Create a "Did You Buy" survey

	Email Marketing \| Database Marketing \| Marketing Communications & Advertising Internet Marketing \| Market Research & Strategic Planning \| About Us Home > Market Research & Strategic Planning > Did You Buy Survey

Home Why Choose Us? Email Marketing Services Free Marketing E-Newsletter Contact Mark Vogel Site Map Privacy Policy		Did They Buy? Building bridges between your sales and marketing efforts is critical. It can be especially difficult if you are selling through distributors or dealers. Here’s one tactic to employ that helps develop clear metrics on what works, what doesn’t, and what actions to take going forward. It can also re-open cold leads for future sales opportunities. Create a “Did-You-Buy” Survey Program This will help you understand why your prospects didn’t make a purchase, and what you can do differently going forward. You should: Do this at least twice a year, at different points in your selling season. Time it so you're sure their decision cycle has passed. Ask the exact same question of all prospects to avoid comparing apples to oranges. Spend extraordinary effort to develop the questions, because you don’t want to go back later and create a different set of questions. This will enable to reliably spot trends. Keep it short, no more than 10 questions or so. It’s tempting to try to delve deep into the prospect’s soul to find all the answers to your problems. Avoid the temptation. Make it easy. Do it all online, and use drop-downs so respondents don’t need to type in the answers. Develop the questions in a way that will drive actionable answers. If the answers don’t help you change behaviors, what good is the info? Ask tough questions, even if the answers hurt. Maybe they’ll name a rude CSR, or a distributor/dealer who didn’t sound knowledgeable about the product. Use this info to drive further actions, such as a call from your company president to apologize, and release the offending party. Add incentives. Maybe a random drawing from all responses for a Staples gift card, or for every response you’ll make a $5 donation to a popular non-profit, such as the United Way. Gather demographic data. This will help you segment your market more exactly in the future. Size of their company, geography, years in business, and so on. Find out if they might STILL buy from you. If yes, act fast. Analyze results and build a plan. If they purchased a competitive offering, then revise your messaging to highlight your dramatic differences. If they weren’t re-contacted after their initial interest, change the behaviors of your sales team or dealers (create measurable expectations and release those who don’t cut it.) If they bought on price, be clearer with your benefits. If they didn’t see what’s in it for them, try a more targeted, segmented approach.
		Copyright © 2009 Vogel Marketing Solutions LLC \| 255 Butler Avenue \| Suite 201-B \| Lancaster PA 17601 \| 717-368-5143 VogelMarketing@verizon.net \| www.VogelMarketing.net

Home
Why Choose Us?
Email Marketing Services
Free Marketing E-Newsletter
Contact Mark Vogel
Site Map
Privacy Policy

Did They Buy?

Building bridges between your sales and marketing efforts is critical. It can be especially difficult if you are selling through distributors or dealers. Here’s one tactic to employ that helps develop clear metrics on what works, what doesn’t, and what actions to take going forward. It can also re-open cold leads for future sales opportunities.

Create a “Did-You-Buy” Survey Program

This will help you understand why your prospects didn’t make a purchase, and what you can do differently going forward. You should:

Do this at least twice a year, at different points in your selling season.
Time it so you're sure their decision cycle has passed.
Ask the exact same question of all prospects to avoid comparing apples to oranges.
Spend extraordinary effort to develop the questions, because you don’t want to go back later and create a different set of questions. This will enable to reliably spot trends.
Keep it short, no more than 10 questions or so. It’s tempting to try to delve deep into the prospect’s soul to find all the answers to your problems. Avoid the temptation.
Make it easy. Do it all online, and use drop-downs so respondents don’t need to type in the answers.
Develop the questions in a way that will drive actionable answers. If the answers don’t help you change behaviors, what good is the info?
Ask tough questions, even if the answers hurt. Maybe they’ll name a rude CSR, or a distributor/dealer who didn’t sound knowledgeable about the product. Use this info to drive further actions, such as a call from your company president to apologize, and release the offending party.
Add incentives. Maybe a random drawing from all responses for a Staples gift card, or for every response you’ll make a $5 donation to a popular non-profit, such as the United Way.
Gather demographic data. This will help you segment your market more exactly in the future. Size of their company, geography, years in business, and so on.
Find out if they might STILL buy from you. If yes, act fast.
Analyze results and build a plan. If they purchased a competitive offering, then revise your messaging to highlight your dramatic differences. If they weren’t re-contacted after their initial interest, change the behaviors of your sales team or dealers (create measurable expectations and release those who don’t cut it.) If they bought on price, be clearer with your benefits. If they didn’t see what’s in it for them, try a more targeted, segmented approach.