show and convention industry give event marketing professionals reason to celebrate. The March 14th issue of B to B Magazine reported on the 4.1% growth in 2010 over the previous year of the CEIR Index which aggregates four event industry metrics: number of exhibiting companies participating, revenue, attendance, and size of expo floorspace used. Compiled by the Center for Exhibition Industry Research, the index is a strong indicator that trade show events are making a turn-around after years of losing ground.
Exhibit Hall at David L. Lawrence Convention Center, Pittsburgh
Another study — one that drives home the economic importance of the meetings industry — showed that the US meetings business provides for 1.7 million workers, represents $263 billion in spending, and annually contributes $106 billion to the US economy. As reported in the March edition of Meetings & Conventions Magazine, “The Economic Significance of Meetings to the US Economy” study was conducted by PwC US and sponsored by an alliance of 14 meetings industry associations, among them the Convention Industry Council, Meeting Professionals International Foundation, Professional Convention Management Association/Education Foundation, Association of Destination Management Executives and the US Travel Association.
Stats of interest:
- The meeting industry contributed more to the US Gross Domestic Product in 2009 than the auto industry: $106 billion vs $78 billion for the latter.
- The meeting business employs more people (1.7 million) than truck and rail combined (1.5 million) or computer systems design (1.4 million).
- 205 million people attended 1.8 million meetings (gatherings of 10+) in 2009.
- Nearly half (46%) of the $145 billion spent to participate in events was spent on registration fees.
There is, therefore, more than good reason to hope that: (1) people WILL come out to your well-planned events, (2) they will spend money doing so, and (3) event marketers can expect even better results in 2011.
The Marketing and Sales Relationship: A Moebius?
Posted on | March 18, 2011 | 2 Comments
As a follow-up to Elliance’s appearance with DataBanque at the Washington County Manufacturers’ Association meeting recently, we invited Cathy Brennan of DataBanque to be a guest blogger here. Below, she shares an interesting perspective on the “Marketing – Sales Relationship.”
The relationship between Sales and Marketing – especially when it comes to lead handling – has always been tenuous. But it really needs to be strong and collaborative if a company is going to be successful in streamlining its seed-to-lead-to-conversion process.
Moebius Strip by David Benbennick (Own work) via Wikimedia Commons
In fact, sales and marketing should work like a Moebius Strip.
What’s a Moebius Strip? If you don’t know, click here to see a video on YouTube. The person in the video does an excellent job of demonstrating how to make a Moebius Strip and all the fun things you can do with it. (All you need is a wide strip of paper, a Sharpie marker and a pair of scissors.)
The Moebius Strip basically represents infinity, a single continuous-loop plane, one side, one boundary. In contrast, too often Sales & Marketing operate like two gerbils running around two entirely separate, non-intersecting wheels.
This can be corrected by giving special consideration to integrating and smoothing out – kind of like the Moebius strip does — a few simple processes so that they flow easily between marketing and sales in your organization:
- Lead Creation – Marketing
- Database Management – Marketing
- Lead Qualification & Prioritization – Marketing
- Lead Nurturing – Marketing
- Lead Dissemination – Marketing to Sales
- Lead Outcome and Accountability – Sales to Marketing
Managing your marketing database, capturing and qualifying leads, distributing them to the sales force in a timely manner, making sure the follow-up happens, tracking and recording the results: This is the stuff that can seal the deal on your company’s success.
You can follow DataBanque’s Cathy Brennan on Twitter: @cathybass or contact her via LinkedIn.
Ode to Seth Godin
Posted on | March 15, 2011 | No Comments
I Heart Seth Godin
In all the world
I’ve never found
A guy who makes
My heart just pound
As much as my dear Seth
We’ve never met
But I will bet
Should our paths cross
I’d be at a loss
For what to say to my dear Seth
Rarely boring
Always exploring
In post after post
He exposes the most
Interesting thoughts. Oh my dear Seth.
One after the other
I ponder and mutter
Aloud to myself about the reviews,
Opinions and news
That spill from the pen of my dear Seth.
But today more than ever
I’m light as a feather
For his tongue-and-cheek style
Has elongated my smile
With a post that’s so pithy
I just want to shout! If he
Only knew how meaningful
His words were to this gal
He’d gaze down from his tower with ease
At the smile that he’s rendered with “Bring Me Stuff That’s Dead, Please.”
And what basis my glee?
It’s simple , you see.
For the first time ever
I have a just lever
From which I can talk about
One thing dear Seth left out
Of his list of the long-lived, “fixable,” and most valuable “dead.”
Email.
I know, dear Seth, it doesn’t rhyme.
But don’t you think it’s time
That we admitted email’s place
When used with relevance and grace
To continually engage
With opt-in readers?
Courtesy www.mtwain.com
I submit in defense
That is just makes good sense
To agree with Mark Twain
That, in the main,
The news of email’s death
Is greatly exaggerated.
Blatant Plug: Washington County Manufacturers Association 3-10 Event
Posted on | March 9, 2011 | No Comments
The Washington County Manufacturer’s Association is a business networking group interested in enhancing the industrial climate of Washington County and its adjoining areas as well as advancing the professional knowledge of its members. The association has been around for about 35 years. The issues that the members seem concerned with are keeping/expanding manufacturing in Pennsylvania (especially Washington County) and encouraging young people in manufacturing careers to ensure a strong future. They are also concerned with government policies, taxes, etc. that help or negatively impact businesses within the state.
Two local companies: Elliance and DataBanque are supporting these efforts by helping to educate members on how to use the Internet to help build their businesses. If you’re local to the community, you might want to attend to show your support for local manufacturers.
Lend your hand to help build PA manufacturing business and share this post with your local colleagues who might be interested in attending.
Washington County Manufacturers Association Business Meeting & Dinner — Thursday, March 10. 5:30–6:30: Social Hour. 6:30: Dinner and Program/Presentation. OPEN TO ALL
Maximizing Lead Generation and Management in the Internet Age: Are You Investing Wisely?
Cathy Brennan, Director of Business Development, DataBanque, and Abu Noaman, CEO and Founder, Elliance, Inc. will be presenting.
Email Marketing Success at Service Dog Institute
Posted on | February 24, 2011 | No Comments
In 1975, Dr. Bonnie Bergin originated the idea of “service dogs” trained to help people with mobility limitations. Since then, she has informed and educated people around the world about the beneficial assistance that service dogs can provide individuals with disabilities. In 1991, she founded the Assistance Dog Institute (which the trustees renamed in her honor) to educate others on how to train service dogs and to help reduce the five-to-ten year wait for these wonderful and smart creatures.
Today the Bergin University of Canine Studies is the world’s only university granting academic degrees in dog studies. Recognized by the US Department of Education and notable canine studies organizations, the university is accredited by Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools.
Last year the university began using Ennect Mail to build awareness of its programs. The school has found emarketing success by creating topical and visually-interesting email programs. It regularly achieves impressive open rates, averaging 18.5 percent from an open range that spans 13.2 to 22.7 percent. Its click-through rate is not too shabby either: an average of 4.3 percent with a click-through range of 2.2 to 6.2 percent.
The university’s emails do not need to take a hard-hitting approach to achieve these results. Because of the nature of their subject matter and the popularity of dogs in general, it is easy to see why recipients could be predisposed to open their emails. The emails themselves are visually engaging once opened. And their message is clear: if you love and respect dogs — and want to help others — here’s a great way to combine the two in a rewarding career.
The real measure of success is bottom line results. And according to Dr. Bergin, the email program has been rewarding. “We have had tremendous response from the email campaigns,” she says. “The emails have had a significant effect on the numbers of individuals who have contacted us and requested more information about our canine training programs.” In fact, one of the issues Bergin University now faces is keeping current with the contact response, but – given the importance of the work that Bergin University does – maybe that’s a good thing.
Ennect Lives in Most Liveable City
Posted on | February 22, 2011 | 2 Comments
Ennect’s developers enjoy great surroundings in a great city as news reports tell us that Pittsburgh has been ranked by the Economic Intelligence Unit as world’s 29th most livable city. To read more, go to: Pittsburgh is world’s 29th most livable city | Pittsburgh Business Times.
The Huffington Post even weighed in as the EIU’s report gives Pittsburgh the top status for all US cities, ahead of Honolulu (30th), Los Angeles (44th), and New York (56th). If you want to see what international cities are ranked higher than Pittsburgh and all other US cities, go to: World’s Most Livable Cities | Huffington Post.
Or click here to see CNN’s Report: Australia and Canada Dominate Most Livable Cities List.
Is it happenstance? Or did Ennect’s developers already recognize this when they based the company here overlooking the Monongahela River?
Sloppy Technique Skews Online Survey Accuracy
Posted on | February 18, 2011 | No Comments
Today’s web-based survey software has put easy-to-use research tools into the hands of more marketers than ever before. Even creating sophisticated surveys – with skip logic or matrix questions – can be relatively easy to accomplish. But not all users implement best practices with the same rigor professional researchers employ. Sloppy survey techniques can skew survey results. Any decisions made or actions taken based on those results can jeopardize business plans and outcomes.
To help emarketers achieve sound results, we thought we’d address two basic survey concepts that are often misunderstood or simply ignored in online marketing survey design: population and sample size. Sometimes used interchangeably, these terms mean different things. Getting one or the other wrong can invalidate survey results.
Population and sample size aren’t complex concepts. Think about “population” as the universe of people who meet the basic qualifications for answering a particular survey. This could be a large universe, such as all US citizens for a US census, or it could be much smaller, such as Cleveland businesses with less than 50 employees for a regional US Chamber of Commerce questionnaire on health insurance. In contrast, “samples” are “statistically significant” subsets of just such populations.
The key to designing a survey that reflects results that are true for a total population is to make sure, first, that you’ve correctly identified the group you want to survey and, second, that the sample you use for your survey is sized appropriately. In general, the larger the sample size, the better the chances that your results will be “statistically significant” for the total population.
A couple of concepts to keep in mind:
- Margin of error: The margin of error is a statistic expressing the amount of random sampling error in a survey’s results (ref: Wikipedia). The number is generally reported as a plus or minus percentage. If, for example, your margin of error is 5%, then for any given answer you have a chance of a five point discrepancy higher or lower.
- Confidence level: Also expressed as a percentage, the confidence level tells you how sure you can be that a given percentage of the entire population would pick an answer within the margin of error. A 95% confidence level – which most researchers find adequate – means you can be 95% certain; the 50% confidence level means you can be much less certain.
So, how do you figure out what size sample you need? Well, here’s the good news: there are lots of sites on the Internet that will do the computation for you and Ennect itself provides a random selection capability right within our survey tool. However, if you want to do the selection yourself, we’ve found several outside sites that have relatively easy-to-use calculators. Here’s some to try:
- http://www.custominsight.com/articles/random-sample-calculator.asp — Custom Insight
- http://www.researchinfo.com/docs/calculators/samplesize.cfm — Creative Research Systems
- http://www.americanresearchgroup.com/sams.html – American Research Group
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Tags: online survey software > survey software > web survey