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Why invest in public opinion research?
The public opinion poll, every day, has become more popular, and thus its benefits are unquestionable. This is due to the fact that this type of tool makes it possible to make deeper considerations about a given target audience.
For example, based on a questionnaire, or an interview, it is possible to obtain a wide range of answers, and they will guide the decision-making process, and these decisions will be more assertive and efficient. Knowing what is public opinion research, what are its characteristics and how it can be applied are some of the issues that will permeate this post.
These data can be used to obtain answers for a study, also serving as a basis to analyze various opinions about a given context, niche market and field of activity.
What are opinion polls?
Opinion polls are actually strategies that prioritize the collection of specific data. In order to collect such data, a sample of people is considered and, in contact with them, their opinions on a certain subject are analyzed.
The application of the strategy is particularly useful to any company, be it small, medium or large, especially when it wants to increase sales performance or, even, become differential, thereby increasing its competitive advantage, positioning itself better in the niche market of which it is part.
One of the main advantages is that, through this index, customer satisfaction is discovered. There are multiple possibilities related to this research strategy. Opinion polls tend to be more detailed and, in general, ask the target audience to comment and present personal views.
Who are the opinion polls for?
Generally, research of this type has in mind a specific group of people. This group can be composed, for example, of former customers or current employees. You wonder about the employment status of a company, for example. It should also be affirmed that an opinion poll is a strategy that helps the manager to know which path is being taken by the company and whether it can position itself well in the market niche related to it.
From a single question, one can come up with a series of answers that will decide the success or failure of the business. You can then get a series of insights that can help the manager change strategically and choose another direction in order to achieve more accurate and efficient results. With this tool, the voice of customers and/or employees involved with the entity is valued.
Data collection through opinion research
Applying this research, the data to be collected can be analyzed systematically. Such data can contribute a lot to the decision-making process, since the research provides valuable feedback, and thus decisions can be much more accurate. There are some cases where opinion research is often more advantageous.
The first possibility takes shape from the opinion polls conducted with the client himself.
It is a market research tool and, as such, allows companies to obtain opinions on any of the topics that permeate the day-to-day business, including issues of a personal, political and social nature.
These answers can be collected from phone calls, emails, from web pages, via online search software and forms, and also can invest in online platforms, quite popular.
Comparative research
The second possibility from which opinion polls can take shape is through comparison. This type of approach is commonly used when there is a desire to compare all the functions of the company and also the performance of the products/services offered to the market.
This comparison can be made between products/services that are part of the same company, sold in different periods and contexts, or the performance of such products/services can be compared with that of other entities working in the same branch.
The strategy is interesting because it allows the manager to know the companies that have been successful with similar products/services. Thus, before launching the product / service, the opinions of customers are used, and these act as true guides that will make the entity one step ahead in relation to its competition.
The entry and exploratory research
A third possibility from which opinion research can take shape is through input (or exploratory) research.
As pointed out in another post, exploratory research does not fear the risks, in fact, they drive the search for solutions that run away from the obvious, because it works with a dynamic scenario that can change at any time. Given this scenario, opinion polls that opt for this possibility are done even before the participants have contact with the product/service.
Thus, basically, the main scope of research is to help entrepreneurs to get to know their clients better, especially their life context and the most prevalent characteristics. However, it will be taken into account that the scenario is highly changeable and thus the customer can change their mind at any time.
Follow-up research and its relevance
The fourth possibility, in turn, concerns the follow-up research. In this approach, the aim is to make a regular follow-up about a certain product /service that is under development or that is already on the market.
Periodic evaluations of this performance are paramount, thus analyzing the effects of this long-term sale.
Faced with such a need, follow-up research and, with this, after-sales have gained some popularity. This is due to the fact that this type of study helps companies to perceive any indication of progress or change from the consultation of public opinion.
These opinions need to reflect the reality of the business in question. To this end, in order to respect the purpose of the research, the experience of customers with this product/service is analyzed.
Specific public opinion surveys and their characteristics
In addition to the examples mentioned, there are some specific types of public opinion polls that the company can rely on to get feedback on actual business performance. Therefore, there are research models that have more exclusive questions, which points to equally specific data collection and analysis methods.
Among the first possibilities, there is the satisfaction survey and the electoral survey. In the first possibility, it is taken into account that the satisfactory customer experience with the brand is crucial to reach success. Knowing public opinion about the product/service is crucial.
Thus, it will be possible to know if the target audience has been well served and if they would return to do business with the brand in the future, finally, it seeks to know the degree of commitment of this audience to the brand.
The electoral survey, organizational climate and salary
The other possibility of opinion polls is electoral. This type of research is very decisive, since it predicts the outcome of an election in any context and, thus, acts as a kind of guide for journalists, analysts and for the citizens themselves.
The impact of a candidate's proposals and work plan is understood. The organizational climate survey analyzes whether the employee feels comfortable, respected and safe in their work environment.
The level of satisfaction and comfort of the members of the organization is being ensured, in response to the demands and needs of these employees. Finally, there is wage research.
From it, one can find out how much other companies have paid for specific positions or by categories of employment. In addition to salary, the benefits imbued are included in the analysis.
What characterizes an opinion poll?
When discussing public opinion research, it is necessary to draw attention to some specific characteristics. All of them need to be taken into account in so that the results are productive. The first is, precisely, the emphasis on the voice of the public.
It has a random collection method, and thus the analysis of data because it is superficial or complex, and can focus on both quantitative and qualitative data.
In some cases, these surveys are interactive, with specific questions, with attractive images and visual elements, or, even, one can resort to a simple questionnaire, with simple and direct questions.
Responses can be collected from online and offline tools and platforms, via telephone, from comments on social networks, among other possibilities.
Create good questions for good answers
We can leave at this point for the application of the opinion poll. It all starts with good questions, because good questions produce good answers.
In order for good questions to be proposed to the target audience, having a simple and direct language so that the question is immediately understood is crucial. Long and confusing questions will certainly make the respondent give up answering.
In order to arrive at the good answers, it is the responsibility of the one who is creating the questions to offer options for answers that can, in fact, cover and represent the entire considered public and not just a small portion.
Some people are not represented and thus will hardly be able to express an opinion, because it is not their reality and, with that, it will not contribute to achieving good results.
The sample and representativeness in a public opinion survey
There are two other elements that can point to the success or failure of the survey. In order to arrive at the good answers, it is of paramount importance that the sample being taken into account represents the entire public adopted for the research and, thus, it is crucial that those who will respond to the survey represent the persona of the business. It is not such a simple issue and, for this reason, it is very important that the sample is well defined so that it represents, in an appropriate way, the target audience in question. The data, in this way, will be current.
There are companies that offer samples of respondents who can help design respondents. The respondent also needs to feel safe, because, thus, they will express their opinion more sincerely, without being influenced, promoting, to the research, more real results about what they actually think about the brand in question.
Care that the researcher needs to take
When dealing with the target audience involved with the research, there are two key elements that the applicator of the questions that, in general, is the researcher himself, will need to take into account. First, care must be taken that there is no induction and manipulation of the employee's response.
There are studies that present issues that can only benefit the business. These questions do not help to know the current reality and performance of the entity. Thus, it is essential to create questions that have options for answers that do not influence the vote of respondents.
Impartiality plays an important role in this context. Do not try to interpret the results, because the purpose of the opinion poll is to provide clear and direct data. This information shall be analysed impartially, without any kind of inference.
The acceptability of a company's products
Just to take up the purpose of this type of approach, it can contribute a lot to the performance of a business. In fact, it helps anticipate the possible problems that the company may face in the not-so-distant future.
In order for the research to go in the best way, the most prudent is that it is created from a modern platform, with the help of professionals specialized in this type of research.
It is concluded, then, that a well-structured opinion poll indicates what are the errors and correct answers that most impact the consumer experience. Thus, the main problems can be corrected more quickly, because the research can be done before there are severe losses, due, for example, to the rejection of a product. Knowing the modus operandi of opinion research and why the strategy is effective results.
