How can you create a survey for trade shows with high response rates and quality insights?

1 Define your goals

Before you start creating your survey, you need to have a clear idea of what you want to achieve with it. What are the main questions you want to answer? What are the key metrics you want to track? How will you use the data to improve your trade show performance and strategy? Having a specific and realistic goal will help you focus your survey on the most relevant topics and avoid unnecessary or irrelevant questions.

2 Choose your format

There are different formats you can use to create your survey for trade shows, depending on your preferences, resources, and goals. You can use paper surveys, online surveys, or a combination of both. Paper surveys are easy to hand out and collect, but they can be tedious to analyze and may have lower response rates. Online surveys are convenient and cost-effective, but they require internet access and may have technical issues. A hybrid approach can help you balance the advantages and disadvantages of both formats and reach more respondents.

3 Design your questions

The quality of your survey questions will have a direct impact on the insights you obtain. To ensure your questions are clear, concise, and relevant to your goals, avoid leading, biased, or ambiguous questions. Additionally, use a mix of open-ended and closed-ended questions for a more comprehensive response. For rating scales, opt for a consistent and appropriate scale; for example, a 5-point Likert scale for satisfaction or agreement questions, or a 10-point numerical scale for importance or likelihood questions. Additionally, keep your questions short and simple by avoiding jargon or complex terms. Finally, limit the number of questions to ensure you are only asking essential questions that will provide value to your analysis.

4 Distribute your survey

Once you have created your survey, you need to distribute it to your trade show visitors in order to reach as many respondents as possible. To incentivize them to complete your survey, consider using multiple channels, such as email, SMS, QR codes, social media, or websites. Additionally, you can offer discounts, coupons, or prizes. Timing is also important - send out the survey within 24 to 48 hours after the trade show when the experience is still fresh in their minds. If you don't get enough responses or feedback, follow up with a reminder or thank you message and share some preliminary results or insights. Invite your respondents to further engagement as well.

5 Analyze your data

The final step in the trade show process is to analyze your data and extract the insights that will help you improve your performance and strategy. To find patterns, trends, and correlations that can answer your questions and inform your decisions, you may need a tool or software to help you organize, visualize, and interpret your data. Segmenting your data by different criteria, such as demographics, behavior, preferences, or feedback can help you identify the differences and similarities among your respondents. Additionally, comparing your data with other sources, such as goals, benchmarks, or previous trade shows can measure the effectiveness and impact of your trade show. By following these tips, you can design, distribute, and analyze your survey in a way that meets your goals and provides value to your business.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?