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Getting the most out of audience surveying

Sandra Fields shares her top tips for surveying audiences…

Most of us will recall being handed a piece of paper at the end of a performance or arts activity which we folded neatly, put inside the program or in our pocket and promptly forgot about; or being approached by a person clutching a clip-board, eager to make eye contact while we stare intently at the ‘upcoming events’ poster trying to avoid their harrowed glare – such is the history of audience surveying.

In order to make your survey stand out from the crowd, and get a response rate that gives you a quality data set, you need to start by asking yourself some simple questions.

1. What do I want to know?
2. Why do I want to know it? and
3. How should I go about getting it?

What do I want to know?
A good survey is quick to complete and easy to understand. In developing survey questions think about the data you want at the other end. Is it statistics you need or opinions; or both? And if it is not important or does not add value to your analysis (that is – it’s nice to know) then leave it out. If you are conducting a survey as a mandatory requirement of a funding program make sure your survey provides the responses required as part of your funding. You can also use this as an opportunity to ask your respondents questions that will inform your planning and programing process.

Why do I want to know it?
The data you gather can prove invaluable in informing your planning at an arts event or activity level and is often used by groups to inform planning at the industry level; surveys can also be used to inspire innovation (e.g. a free text question – what would you like to see next?) and engage your community in shaping the future. Some people might say – I don’t want to know, I have to do it… be that as it may, if you are going to do a survey because you have to, you may as well get some benefit out of it for yourself as well!

How should I go about getting it?
Think about the audience that you will be surveying. And tailor your survey tool to that audience. If your respondents have to wait around for a pen, or look for somewhere to lean, or find a stamp and post it back, chances are you won’t get a good response rate. If you are hunting people down in the foyer after a show you will get good responses, but unless you have a number of volunteers to carry it out, your hit rate, or response rate will be low. You could think about who could benefit from volunteering and how you could reward them.

There are also technologies available that allow you to gather survey responses for free (e.g. surveymonkey.com) and using technology can often increase take up rates for completion and streamline data input.

Also think about using ticketing lists if relevant to gather email addresses and use electronic means to distribute and gather survey results.

Some tips!
Give people a reason to complete your survey: Incentives to complete surveys have been used quite widely. Incentives do not have to be grand and expensive gestures – something as simple as a mini chocolate bar for everyone who completes the face to face survey through to going into the draw for tickets to your next production will often elicit responses from people who may not otherwise have completed your survey.

A large number of responses may not mean a representative sample: Effective survey results rely on the diversity of your sample population – for example, make sure you have targeted all of the demographic groups of your audience (gender/ age/ ethnicity). Diversity in the respondents is much more useful than a large number of responses from one demographic group.

Don’t get lost in the data: In analysing the results of your survey remember what you wanted the survey to deliver, and the question you are trying to answer or address. By tailoring your analysis to the initial question, it becomes easier to wade through the responses you have and pick out the data you need and leave the other ‘interesting’ stuff until later.

Technology is your friend: Use technology as much as possible as an affordable way to collect and cut your data. Tools such as Survey Monkey give you easy-to-use survey instruments and present the data in such a way that it is easy to analyse and interpret.

Of course – you can always use an independent third party to work with you to design, undertake and analyse your survey, as an end-to-end process or at any point along the survey path.

Used properly, a survey tool, regardless of its length or delivery method, can be a very powerful voice to help you tell the story about the public value you deliver to your community.

 

Sandra FieldSandra Fields is the Director of Fieldworx. Fieldworx helps organisations, whatever their size, inform their strategy through engagement. Learn more at www.fieldworx.com.au

 

 

 

 

 

Feature image by marxus, courtesy of Free Images.