If you want to talk to people online – REAL PEOPLE – then you better be ready to speak like a human being. One of the main problems with surveys is the voice. Most questionnaires are written in a dense, academic voice. Here is a great example of a mental root canal from QuestionPro:
When thinking about Data Mining Technologies, Inc. (DMT), do you believe that the word "innovative" aptly describes or poorly describes the company? On a scale of +5 to -5 with +5 being "very good description of DMT" and -5 being "poor description of DMT," how do you rank DMT according to the word "innovative"?(+5) Describes very well(+4)(+3)(+2)(+1)Innovative(-1)(-2)(-3)(-4)(-5) Poorly Describes
Would YOU last through 15-20 minutes of THAT? Then how can you expect several hundred people to do it for your study?
The voice of the Internet is conversational at its most formal, and colloquial the rest of the time. Face it, your surveys sound like interrogations. You will have more success and less need for incentives if you stop using the voice that makes you sound smart in meetings, and start using the voice you use for telling stories to your friends. Think about the recent Mac vs. PC ads. Which one of those two guys would you rather spend half an hour talking to?
2 comments:
What? You trying to tell me that you have never responded "I neither agree nor disagree" when someone asked for your opinion?
As in - "I think the Raptors have a real chance in the playoffs this season. What do you think?"
"I neither agree nor disagree".
I'm saying that if you asked me that question, then spent the next 2 minutes berating me with what I am and am not allowed to say in response, I might be inclined to withhold my opinion altogether. :-)
-mrh
Post a Comment