Gather Marketing Intelligence with Surveys

September 11th, 2008

Several years ago I was the Chairperson of the Marketing Task Force for the Florida Speakers Association.

One of my first initiatives as the chairperson was to gather information to understand the issues our members faced so that we could properly promote them and the organization. So I created a very short email survey which I then sent out to the 97 members who were on our roster. 26 members responded!  (Not a bad rate, by most standards).

Even though these members responded based upon a specific industry (speaking professionally) many of the ideas shared can be transferred to almost any service business and even product sales companies.

Over the next few days I am going to post their responses here. Some of the responses were very similar in theme so they will be combined to give you a better picture of what can be done to market your own small business.

The three questions in the survey were:

1. Without prior knowledge of how we currently “market” the Florida Speakers Association, what do you think are the most effective ways to spread the word about our organization?            

2.  Who do you suggest we contact (media) to “spread the word?” Would you be willing to share your media resources of help the Marketing Task Force locate those resources?

3.  What marketing/Public Relations program would you suggest to help FSA increase                             membership and attendance at meetings?

Here are two responses:

David replied:

1. I think it would be very helpful to approach professional organizations. Having done a national newsletter for the business side of medical practices, and knowing a number of lawyers, I can tell you that professionals of all kinds must market themselves very hard, and speaking is one big way for them to do it. They don’t want to become professional speakers, but they do want and need to learn how to speak professionally.

2. in many respects, I still am the media, so I don’t want to be put in a position of putting my fellow journalists on the spot. However, to pursue the point I made in question #1, it wouldn’t hurt to do articles for professional magazines and newsletters about how to speak more effectively or related topics.

3. To elaborate on my answers to questions #1 and #2, I would suggest doing articles for the publications of local professional organizations: doctors, lawyers, engineers, dentists, accountants, etc.

Ruben  shared the following:

The first thing I want to say is that I am a novice in the area of marketing and am just getting started in my journey as a professional speaker. Here are my initial thoughts on the subject:

1. The most effective ways include:
• Current  members sharing their experience with others who might be interested in and potentially benefit from being a member.

• Mailing a free sample of the monthly newsletter to individuals who could benefit (writers, lawyers, performers, executives, salespeople, and anybody who is in the public arena etc)

• Inviting other like-minded associations to participate in one of the Saturday meetings.

• Advertising in local business journals, local magazines, and any other publication that reaches the public sector interested in speaking, educational presentations, and to-the-point information.

2. An interview through NPR (National Public Radio) and Local public relations companies.

AS YOU CAN SEE, these are all great suggestions and can be implemented rather inexpensively and quickly. My suggestion is to review these ideas and see how you can adapt them to your own marketing efforts. BTW, I love surveys! You will notice throughout the year that I post a lot of information about surveys. The most important part of gathering the information is to then DO SOMETHING with it once you know the answers.

Read my article: And the Survey Said for Ten Tips to ensure a successful outcome for your survey.

 

 

Entry Filed under: Heidi's Daily Tips, Research, Small Business, survey marketing