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Smart marketers are increasingly using the power of permission-based opt-in marketing as a valuable tool for customer input.

The benefits are numerous. Your customers feel they are being actively engaged for input and that their suggestions about your products and services really does count. The perception is communicated that your company is genuinely responding to customer needs and values continuing input.

Surveys are a powerful customer relations management (CRM) and retention tool. We all know the marketing truism about how expensive it is to replace an existing customer vs. enacting programs and strategies that encourage customer retention. But few companies are actively using the power of permission-based, opt-in email programs to accomplish this all-important goal.

How to Start
The email vendor must be experienced in the strategies and copy techniques that are directly relevant to surveys. Typical email campaign creatives are not always satisfactory in this regard.

It is important to enable survey response in a user-friendly, interactive manner. Rather than emailing clients a link to a web page within a survey, we often email the survey itself within the body of the message. Since some email applications still have problems with forms, we also provide a link to the online version.

In order to get the best response it is important to email surveys within the "interior days of the week" and never Mondays when clients are busy with other things or Fridays when they might be off.

Strengths of Surveys
Since It is less expensive to send questionnaires online than to pay for postage or for interviewers, the medium is especially cost effective. Surveys are also easy to update and modify to accommodate changing market conditions and client interests. The questionnaires can be delivered to recipients in seconds and responses can also be received in a short amount of time.

It is then possible to measure participation levels quickly and to strategize marketing programs based on received input. Response rates on surveys and questionnaires are generally higher than with paper surveys, further enabling this medium to be especially attractive.

Design Considerations
We always consider some key issues when designing a survey, including the anticipated attitude of the recipient, the types of questions on the survey, the cost of the survey and the suitability of questions asked.

We ask our clients to project what the recipient's attitude to the survey will most likely be. We also try to think about how we might feel when approached by a pollster while out or when receiving a phone call from a pollster at home. We think about how easy it is to throw away a questionnaire that you've received in the mail. When developing our surveys, we not only choose the creative method and copy approach we think will work for the research, but also a strategy in which here is confidence.

Real Time Response
VIBEdirect clients seem to appreciate the powerful capabilities that real time tracking provides with our surveys. As data is gathered, progress is monitored with our real-time reports.

Trends can be determined early and quickly as accurate response rates are reviewed. As a result, our clients have the capability to manage the survey more effectively. Our Account Executives can also be consulted with our staff's added, expert I.T. input, so that The Opt In Group survey can be effectively integrated with an existing CRM program for immediate action.

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