Customer feedback has long driven the development of products and services, whether it’s used to measure satisfaction, track Net Promoter Score® (NPS), or better understand support issues. At SurveyMonkey, we've discovered that the same methods that make surveys powerful for the customer experience can transform marketing strategies.
While customer experience (CX) surveys excel at uncovering customer pain points, preferences, and behaviors, these insights are also gold for marketers that need to refine messaging, develop campaigns, and connect with target audiences. This approach works well for support teams, but it’s equally valuable for testing creative assets, validating market assumptions, and building compelling thought leadership.
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Over the years, we've built a data-driven marketing engine that consistently delivers results. Here's how we do it.
Building better buyer personas
Our marketing strategy starts with comprehensive buyer persona research. We combine quantitative data from market research reports and customer surveys with qualitative insights from interviews and sales calls. This dual approach helps us understand not just what our customers do, but why they do it.
Each persona pack includes:
- Key goals and responsibilities: Understanding the career objectives of a role (or persona) helps us align our solutions with real customer needs.
- Primary challenges: We identify pain points that our customers face regularly. These challenges inform our product development and marketing messaging.
- Triggering events that lead to purchase: Recognizing what prompts a buying decision helps us time our marketing efforts effectively. Common triggers include budget refresh cycles and team restructuring.
- Value propositions that resonate: We map our features to specific customer benefits. This connection ensures our messaging addresses actual customer needs.
- Critical purchase drivers: We document the factors that influence buying decisions. This includes both business requirements and personal motivations.
Value proposition refinement
Instead of guessing what will resonate with our audience, we measure it. Our value proposition testing combines:
- Implicit data: We track behavioral metrics that show how prospects interact with our messaging. High click-through and conversion rates indicate a strong market fit.
- Explicit feedback: We conduct direct conversations with customers and analyze sales interactions. This qualitative data adds context to our quantitative findings.
Thought leadership that matters
In an AI-driven world, original research sets our content apart. Our approach to thought leadership centers on:
- Gathering proprietary data through surveys: We uncover unique insights that can't be found elsewhere. Original data makes our content more valuable and shareable.
- Creating hyper-relevant insights for our target audience: We focus on topics that directly impact our customers' work. This relevance drives engagement and establishes authority.
- Using research findings across marketing channels: Our survey data informs content across digital, social, paid, and SEO initiatives. This integrated approach maximizes the value of our research.
Related reading: Create more compelling content using original research
Survey best practices
Our experience has taught us several crucial survey design principles:
- Start with a hypothesis rather than exploring blindly. Define what you want to prove before writing questions. This focused approach yields more actionable insights.
- Include demographic questions for richer analysis. Understanding who your respondents are helps segment and contextualize their answers. This enables more targeted marketing strategies.
- Use Likert scale questions for easier analysis. These standardized response options make it simpler to analyze trends and patterns. They also reduce respondent fatigue.
- Analyze data strategically: Combine similar responses for clearer insights, create demographic-based cross-tabs to uncover distinct segment needs, and filter specific response patterns to reveal marketing insights and opportunities.
Implementing surveys in your marketing
Ready to enhance your marketing with surveys? Here are six steps to get started.
- Map survey opportunities to your marketing strategy: Identify key decision points where data would improve outcomes. Focus on high-impact areas first.
- Allocate budget for ad-hoc research: Set aside resources for unexpected research needs. This flexibility enables rapid response to market changes.
- Define clear ownership of insights gathering: Assign responsibility for survey creation and analysis. Clear ownership ensures consistent execution.
- Set specific goals for each survey: Define what decisions the survey data will inform. This clarity improves question design and response rates.
- Identify your target audience: Determine whose input will be most valuable. This focus ensures relevant insights.
- Use expert templates or AI assistance for efficient survey creation: Leverage proven formats to save time. These templates incorporate best practices automatically.
By integrating surveys throughout our marketing funnel, from awareness to advocacy, we ensure our strategies are data-driven and customer-centric. Whether testing creative assets, gathering testimonials, or conducting market research, surveys provide the insights we need to make informed marketing decisions.
Ready to take your research to the next level? Elevate your marketing strategy with SurveyMonkey.
Net Promoter, Net Promoter Score, and NPS are trademarks of Satmetrix Systems, Inc., Bain & Company, Inc., and Fred Reichheld.
