Businesses need the contact details of customers to help them build a database. This database would be very helpful when they carry out marketing campaigns. Getting the names of customers is easy. One can also get their mobile numbers since interested customers would call to get information. Customer phone numbers can also be obtained in exhibitions, tradeshows, etc. Getting the email ID is a challenge as customers may leave the email ID blank. For online marketing campaigns, knowing the customer's email ID is essential. Businesses need to try to get customer e-mails to complete the database.
One of the effective ways of getting customer e-mails is through a Text survey campaign. A survey is nothing but a questionnaire that has a list of questions related to a particular topic or them. A survey is given to find out the opinions of people about something. Surveys are one of the common methods used by marketers to get information about consumer preferences and tastes, as well as to understand market trends. Running a survey campaign is a good way to collect customer e-mails.
Survey campaign to collect e-mails
A survey campaign can be run on a topic related to the business. The survey can be used to get customer opinions and feedback and at the same time collect the e-mail of the customer. Since the customer’s email is not available, a question would be how to send the survey to the customer. The answer is through texting. When the customer’s mobile number is available, then a text message can be sent to the customer inviting them to participate in a survey. This is a good way to run a survey and collect customer emails. Here’s how you can do it:
1) Create a professional survey
The first thing to do is to create a professional survey. Decide the topic for the survey. It must be:
• Related to your domain so that the information you get is useful.
• Simple and easy to complete.
• Must be short with just a few questions. Customers don’t have the patience to answer too many questions.
• Must be well-drafted.
The survey should be designed in the following pattern:
- The initial part of the survey should be used to collect the details of the respondent. This is where you can ask the customer to enter his/her email.
- The second part of the survey would have questions. It is advisable to offer questions with options, as they are easy to complete.
- The survey should end by thanking the customer for the time spent in filling the survey.
2) Decide on how to administer the survey
There are three ways of running the survey campaign.
a) By creating the survey online and hosting it on your website or using a survey tool. Once this survey is ready, you can send a link to the survey through a text message.
b) The entire survey can be conducted through an SMS. This is possible if the survey is brief and has only one question. This is easy as you can ask the customer to send his email along with the option chosen.
c) A series of questions can be sent through SMS. The first question can be answered by sending the customer's name and email address. This will help you to get the email ID. Then two or three more messages can be sent containing a question and answers in the form of options. If the customer wants to choose the third option, all he has to do is reply using 3. Your texting software can interpret this and collect the survey data.
3) Incentivize the survey
There is no guarantee that a customer will respond to your survey. Some customers like to answer surveys and they will respond. Most customers are busy and won’t want to spend time filling the survey. The best way to get responses (and get the email ID) is to offer an incentive. You can offer a discount coupon or a voucher or a freebie to customers who complete the survey. This is a great way to get more responses from customers. In this way, you get the survey data that you want and are able to collect the email address. At the same time, you are encouraging the customer to visit your store or your website where they can redeem the coupon or voucher. This is a sure-fire way to get emails through a survey.
The methods given above can be used to send surveys to customers and potential customers. Making the survey attractive and offering an incentive would motivate people to respond to the survey. The survey will help you get e-mail IDs to add to your database. Once your database is complete, you can then use it for e-mail marketing to help boost your business.
