So... you spend time and effort putting together a survey, so you canhave real information about what your customers and prospects areactually looking for. And you send the survey to your in-house list--butthe flood of responses you're expecting is only a trickle.

While direct-mail marketing typically enjoys response rates of 0.5percent to 2 percent for sales pieces, survey responses are often farlower.

You're never going to get 100 percent participation. People are toobusy, or some of them are simply not your target audience. But still, youwant to do better than a few hundredths of a percent. How can you boostresponses up to meaningful levels of 10 percent or more?

Make it EASY to Respond

The less work your respondent has to do, the more responses you'll get.One click should go right to the survey form, without requiringregistration. You can easily use software to flag duplicate responses, soballot-stuffing is not a problem. And the form itself should be simple,clearly worded, easy to understand, easy and quick to fill out. Unlessthere is a strong business reason for using them, avoid distractions suchas animated GIFs and Flash intros. Depending on your audience, theycould get in the way of the survey or increase the likelihood that the formwill give error messages.

Explain Why Responding HELPS the Respondent

You want this information to better serve your customers--to offerproducts and services that more closely meet their exact needs. Useeffective copywriting to convey this point--that not only do you sincerelyvalue their input, but that their responses will help you bring products tomarket that directly reflect their exact needs. Help them to feel"ownership" of their role in making these new products happen.

This may be the most crucial factor: your headlines and body copyshould convey that you see your respondents as allies in solving theirproblems or increasing their convenience together. It's all about them,not about you.

REASSURE Your Participants

Everybody worries that if they participate in surveys, they're going to behounded with high-pressure sales pitches. Do it differently; earn yourprospects' respect by promising them that salespeople won't botherthem. And keep your promise! If you design the entire process properly,survey respondents will seek YOU out to do some business together.You will, of course, provide them with every tool they need to follow upwith you.

Provide the Chance for REAL Feedback

Include at least one comment field, where respondents can explain orqualify their answers. You'll get extremely meaningful information fromthis technique--well worth the extra labor in hand-analyzing the results-- and once again, you make your respondents feel valued and important,so that they have a vested interest in feeling that they're a part of yourenterprise. It may even be worth your while to put a comment field in forevery question.

FOLLOW UP With the Best Respondents

People who make useful comments are prime candidates for focusgroups, beta testing, or simple one-to-one follow-up--focused onadditional research, not sales. They'll be so grateful that you really valuetheir opinions that they may become evangelists for your company.Won't they be surprised and delighted to get a telephone call or apersonal e-mail from the president of your company, thanking them fortheir response and asking if they'd like to help you refine your research?(Be sure to present this as genuine; don't wrap it up in a sales pitch.)

Offer INCENTIVES For Responding

Offer thank-you gifts to every entrant, or add all your respondents to araffle drawing. The prizes should be relevant to your company--perhapsone of your own products, or a product or service that complementsyours. At the end of the survey, ask for contact information if they'd like toreceive the gift or be entered in the drawing.

The more people participate honestly in a survey, the more useful yourmarket research. And if the incentives are strong and relevant enough,you know that the responses you get will be honest, identifiable, anduseful.

So there you have it: Make your surveys user-friendly, show whyanswering the survey benefits the participant, reassure them that youwon't unleash the sales dogs, offer prospects the chance to actuallyinfluence the direction of your products and your marketing, follow upappropriately, and offer incentives. Then watch your survey numbersgrow, and put all that useful information into practice in your productdevelopment, customer service, and of course, your profits.

This article was originally commissioned and published by http://www.Hostedware.com, a leading provider of web survey andonline testing software for research, education and performanceimprovement. Used with their permission.

Shel Horowitz, internationally known marketing consultant, copywriter,and speaker, specializes in affordable, effective marketing for smallbusinesses, entrepreneurs, and nonprofits. The of award-winning authorof Grassroots Marketing: Getting Noticed in a Noisy World, PrincipledProfit: Marketing That Puts People First, and four other books, he is theowner of http://www.frugalmarketing.com and http://www.principledprofits.com. Ifyou'd like to discuss your next marketing project with Shel, please visithis site or contact him at shel@frugalfun.com or 413-586-2388.