Dying to push your business for growth? Great! But first, run a must-have survey

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Details: Category: Blog; 19 September 2020

3 years ago

Businesses, especially start-ups, are desperate “to start pushing for growth […] due to demands from taking venture capital or […] because the company needs to prove itself in order to raise capital, or generate revenue”* to survive. However, sustainable business growth requires a relevant company strategy which must not be ignored at the expense of fast and forceful growth initiatives. A company growth strategy should target not only short-term, but also long-term growth. Ultimately, any growth or strategy is contingent upon an organisation’s product or service and the market or customer it serves, i.e., the product-market-fit which is strongly impacted by the user experience (or UX). Often companies believe they know with utmost certainty which features or aspects of a product or service their customers will love; however, in most cases they are wrong. This is a core reason for 90% of all start-ups worldwide failing and, thus, going out of business. Fortunately, for larger organisations, this will not lead to survival issues. Nevertheless, deciding on the wrong strategies may also lead to immense financial crises in larger enterprises. So how do you close this knowledge gap in order to achieve optimal product-market-fit and spark the required growth? Re-evaluating Product-Market-Fit Whether a company has just been founded and is in the start-up phase trying to figure out its place in the market and the true value of its product or service for potential customers, or whether a company is an established market player acting in a highly dynamic and competitive surrounding that is driven by constant innovation and new product releases, there is a constant need to re-evaluate a company’s product-market-fit to ensure ongoing business growth. In order to determine your product-market-fit, the product needs to possess a must-have status, meaning the product requires certain characteristics that a large group of people would love. This group of people is a pool of potential customers to convert. More specifically, “why is a product must-have and who must have it?". In other words, what is a product’s core value, to which customers, and why?”* If a product has achieved the aforementioned must-have status, it becomes crucial to dig into user data to identify your product’s Aha! experience which will turn early customers into die-hard fans. The Aha! moment “is the moment that the utility of the product really clicks for the users; when the users really get the core value – what the product is for, why they need it, and what benefit they derive from using it”*, ergo matching the must-have product with the user’s perception and experience of the product’s value. The question remaining is how to find out whether your product is must-have and ultimately how it conveys the Aha! experience to your customers. Oftentimes, this is a tricky question to answer; however, a “must-have survey”* has been developed which can help address this challenge. This survey will ensure the collection of user feedback on customers’ product experience and evaluation of data for similarities, as well as patterns of how they use the product, i.e., in which way this generates the optimal value for them. Setting Up a Must-Have Survey The following survey questions are merely a framework for determining must-have status and the Aha! experience which were developed and successfully tested by Sean Ellis and Morgan Brown. Modifications of these questions and the adding of further questions can be undertaken according to a company’s individual goals and context. However, this short survey will prove to be an effective guide on how to get started when measuring crucial metrics by addressing several items relevant to growth. If the answer option “Very Disappointed” in question 1 hits a response rate of at least 40%, chances are extremely good that your product has a must-have status. 25% to 40% response rate for that same answer option require some minor modifications to the product or communication. Anything less than 25% of very disappointed respondents requires major modifications to the product or target audience. Whether a must-have level has been achieved within the first question or not, the remaining questions can give good insights on your users’ impression and satisfaction with your product. Question 2 can deliver insights about your chief competitor from you customers’ point of view as well as desirable features and services said competitor offers. Question 3 may point to aspects of your business you should be focusing on to maintain or improve for your customers. Question 4 is the well-known Net Promoter Score to assess your customer satisfaction by means of your recommendation or word-of-mouth potential. Question 5 may help you uncover fitting customer niches to target effectively, and last but not least, question 6 “can identify both glaring issues with the product that make it a nonstarter for broad adoption and opportunities to enhance the product that the company might not have thought of on its own”.* By analysing and evaluating your must-have survey data, you should get a good idea of who your target audience is, what the core value of your product is to this audience and why they are in need of your product. At the same time, your customers are reminded of the quality of your business which reflects in the Aha! experience with your product. Maintaining your growth momentum As has been described in the previous sections, a small amount of market research in the form of a customer must-have survey can ensure a more effective product-market-fit before (!) a complete public launch and hence contribute to more strategic short-term as well as long-term growth. It is, however important to maintain the aforementioned momentum in a highly dynamic and innovative business environment by frequently, e.g., annually, taking a step back to get feedback on the strategic direction you are heading in by those that matter most to you - your customers. *Sean Ellis & Morgan Brown (2017): Hacking Growth; Crown Business, US.

The Growth Strategy Basics

Running and sustaining a business nowadays in an ever-increasingly competitive world is focussed on one core concept that will serve to achieve all company goals - growth. Business growth can encompass company areas such as employee growth, equipment growth, innovation growth, output growth, international growth, customer growth, revenue growth, market share growth. I could go on, but I think you get the gist.

Businesses, especially start-ups, are desperate “to start pushing for growth […] due to demands from taking venture capital or […] because the company needs to prove itself in order to raise capital, or generate revenue”* to survive. However, sustainable business growth requires a relevant company strategy which must not be ignored at the expense of fast and forceful growth initiatives.

A company growth strategy should target not only short-term, but also long-term growth. Ultimately, any growth or strategy is contingent upon an organisation’s product or service and the market or customer it serves, i.e., the product-market-fit which is strongly impacted by the user experience (or UX).

Often companies believe they know with utmost certainty which features or aspects of a product or service their customers will love; however, in most cases they are wrong. This is a core reason for 90% of all start-ups worldwide failing and, thus, going out of business. Fortunately, for larger organisations, this will not lead to survival issues. Nevertheless, deciding on the wrong strategies may also lead to immense financial crises in larger enterprises.

So how do you close this knowledge gap in order to achieve optimal product-market-fit and spark the required growth?

Re-evaluating Product-Market-Fit

Whether a company has just been founded and is in the start-up phase trying to figure out its place in the market and the true value of its product or service for potential customers, or whether a company is an established market player acting in a highly dynamic and competitive surrounding that is driven by constant innovation and new product releases, there is a constant need to re-evaluate a company’s product-market-fit to ensure ongoing business growth.

In order to determine your product-market-fit, the product needs to possess a must-have status, meaning the product requires certain characteristics that a large group of people would love. This group of people is a pool of potential customers to convert.

More specifically, “why is a product must-have and who must have it?". In other words, what is a product’s core value, to which customers, and why?”*

If a product has achieved the aforementioned must-have status, it becomes crucial to dig into user data to identify your product’s Aha! experience which will turn early customers into die-hard fans. The Aha! moment “is the moment that the utility of the product really clicks for the users; when the users really get the core value – what the product is for, why they need it, and what benefit they derive from using it”*, ergo matching the must-have product with the user’s perception and experience of the product’s value.

The question remaining is how to find out whether your product is must-have and ultimately how it conveys the Aha! experience to your customers. Oftentimes, this is a tricky question to answer; however, a “must-have survey”* has been developed which can help address this challenge. This survey will ensure the collection of user feedback on customers’ product experience and evaluation of data for similarities, as well as patterns of how they use the product, i.e., in which way this generates the optimal value for them.

Setting Up a Must-Have Survey

The following survey questions are merely a framework for determining must-have status and the Aha! experience which were developed and successfully tested by Sean Ellis and Morgan Brown. Modifications of these questions and the adding of further questions can be undertaken according to a company’s individual goals and context.

However, this short survey will prove to be an effective guide on how to get started when measuring crucial metrics by addressing several items relevant to growth.
If the answer option “Very Disappointed” in question 1 hits a response rate of at least 40%, chances are extremely good that your product has a must-have status. 25% to 40% response rate for that same answer option require some minor modifications to the product or communication. Anything less than 25% of very disappointed respondents requires major modifications to the product or target audience.

Whether a must-have level has been achieved within the first question or not, the remaining questions can give good insights on your users’ impression and satisfaction with your product.

Question 2 can deliver insights about your chief competitor from you customers’ point of view as well as desirable features and services said competitor offers. Question 3 may point to aspects of your business you should be focusing on to maintain or improve for your customers. Question 4 is the well-known Net Promoter Score to assess your customer satisfaction by means of your recommendation or word-of-mouth potential. Question 5 may help you uncover fitting customer niches to target effectively, and last but not least, question 6 “can identify both glaring issues with the product that make it a nonstarter for broad adoption and opportunities to enhance the product that the company might not have thought of on its own”.*

By analysing and evaluating your must-have survey data, you should get a good idea of who your target audience is, what the core value of your product is to this audience and why they are in need of your product. At the same time, your customers are reminded of the quality of your business which reflects in the Aha! experience with your product.

Maintaining your growth momentum

As has been described in the previous sections, a small amount of market research in the form of a customer must-have survey can ensure a more effective product-market-fit before (!) a complete public launch and hence contribute to more strategic short-term as well as long-term growth.

It is, however important to maintain the aforementioned momentum in a highly dynamic and innovative business environment by frequently, e.g., annually, taking a step back to get feedback on the strategic direction you are heading in by those that matter most to you - your customers.

*Sean Ellis & Morgan Brown (2017): Hacking Growth; Crown Business, US.

Q: When and for what project did you use LimeSurvey the first time?We have started using LimeSurvey back in 2007 (version 1.53). The goal was to connect LimeSurvey to a student management tool used by universities. LimeSurvey allowed students to rate the different courses they attended.Q: When did you start your business?A: May 2009 - we just celebrated our 10th anniversary!Q: Tell us about your company and your team.A: From what I can tell, we are the most experienced LimeSurvey partner with > 1.000 LimeSurvey projects dealt with. We are a very modern company and we can't even state "there are X employees at our office" because our team is spread all over the world. There is a designer in Austria, our software developers are from Germany, Argentina, India, and France, we have survey design experts in India, our JavaScript expert is located in Canada ... so we are a very international team of experts who connect globally for different LimeSurvey projects.Q: Are you or your colleagues active in the LimeSurvey community (forum or Discord chat)?A: Yes, for more than 10 years we are helping users on IRC or in the LimeSurvey forums. Watch out for user name "Mazi".Q: Which services do you offer as LimeSurvey authorized partner?A: Short answer: All services listed on www.limesurvey.com. In addition to that, we are running an online shop on https://survey-consulting.com/shop from where you can download professional LimeSurvey themes. We will soon publish plugins to enhance the power of LimeSurvey.We are also offering an Android app called "OfflineSurveys" for running LimeSurvey surveys offline. Check out www.offlinesurveys.com for more details.Q: Do you offer themes, questionnaires, or plugins in the LimeStore?Yes. We are currently offering some basic themes and plugins for free. Of course, we are developing many more at the moment.Q: Are there any plans for new plugins or services you are going to offer?Definitely! We are planning to release about 10 LimeSurvey plugins this year, as well as 5-6 professional LimeSurvey themes which will come with different theme options that can be easily adjusted according to the needs of the researcher.Q: Which is the most frequent customer request you receive?A: "Help, I accidentally de-activated my survey. Are my responses lost?"… and to answer that question right away: No, they are not!Since that is a support request received quite often, we have written some instructions on "How to restore data from a deactivated LimeSurvey survey" on our website. Q: Do you have a special tip for advanced LimeSurvey users?A: Yes. Even though it is a complex tool, you should read about the "LimeSurvey Expression Manager". It is a very powerful feature we are using a lot, especially for custom reports and doing calculations at survey runtime You can even store the calculated values as answers.Q: Tell us about your most interesting or challenging LimeSurvey project.A: That's a tough question since we have dealt with so many projects. WHO (World Health Organization) always challenges us with huge and complex surveys and there have been various projects which involved complex reporting dashboards. But overall, the most challenging project is the LimeSurvey adaptation we have developed together with "myradiotest" (http://myradiotest.com). They are using LimeSurvey to ask users to rate different songs. Based on that feedback, radio stations all over the world are adjusting their playlists. There are over 100 different radio stations using the tool. More than 1.000 surveys are being conducted every year. The adjusted LimeSurvey software includes a media player being automatically integrated into certain questions. We also created a mobile optimized LimeSurvey theme for this customer, working currently on extending the reporting dashboard offered to their customers. Once a year we are visiting the customer in Vienna to train the staff and discuss new features and future development.Q: What do you like most about LimeSurvey – besides being free, open source, and professional?A: We love the new plugin system and would love to see many more plugin events (they can be provided by any LimeSurvey user!). Same applies to the LimeSurvey API. There are many more things you could do by extending it. From our experience, we can confirm that more and more users have started connecting LimeSurvey to other tools used by their company or organization.Q: Is there anything you would like to see implemented in future releases of LimeSurvey?A: While it is possible to apply conditions for subquestions, we would love to have the possibility to apply conditions to answer options. For example, "List radio" questions would definitely benefit a lot from that.Q: What are you truly passionate about?A: Using new technology to speed up things and to make life easier for everyone. That's why we help improving LimeSurvey every day.

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LimeSurvey 4 RC2 - What Is Left to Be Done?

Our team and community members are working actively on the development of LimeSurvey 4. Last week, version RC2 was relea ...

To download the RC2 of LimeSurvey 4, click here. You can also access the live RC2 release of LimeSurvey 4 here. The new question editor panel A new question editor has been implemented (based on CKEditor 5 and VueJS 2). A script editor has also been added to help users increase the complexity of their surveys by entering JavaScript, HTML or CSS code. In terms of question attributes, you will see only the general ones next to the question and help text boxes. All the other question attributes have been moved below the text boxes, being located next to the subquestion and answer option menus. Together with the live preview feature, users can now see how the edits impact the question design live. Global & group survey settings In LimeSurvey 4 you can edit the survey settings at the global and group level. The participant and publication & access settings, presentation information, and notifications can be easily set up from the global and survey group menu: The inheritance level works in the following way: Global settings -> Survey group settings -> Survey settings Any change done in one of the upper levels will immediately be inherited by the survey as long as the inheritance attribute is activated. New file management system The panel for resource management has been replaced with a file management system that provides a complete overview of the files and folders from your instance. The ability to copy and move files from one place to another has also been implemented. Data encryption Data encryption is a new feature provided in LimeSurvey 4. It has been created to help survey administrators better cope with the new data-protection regulations adopted in different parts of the world (e.g., GDPR or HIPAA). This new capability permits the encryption of personal data located in the central participant database and/or survey participants table. Moreover, you can also encrypt the data you collect from your respondents if the encryption question attribute is enabled. User management panel and user roles The user management panel has been completely redone offering you the possibility to add dummy users, as well as importing/exporting users from other LimeSurvey instances. However, the biggest news is the appearance of roles – now you can simply create roles within your organisations (e.g., students, professors, research), and easily provide user groups the same role, which in turn assigns to each user group the same set of global permissions. What is missing? At the moment, the “question themes” feature is being integrated into the GUI. It will be much easier to add customized questions into your instance - you will be no longer limited to the default question types. In the meantime, we are also working at the development of our LimeStore - a market for plugins, themes, and question themes created by our community members. For more information, access the LimeStore page. Testing and testing! We are getting closer to the release of the first stable version of LimeSurvey 4. To fasten the process, join us in testing RC2 and report the potential issues on our bugs tracker. If you have questions about LimeSurvey 4 or you just simply want to show the gratitude to the community and developers who contributed to this release, join our forum discussion topic here.

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Did you know that you can hire a professional for survey creation or customization? Or for support? Or to generate autom ...

LimeSurvey GmbH is a growing organization that governs the development of the LimeSurvey software. Two types of packages are provided on our platform: LimeSurvey Cloud and LimeSurvey ComfortUpdate. The former provides users a hosted software solution supported by us, while the latter comes with ComfortUpdate, premium plugins, survey templates, and themes. To better understand the difference between LimeSurvey Cloud and LimeSurvey ComfortUpdate, check out our blog post on different hosting solutions for LimeSurvey. However, the growth of our user base increases the number of special requests we receive that cannot always be fulfilled by us. Therefore, we have actively started to expand the services we provide via the creation of a group of service companies that provide a wide range of optional commercial services. These services may include individual support, consulting or training, installation and maintenance of LimeSurvey on your own server, integration of LimeSurvey in your software environment, custom code development, survey creation, and the design of individual themes. Who Are Our Partners? The partners network consist of individual and organizations located all over the globe: Africa, Australia, Asia, Europe, North and South America. Services & Support The services and support provided by our partners cover the following areas: Hosting: If case self-hosting is not for you, and LimeSurvey Cloud does not meet your demands, our partners can accommodate any time your individual LimeSurvey installation. Support: It covers many areas of LimeSurvey such as consulting services, and plugins. To better understand what each partner provides, visit their personal website. Training: While our manual and forum activity is high, sometimes you just need to find out about tricks and workarounds from professionals. That gives you the possibility to outperform your competition when it comes to survey implementation and analysis. Installation: Sometimes, you just wish to self-host your instance on the hosting of your organization. However, due to the existing server configuration of your organization, the installation process of LimeSurvey may need some additional tweaks. Moreover, you may also have to configure it properly in case you work with confidential data. Therefore, the possibility of hiring a professional for configuring web servers should definitely be taken into account. Integration: Automatizing workflows or the integration of LimeSurvey in the platforms used by your organization is a must-have for increased efficiency. After all, the usage of API and scripts may not be for everyone. Customization: LimeSurvey is a flexible software, feature acknowledged by everyone. With direct access to LimeSurvey developers, our partners are always informed about the development of the software, as well as about the features that will be implemented in the upcoming releases. Survey creation: Time is a scarce commodity. Not everyone has time to go through the manual and forum, and learn how to construct a survey. As a result, outsourcing this task may allow you to concentrate on more urgent things. Theme design: An eye-catching survey heavily increases the rate of completeness for your survey. Our professionals are always ready to meticulously work on the survey theme to provide you the best design possible or to create a layout in line with your corporate identity. Finding the Right Partner Now that you have an overview of the different services that can be contracted, you can start looking for the right partner for your organization. To do that, check first the list of partners list of partners from limesurvey.com, and explore the links on the left menu to find your matching partner for the service and country you are looking for. If a partner lives in the same country as you, (s)he will be displayed as featured partner on the same web page, being displayed at the top. As in any other Open Source project, the community continues to represent the most important part of LimeSurvey. However, with the growth of the project and its user base, many requests need to be fulfilled in a timely manner. Therefore, users seeking quick professional help can contact anytime LimeSurvey professionals who are eager to satisfy their project requirements anytime. We will introduce our partners on our blog in the upcoming weeks. In the meantime, you may start contacting them directly or you can write us via the limesurvey.org platform support tracker.