So ... you've got an idea for a new product or service, and you want to validate the concept in the market. (Red flag alert: You're validating not testing.) In today's market, you have a number of options for do-it-yourself surveying: Survey Monkey, eSurvey, Zoomerang, and many more. I mean really, how hard could it be? You know the product, you know what you want to find out, the tools are straightforward. (Red flag alert: you know what you want to find out.)
Developing a survey is not hard. Developing a survey that will not telegraph your desired outcome is a little tougher. (After all, we're human. At heart, most of us want to please.) And if you do, in fact, launch a survey that leads respondents to your foregone conclusion, you haven't really learned anything, and the dollars you invest chasing the results are likely just as risky -- or riskier -- than if you had just pursued your gut in the first place.
That said, many of us simply can't afford the costs of outsourcing our surveys to a professional. What's an amateur to do?
First, take a couple of hours and research researching. Google "how to develop an objective survey," "survey techniques," "getting accurate survey results." Look for tutorials on the large survey tool websites. No, you will not become an expert. No, your survey will not be perfect. No, don't bet your life on the results. But with a little due diligence, you can certainly avoid some of the more horrendous rookie mistakes, and hopefully reduce the incidence of false positives and false negatives.
Basic basics? Make sure you are surveying the right market. You certainly want a random cross-section, but you want a random cross-section of those who would potentially purchase your product. (Surveying teenage girls on retirement funds may not give you the most meaningful results.) Either find your target market ahead of time, or ask demographic questions in the survey that will enable you to bucket the responses accordingly. (Ideally both.)
Start with open-ended questions. Not "What did you think of the ad for GeeWhizFizz on the Super Bowl?" or even "Did you see the ad for GeeWhizFizz on the Super Bowl?" but "Did you see any ads watching the Super Bowl?" "Do you remember any ads from the Super Bowl?" "What ads do you remember?" "What ads did you like, dislke?"
Once you get your respondents spontaneous feedback, you can drill down to greater specifics: "Did you see the ad on GeeWhizFizz?" "How did you feel about the ad for GeeWhizFizz?" "How do you feel about GeeWhizFizz?" "Have you ever purchased GeeWhizFizz?" "Are you any more likely to purchase GeeWhizFizz after watching the ad?" (Red flag alert: I am writing a blog, not a survey. Questions above are simply to illustrate a point. GeeWhizFizz is not a real product ... is it??)
The bottom line is this: Know -- at least a little bit -- what you don't know. There's a good reason for the cliche, garbage in, garbage out. (Red flag alert: great products end up in the garbage, too.)
