Conduct your own sample surveys to gain information

If you know how to structure a sample survey, you can eliminate the need to hire a survey sample provider, which can reduce the cost of conducting the survey. The main things you need to know include how to determine you sample group, what type of data you need to collect and what you hope to gain from the survey.

I recommend: SYSurvey provides tips and content designed to help you organize your own survey sample. It offers a detailed guide on the things you need to consider for a sampling survey. Use software from the SAS Institute to plan and design your survey.

Build your Internet contacts with web-based sampling surveys

Pop-up surveys can help you sample data from visitors to your website. You can use surveys to build your email address file, gain feedback or test new products or information. Be careful not to overload your visitors with too many surveys, or they may decide it isn't worth their time to visit your site.

I recommend: Formsite.com provides templates and samples for online surveys. Its choices include customer service feedback and employee surveys. Vanguard lets you build sample surveys to incorporate into your website without downloading any software. With its programs, you won't need to know HTML and you can match the survey to your company's look.

Outsource the job to sampling survey providers

If you don't know where to begin to conduct your own survey or you want to leave the job to professionals, consider hiring a provider to conduct the research for you. You may want to hire a company that analizes the results as well.

I recommend: Query Group acts as you on-call survey experts. It works with six stages of the survey process and can help you with whichever stage you need. Constant Contact offers survey coaching and support. It mainly specializes in web-based surveys.