The white-labeling process for the application will be managed through the client’s SurveyManager account. We are providing a branding module within the SurveyManager where clients can upload their own artwork to replace the default Opinionmeter logo that resides on the desktop of the mobile survey application. Additionally, from the same branding module, clients will be able to upload their own screen art to replace the default Login, About Us, Home Page screens that resides on the device. This way, clients can control their own branding from one central place which will automatically update all the devices being run from their SurveyManager account – automatically updating all existing devices in the field as well as any new devices added to the client’s SurveyManager account.

In fact, Harry Henry from Outsell recently posted commentary on this very topic:

“Other areas in the Marketing Information segment feeling the shifts due to mobile are the traditional market research providers. On one hand, they can now enter the fray and have much of this very rich data on consumers and shoppers that was previously very time consuming and expensive to get. On the flip side, some may feel the impact on lines of business where surveys were performed, since clients are now getting streams and rivers of data in near real time. Many are adjusting by both developing new methods and buying firms that have developed these capabilities.

There is also a coming wave of change for the survey-based market research community as the mobile device is un-tethering individuals (aka potential survey respondents) from their laptops and desktops. The implication here is that people will spend less time on “the computer” in favor of a smartphone or tablet, and with those mobile devices they will less inclined to sit through long surveys. Recent announcements by survey research platform firms Opinionmeter and Answerthink (a business unit of CINT AB) are leading the way here by providing tools to assist the market research community in adapting to the way of the mobile world.”

The creation of online survey tools provides DIY researchers a readily available survey platform to create and launch surveys, all with a low cost of entry. Recent statistics by Cambiar estimates DIY spending to be at $700-$800 million worldwide, a compelling number fueling companies to create an online survey tool that caters best to DIY researchers. With the introduction of more competitive survey tools, we can expect that it will not only propel the self-service sampling industry forward but will eventually increase the acceptability of DIY surveys as research tools for all businesses.

Addressing choice overload
With over 100 online survey tools currently in market, finding the differentiating factor between them can be difficult. New platforms offer features that other platforms lack while they further develop innovative features that current users need and want. Furthermore, the challenge for users is to be able decide which is DIY platform is most appropriate for their research needs.

From interface design to the survey creation process, each platform offers something different. A simple interface lets users quickly create and launch a survey, sometimes in as little as six minutes. Some platforms also offer pre-made templates, tailored questions and the ability to add incentives. Customizable features coupled with ease of use help to improve the survey creation experience for the user while making the survey taking experience more engaging for the respondent, and thus, providing better quality data.

Once created, surveys are sent to a selected list of contacts; and in most cases, the user needs to own each contact’s email address. That is one of the main differences between DIY and traditional research methodologies. Third-party research suppliers can offer access to millions of consumers, but a DIY researcher is limited only to email addresses they possess. Without sample, do-it-yourselfers are denied access to an audience they potentially need simply because of a lack of email addresses. While sufficient in some cases, not being able to reach a broader audience when needed can prove to be detrimental to the research data collected.

Online survey tools that offer access to sample bridges that gap, by allowing users to launch their surveys to a targeted sample pool of consumers from today’s growing social media population (similar to what a research supplier can provide) at a minimal cost.

What are the benefits?
Fast, cheap and accessible. DIY surveys are meant to be affordable and less time consuming while technological improvements are enabling online survey tools to become accessible to almost anyone. Certainly there are times where DIY surveys are more appropriate; a simple poll of asking employees what they want for lunch or a customer satisfaction survey requesting feedback about a new product. By design, DIY surveys are better suited for straight-forward research, including situations where feedback needs to be collected quickly or insights can be achieved with only a few questions.

It’s also important to note that not all DIY researchers are seasoned survey writers, and that fact is the root of many concerns regarding DIY surveys. Alternatively, the beauty of self-service sampling is that it is available even to those who aren’t in market research, can’t afford it, or need faster results. However, it’s our intention and responsibility to promote proper survey writing as best we can, and in the end, we all want the user experience to be enjoyable and the survey results to be insightful.

In our experience, there are certain things users can do to ensure they reach such goals. So before hitting send, I encourage do-it-yourselfers to consider the following tips:

• Pay attention to survey length – keep in mind the time it takes to complete a survey and aim to keep it under 10 minutes.
• Avoid loaded, leading or confusing questions – make sure questions will not lead a respondent towards a certain answer
• Use clear, readable English – technical and elaborate words are not part of the average person’s vocabulary and might only confuse them.
• Offer incentives – rewards are a good way to thank your audience for taking the time to complete a survey. It’s also a proven way to increase response rates.
• Test, spell-check and test again – a survey full of typos, poor grammar, or incomplete sentences will only make you look bad. Similarly, a survey that does not make logical sense can often frustrate the respondent and result in a low response rate.

Consider the situation – don’t waste energy trying to fit a difficult research project into a simple DIY survey. This can only lead to higher costs and more time needed to generate usable data. Instead, consider partnering with an online panel provider to ensure your research results are as representative and as insightful as possible.

Using these DIY survey tips, coupled with taking the time to understand effective survey writing, will generate quality results at affordable prices. But most importantly, it will give DIY surveys and online survey tools a better reputation now and into the future.

Guest blogger Noman is the CEO and co-founder of Peanut Labs, an innovative company that provides monetization for social media sites through advertising offers and market research surveys. To view the original blog post please visit: http://socialtimes.com/not-your-typical-survey-tool-what-a-new-online-survey-tool-means-for-the-diy-survey-market_b79842

There are two basic types of incentives – rewards and information. Rewards are by far the most commonly used and often take the form of some kind of financial reward or product sample. What we find far more interesting (for both the business and the customer) is providing information as the reward. Often times the most compelling type of information is the survey results themselves, which can be displayed at the conclusion of the survey. There can be proprietary issues with divulging this information; however there are ways around this. For example – you can reveal results on selected questions only. Other options include the use of Opinionmeter’s quiz feature and display the results of only those quiz related questions at the conclusion of the survey. Additional ideas may include sharing how the survey results have been or are intended to be implemented to improve the product or service. This has the added bonus of instilling continued customer engagement and a sense of ownership and participation in the business’s success and growth.

At this writing we are finalizing a beta version of our first B2C survey app code named “TouchPoint Shopper”.  In addition to the feature-functionality of our B2B survey apps, the B2C app will have the ability to push and pull surveys in multiple ways.

Pulling Surveys: Unlike the B2B app that can only pull surveys that are assigned to it, the B2C app can pull surveys in the following three different ways:

• “Find Surveys Around Me” – when a customer selects this button, they are asked for a distance radius (miles or kilometers) and the search results are displayed in Google Maps with waypoints indicating the Merchant name and location. When selecting the waypoint, the survey downloads automatically to the mobile device.
• Search by Business Name – there is an input field where the customer can search by business name or survey code. When entering a business name, any businesses matching that name within the distance radius selected will appear as waypoints to be selected within Google maps.
• Search by Survey Code – the use of the survey code is for signage at the point of sale, where a merchant can enter a five digit code which will download the survey to the customer’s mobile phone.

Note: all surveys can also be password protected. By default this option is turned off.

Pushing Surveys: In addition to pulling surveys, the B2C survey app can also receive pushed surveys – surveys the customer has subscribed to receive from selected merchants. These surveys arrive as push notifications to the mobile device – similar to a text message prompt. The consumer is in full control of this feature and if they have opted into receiving push notifications, they can always turn this feature off from the apps admin menu.

I hope this gives you a sense of the basic framework of how our B2C app will distribute surveys to mobile devices. We are also working on leveraging the camera to scan barcodes at the store shelf. The idea being that a consumer can scan a product’s barcode and in exchange for answering a few product-related questions, receive an electronic coupon that can be scanned at the cash register for real-time discounts.

Additional advantages to real-time access to point-of-experience data:

Real-time data transmission vs. Scheduled uploads (batch uploads): When you have a mobile survey app installed on the device, you then have the option of when and how your survey data is uploaded to the web-portal.

Push or Pull Reporting: Now that you have data pouring into your web-portal in real-time, you can choose to generate and deliver reports in a number of ways. Keep in mind that all the reports are available in multiple formats such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF even Web.

Real-time Satisfaction Alerts and Service Recovery: the system allows you to set trigger points within your survey instrument that when triggered – a real-time alert containing the survey question and responses, time/date and location details of the survey are sent via email or SMS text to any number of responsible individuals (or up the chain of command). This initiates a “service recovery” process. The SurveyManager also has a built in alert management module that enables managers to track the service recovery process (from alert to resolution and track their comments and notes for future reference).

Remote monitoring for support purposes: an often overlooked advantage to real-time access to mobile survey devises and survey kiosks is remote support. Our support engineers can establish a remote session and control the device in the field. This provides enormous support value, allowing support engineers to remotely manage and maintain survey devices in the field.

In simplistic terms, offline survey apps have the advantage of running in both in online and offline modes, whereas online-only survey solutions can only run when a reliable Internet connection is present. For an offline survey app to function properly, there must be a survey app resident on the device.

In contrast to online surveys, when a survey app is installed on the device it solves most of the issues suffered by mobile web surveys (online surveys optimized for mobile browsers). When you have a resident app running on a device, there are many advantages such as application speed, access to advanced features (e.g. media capture, branching, multimedia, etc.) and of course avoiding the disruption of the survey when an Internet connection is lost or slow. Opinionmeter’s mobile survey app is designed in such a way that a researcher can walk in and out of connectivity range without the app missing a beat – if no Internet connection is detected the app automatically stores the data locally on the device and will upload that data at a later time whenever connectivity resumes. All this occurs in the background without disrupting the researcher or compromising the survey apps functionality. The one potential challenge offline survey apps may present is if you are interested in cross-platform compatibility. Given the offline survey app is developed for each platform, most vendors will not have separate apps for all the major platforms such as Apple, Android, Palm, Windows 7, Blackberry and Symbian. If you need ubiquitous use, then a mix of resident apps and mobile web may be the best way to go.

A dear friend of mine, who has recently been diagnosed with breast cancer, was scheduled for an MRI. The MRI was necessary prior to meeting with the surgeon to discuss surgical options. Needless to say, anyone in this situation will be in a sensitive, fearful disposition. How much is it to ask that medical staff anticipate and be sensitive to patients state of mind (in this case, the radiology staff)? Is not empathy one of the most basic considerations for a caregiver to provide a patient – especially in these circumstances? I’m sure you can anticipate where this story is going…

My dear friend was first told that her sister, who was there to provide comfort and support, could not be present during the MRI procedure. Additionally, the radiology staff failed to orient her about what to expect during the procedure, which involved lying motionless within the MRI machine for 45 minutes face down on a hard cold surface pressing against her sore breasts (which were sore from recent biopsies). During the MRI procedure, staff did not once communicate with her; ask how she was doing, let her know how much longer the procedure would take, nothing! She was in pain, claustrophobic and in fear. When she emerged from the MRI machine, she told the staff “that was horrible! I would not wish this on my worst enemy, why didn’t you warn me…” The staff’s response was silence. The facility where my friend received this unacceptable, insensitive and in my opinion – incompetent service was the John Muir Medical Center in Walnut Creek – a highly respected healthcare institution! Makes you wonder what’s going on elsewhere, doesn’t it!

To bring this story back within the context of patient satisfaction surveys and the intelligent use of available customer feedback tools and technology – when my friend returned to the waiting room following the procedure, the only feedback method available was a ridiculously designed 5x7” paper feedback card with a scale of 4 smiley faces and a 2-inch space adjacent each of the 6 questions for the patient to input open-ended comments. John Muir is a wealthy, high-tech medical center and they are clearly not investing in patient satisfaction survey technologies that are widely available and proven to be even more cost-effective than paper surveys. For example, if they had a touch screen survey device (this could be a tablet, kiosk, or wall-mounted touch screen device). My friend could have provided her feedback quickly and efficiently at the point-of-care, which then could have triggered a satisfaction alert that would be delivered in real-time to the chain of command responsible for that radiology department. This would have triggered a service-recovery process and would have provided them a chance to intervene and recover a patient as well as avoid the spread of a different kind of cancer – patient dissatisfaction – which believe me, has already metastasized and spread throughout my friend’s family, friends and now this blog. When will healthcare institutions WAKE UP! It’s one thing to provide unacceptable patient care, but to add insult to injury is to not invest in patient satisfaction survey technology that can monitor and manage patient feedback in real-time.

A postscript to the above – the next day when my friend called to request the CD with the MRI images she was told that since she was menstruating at the time (which she disclosed to the staff prior to the procedure), she would need to go through the process all over again!

Onsite surveys on the other hand involve distributing surveys via mobile survey devices – the one exception to this is the traditional paper survey (interviewer with clipboard). However, paper is rapidly being replaced by mobile survey devices such as PDAs, Tablets, iPads, etc. (CAPI – Computer Assisted Personal Interview). There are many advantages to using survey devices and I discuss this in my other blog entries – suffice to say, survey devices provide interviewers with multiple advantages and efficiencies not to mention real-time data and reporting access. One word of caution – when shopping for a mobile research vendor – be sure that the survey app can run offline as well as online – you don’t want your survey to be dependent on an Internet connection to function!

Let’s dig a little deeper into the onsite survey distribution options that are available. We’ve already mentioned the mobile research options for CAPI above. However, with the advent of mobile phone survey apps – there is an entirely new distribution opportunity for market research companies. We can look at this from a B2B and B2C perspective. The B2B mode – where companies use their own mobile devices running mobile a survey app and use the device as a data capture device (it could be an iPhone, iPad, etc.). On the other hand, a business can promote free survey apps for their customers to download and use to participate in feedback. Additionally, touchscreen survey kiosks can be placed at the point-of-sale, point-of-service, point-of-care, depending on the nature of the business and capture spontaneous real-time customer feedback. The advantage to using unattended survey devices like survey kiosks (whether they’re mounted in a kiosk, or on a table-top, wall or aisle) is they require no staff involvement and often can be monitored and maintained remotely.

Certainly there are advantages and disadvantages to each and every modality for capturing survey data, we at Opinionmeter are dedicated to supporting all these methods so that our customers can deploy surveys in a truly mixed-mode environment – “Author Once, Distribute Anywhere”. Among the many advantages to this type of feedback platform is you can create and deploy the same survey to a variety of destinations and also all your survey data resides in one database – whether that data was captured using paper, online, onsite, mobile-web or mobile app.

First we need to define the touch point environments. For example, are you measuring patient satisfaction in an outpatient or inpatient setting? Are healthcare providers capturing real-time bedside feedback while rounding, or do you want to gather feedback at the point-of-care from an outpatient clinic or an exit survey in your pharmacies? Each of these touch points call for unique patient satisfaction measurement tools.

Common Healthcare Touch Points:

• Outpatient Feedback: Within the outpatient setting, you have several available feedback options and perhaps a mixture of these solutions should be considered. Mobile survey devices can be a very efficient method of capturing spontaneous patient satisfaction feedback at the point-of-care within the exam room or while checking out with the staff at the front desk. Additionally, survey kiosks (which can be stand, wall or table mounted) can be used in the lobby area or near the exit. Advantages to the survey kiosk are that it requires no staff involvement and is a stand-alone solution. Often, a mixture of the two survey technologies is the best approach – combining survey kiosks with mobile survey devices. When using the survey kiosks or mobile survey devices, your survey can also capture the patient’s email address which then can be used as a follow up survey delivered by email. We refer to this approach as a mixed-mode survey approach.

• Inpatient Feedback: When gathering patient feedback within an inpatient setting, the healthcare provider will most likely want use a mobile survey device or mobile survey app on their own personal mobile device (phone, tablet, iPad, etc.). Popular use cases for inpatient feedback are for rounding (bedside patient feedback) and at discharge. There are a number of options here – from dedicated mobile survey devices to survey apps such as an iOS survey app that can run on an iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch. Whenever selecting a customer survey app, it’s important to make sure the app can run in online and offline modes. By online mode, we mean real-time which is critical for service recovery purposes (allowing healthcare provides to be notified in real-time when there is a service recovery issue); and offline mode meaning that when the device loses Internet connectivity that the survey app continues functioning regardless if Internet connection is lost, and most important that data is not lost but stored on the device until the Internet connection resumes.

Real-time Point-of-Care Feedback: the “pain-point” we most commonly hear from healthcare providers is the delay in receiving actionable survey data. This is because there is often a significant delay from the time the patient provided the feedback to when the healthcare provider receives the survey data. This makes it difficult to be responsive to patient requests and impossible when it involves service recovery. The good news for healthcare provides is delayed survey data is no longer necessary. With the current availability of sophisticated, cost-effective survey technologies, healthcare providers are now able to implement more effective and cost effective patient satisfaction feedback programs.