Feedback & Surveys - How to use the Constant Contact Toolkit Part 2

Editor's Notes

• #2: Hello…intro… Why are we here today? DN to provide intro copy for speakers….
• #3: Presenter should introduce themselves. RDDs should mention Constant Contact ALEs would mention their own company and clarify their relationship to Constant Contact.(Ask people in the room if any of them have ever attended a previous seminar. If there are a lot, Clarify that this is new content but that some of the same strategies we have taught in the past still apply So they might see a few familiar strategies or tips along the way. (Then mention the workbook – explain what it is, briefly, and let them know that you will refer to it Throughout the session with short exercises for them to complete. Next ask …) How many people in the room are small businesses or work for a small business?How many are nonprofits ….on purpose (they will laugh) relate to the room that you know it’s been a tough year for some and that the information Covered in the session should help them start to move the needle.
• #4: This slide should give you a chance to quickly introduce the Constant Contact suite of products to your audience.Many will not know we have all of these, so it’s a great and short commercial. 
• #5: I want to give you a simple definition, or a framework, for what marketing really is. You already know, generally, what it is – but when I say the word marketing, I mean something very specific and it’s important that we are on the same page. My definition of marketing has three simple parts – you define an audience: a group of people that you want to target. You reach out to them with a message that is specific to that audience. And you seek to elicit a physical and measurable response. A click, a reply, a call, a purchase, a referral – these are all actions that represent a decision made by a human to react to your message. Keep this in mind as we discuss marketing and marketing campaigns and the ways to deliver the most effective campaigns. You’re doing these things because you want people – your customers, your clients, your donors or supporters – to DO SOMETHING. Our topic for today, the campaign type “Surveys and Feedback,” is absolutely about getting a response. [click to next slide]
• #6: We’re not going to talk about marketing principles, or goals and objectives today. No, today we’re here to talk about marketing campaigns: those collections of marketing activities that make up an effort intended to drive an action that leads to achieving a specific goal. Specifically we’ll be focusing on seeking feedback from your customers or supporters through surveys, polls or reviews. Campaigns in general are about [click to build] pushing out some sort of content, and getting back some sort of response.
• #7: In the case of surveys, you push out questions, and hope to get back insights from your readers. On the surface the idea of collecting feedback seems pretty simple. You ask some questions and get some answers…easy!! In truth, there are entire businesses that form around the act of surveying audiences, measuring the responses and then figuring out some next step from there. Input from your audiences can be an incredibly valuable tool – one that allows you to make corrections to how you approach your business, that allows your audience to feel more connected (committed?) to your organization, that allows you to hold up an objective mirror to your efforts and allow you to learn and adapt as you move forward.
• #8: Here’s what we’re going to do today… [click to build] we’ll make sure we all have the same understanding of what we’re talking about when we talk about feedback instruments, and why you should consider using them. [click to build] next we’ll talk about some ways to start thinking about the structure of your survey, with an emphasis on asking good questions [click to build] Then we’ll focus for a bit on the “When?” and “Who?” of surveys…two critical elements of the process [click to build] finally, we’ll discuss results and the follow-up after a survey is complete. I also want to make a quick not about “for” and “non” profits, and industry verticals…I’m often asked how the things I’m talking about should be adjusted or changed for a nonprofit or a services (B2B firm) or someone in a different industry vertical. I hear “I’m not a brick-and-mortar business, so how does this apply to me. The good news is that the principles that will be discussed are largely universal…they can benefit a non-profit just as much as they can a for-profit, a B2B business can follow these just as readily as a B2C, that a restaurant can succeed with these ideas just as readily as a yoga studio, a church or a book store. Yes, you may have different considerations to make for your select audiences, but in large part what we’re teaching are best practices, and they’re best practices across the board.  
• #10: Understanding your audience makes you a better marketer. Knowing your customers and the things that interest them, make them happy, disappoint them, allows you to serve their needs and grow your business. You want to hear [click to build] the things that your customers, supporters, donors, clients and volunteers have to say. Through listening, we learn what people want from us, what’s working and what’s not We can make informed decisions – ones that will keep your customers coming back to do business with you. Online surveys and other data-gathering tools can help you understand what your customers like, want and need. “We have two ears and one mouth, so we should listen more than we say.” 
• #11: Start by ensuring that you have a clear objective for the survey. [click to build] what is it that you need to know to help you run your organization more effectively? [click to build] you should only plan to ask about ONE THING that you want to know…keep your survey FOCUSED!! [click to build] don’t ask a question if you’re not prepared to use the answer to help you take an action or do something for your organization
• #12: Here are some examples of objectives that aren’t so great, and different ways to rethink them…notice how the “better” options are all more specific, and would allow you to take an action
• #13: Let’s take a look at a more complete example, including the objective and some sample questions and the actions that would be taken based on the answers. [Next three slides build out each of three separate questions that could be asked, along with the possible actions…delivered over three slides to keep slide from becoming too busy] Example: I may want to use social media to boost sales. Objective: To identify if my customers will use social media to connect with me. Need to know: What social platforms do my customers use? What is their primary use on these sites? What types of content do they want from me in these networks?
• #14: Let’s take a look at a more complete example, including the objective and some sample questions and the actions that would be taken based on the answers.
• #15: Let’s take a look at a more complete example, including the objective and some sample questions and the actions that would be taken based on the answers.
• #16: Let’s take a look at a more complete example, including the objective and some sample questions and the actions that would be taken based on the answers. [Next three slides build out each of three separate questions that could be asked, along with the possible actions…delivered over three slides to keep slide from becoming too busy] Example: There are not enough people at our event. Objective: What can I do to grow event attendance? Need to know: Is there a topic / speaker of interest? Is there a preferred location? Is there a time / day that is preferred?
• #17: Let’s take a look at a more complete example, including the objective and some sample questions and the actions that would be taken based on the answers.
• #18: Let’s take a look at a more complete example, including the objective and some sample questions and the actions that would be taken based on the answers.
• #19: There are three primary survey types that you should think about… [click to build] surveys (most of what we’re talking about today) – these are generally longer [click to build] polls are great ways to get a quick response to a question…and usually they’re just that, only one question [click to build] reviews allow your customers, patrons or supporters to provide feedback on their experience in a public way. Think of review sites on the web – Trip Advisor for travel-related experiences, Angie’s List for services, Yelp for dining. [click to next slide]
• #21: We just talked about three different types of surveys, but those are at a very high level…once you go deeper, you’ll see that there are a lot of ways to think about why you would run one – they all seek to collect information, but that information can inform a wide range of ideas [click to build] The real answer to the question starts after you’ve identified your objectives for the survey or what you plan to do with the feedback
• #22: As you start to think about the questions you’re going to ask, you also need to think about the NUMBER of questions you’re going to ask. [click to build] Keep in mind that as the number of questions increases, the response rate generally decreases. This may not be a problem if you’re confident you’ll get the number of responses you need for meaningful insights even if the response rate is low, but it’s a factor to keep in mind. People are busy, and while they may be willing to give feedback, they’ll “bail out” of a survey if they feel it’s getting too long.
• #23: Talk through the benefits of “closed-ended” questions…one click builds all bullets
• #24: Talk through the considerations for “open-ended” questions…one click builds all bullets [click to build] be aware, though, that too many open-ended questions will lead to more people bailing out. The best practice is to use a combination. You can ask a close-ended question and include the option to comment if respondents want to go into more detail.
• #25: here are some sample “bad” questions and how to rewrite them…[click to build each pair]
• #26: here are some sample “bad” questions and how to rewrite them…[click to build each pair]
• #27: Additional tips on planning your questions and their order
• #28: Some “don’ts” when it comes to survey questions and length…[click to build out “X” and bullets]
• #29: first to make the point (“only as much as you need and intend to act on”) Everyone wants to know how long their survey should be…well, that depends. Completion time is ultimately more important than number of questions…still want to keep # of questions down, but it’s the time to think about… Make sure you take it yourself http://blogs.constantcontact.com/product-blogs/email-marketing/survey-subscribers-about-email/
• #34: [click through these samples, letting people see them as ideas] As you think about who to survey, think about segmenting your audience to help you ask the right questions of the group best situated to give you the answers you need. This will also help you avoid “survey burnout” – which happens when people get surveyed again and again and again. For better results….send surveys to those who are interested. Don’t send a survey about a product to people who don’t buy the product you are analyzing. Don’t send an online shopping satisfaction survey to people who only buy instore New customers = shorter, lighter survey. More established customers more in-depth survey.
• #35: Here’s a way to think about the segmentation of your audience and when you survey. You could send out one large survey every year…that allows you to get a lot of input from your entire customer, donor or client base. Then, send out smaller surveys throughout the year to “take the pulse” of smaller segments of your audience. Pulse surveys are sent to smaller groups, or subsets of groups that you sometimes survey in their entirety – you don’t need the entire group to respond to get a sense of “directionality”
• #37: you can’t just ask questions and let people answer…that’s a one-way communication and it won’t work (or work for long)…you need to actually promote the survey a bit (depending upon the audience, timeframe, number of responses needed to feel like the results are “legitimate”, etc.) Embed polls on a website or in an email Send out links Use facebook feature to conduct a poll LinkedIn has a feature to conduct a poll
• #38: Be patient. Over half of survey responses come back the first day. 7 out of 8 arrive within the first week. One week is sufficient if time is more important than maximizing results. Two weeks is recommended run time (enough time to send a reminder).
• #39: Send respondents to a website where they can access an incentive, register for your next event, review testimonials. Send respondents to a closing page where you can thank them, provide access to an incentive, share info on distribution of results
• #40: [click to build out all at once, and then speak through them] Results can be reviewed as they come in; charts can help identify trends. Use findings to create an action plan – this is the most important part!!! This is where you start to turn those insights and responses into actual, organization-changing actions!! You’re going to want to follow up with your respondents…share the action plan or the results with them…if they know that their feedback is being listened to, and that it’s making a difference, then they’ll be more likely to respond to your surveys in the future. They’ll also be developing a deeper connection to your organization. Don’t stop at just one survey…build a strategy around collecting feedback (remember, you can do them periodically, after interactions, on a schedule…whatever works for your organization and your audience) [click to next slide]
• #41: Some of the tools you can use to plan and promote events return your results instantaneously, and others take 24 hours – some tools used to run webinars will take that long for the recording and list of attendees and non-attendees. Make sure you know which option your tool is so you can plan accordingly. In either case, once the event is concluded, [click to build] you can go ahead and check your results and reporting and get a few different things. You can pull a list of attendees and no-shows. Once you have your list, send an email to attendees and to registrants that didn’t attend. To attendees, send all the resources. If you had a live event, photos videos, results like who won raffle prizes or silent auction prizes, additional info you’ll be sharing on your webpage – send a link. Make sure to nurture them to the next step, whatever step you decide, with a call to action. And make sure that next step stands out. Some common CTA are to ask questions on a Facebook page, purchase a product, start a trial, attending the next event. For non-attendees, send a Sorry-you-couldn’t-attend, Here’s-what-you-missed email, provide a recording or photos or videos, and let them know when the next event is. Use the follow up email to drive registrations. You can use the reporting features to check on revenue from ticket sales or donations (if the tool you’re using allowed you to collect them) And if you asked questions during the registration process and that information can be synced with your attendee lists, you can go ahead and start segmenting your lists of names based on responses. This will help you with your follow-up over time.
• #42: Types of actions that can come from the results…[click to build through each]
• #43: I can’t repeat this enough!!! You HAVE TO MOVE from results to engagement. [click to build sequence while talking through points below] You pushed questions out to your audience, then pulled in the responses. Now it’s time to share the results…. Once you’ve collected feedback you must respond. After you have summarized the results, read them and shared them, communicate back to customers/employees/donors that you have heard their concerns. By letting customers know they have been heard and action is being taken, you improve the experience for them and others. This builds trust, trust builds advocacy and brand advocates are essential to growing your business. What are your important business outcomes? Increased retention, productivity, profitability, customer engagement, improvements in safety, absenteeism, attendance, etc? Studies showed that surveys that result in an action plan increase engagement scores by an average of 10%. In contrast, those who perceive limited or no action-saw their engagement scores decrease by an average of 3%. Why? BECAUSE MY OPINIONS COUNT!!!
• #45: [click to build through practical advice elements]
• #46: [click to build through practical advice elements]
• #47: visual of starting small…you don’t have to ask every question you’ve ever wanted an answer to… [click to build through the “start small” points and then over to the points about what they could do down the road]
• #48: Before I log in, just with a quick show of hands, how many of you use Constant Contact already?I’m going to log in to a live account, for the purposes of this demonstration, and when I do you may not see a screen that looks exactly like what you see when you log in to your account. I have special access to the newest updates and even some test tools, and I tell you that because what is on my screen may not look exactly like what you have on your screen when you log in. CLICKSome of you see a screen that looks like this [CLICK] when you first log in and others may see a screen that looks like this [CLICK]Two different front doors, depending on how you found us and which version of our tools you are using, But both lead to the same basic functionality – (if you have time, you may decide to go deeper and explain this) The version on the top shows the home page for people that use our “stand alone” products and the one below shows the Constant Contact “toolkit” which bundles all of the tools together. I can answer questions about the difference between the two at the end of the session as needed, but again – both of these home pages are just different front doors to get to the same room full of great tools. So I’m going to open up my account now and we will get started with the demonstration.
• #49: At the end, post this slide while you take questions.MAKE SURE YOU ADD YOUR Call To Action!!!!!Note – pricing slides are next in case the question comes up!!!
• #50: This slide is provided for your quick reference if pricing questions come up.CLICK ONCE for a more detailed view of what’s what…
• #51: MAKE SURE YOU ADD YOUR SPECIFIC Call To Action, these are just suggestions and would be provided by YOU(ALE) Pick the appropriate ITEMS for your business and model and the event. EXISTING CUSTOMERS- this is delivered BY YOU(ALE), not by Constant Contact PLEASE BE SURE TO BRING EVALUATION/TRIAL/OPEN ACCOUNT FORMS- TO all events
• #52: This slide should give you a chance to quickly introduce the Constant Contact suite of products to your audience.Many will not know we have all of these, so it’s a great and short commercial. 
• #53: Introduce yourself and give them a clear understanding that you are there on behalf of Constant Contact.