Who could be the best survey target audience?

If you’re looking for the best survey target audience, the first step is to define it. The respondents that you want to be included in your target audience differ from project to project. A survey target audience is a group of people who you want to have an impact on when you ask them for their opinion. A target audience can be defined in many ways, but the most common is by age, gender, income, and location. Other factors that can be used to define a target audience are behaviours, and preferences, and tastes. 

The target audience for a survey will differ from project to project. For example, if you are conducting a survey about how much people spend on groceries each week, your target audience will likely be limited to those who buy groceries regularly. But if you are conducting a survey about which food items people like best at fast food restaurants, your target audience may be broader since anyone could potentially eat at these restaurants.

Each survey project is different because it often has specific goals or objectives that need to be addressed. These objectives can be addressed through data collection efforts and analysis activities. Learn more about target audiences in our article titled: Everything you need to know about a B2C survey. 

Additionally, you should think about certain questions for your survey project. Who are you surveying? What do they want from your survey? The answer to these questions will make your job much easier when the time comes to find people who will take your survey.

5 tips on how to find the best survey target audience for your survey project

Now that we've looked into who is a survey target audience, let's jump into five tips on how to find the best one for your survey project. First up, it's a good idea to evaluate your target audience for your survey project. Second, you can then decide on who represents the target audience for your company. Third, analyse if the audience is a fair and accurate representation of your survey's response. Fourth, you can then determine when the survey should be administered. Lastly, be prepared to have a back up plan if your survey project goes haywire.

1. Evaluate your audience

• Before you even begin to plan a survey, it's important to evaluate who exactly your target audience is. Get to know the demographics, psychographics, and attitudes of your customers so that when you're designing a customer satisfaction survey, you'll be able to make sure that those specific groups are satisfied with the results.
• Know what motivates them. It's also essential that you know what motivates each specific group of people within an organisation or business. The reason behind this is that they would respond positively when they receive surveys in the future. This can be done by creating an effective incentive program based on whatever goals are being pursued by management at any given time (e.g., increased sales).

Again, keep in mind that each target audience is different for each survey project. Let's understand this with the help of an example. Target audiences can be evaluated in different ways depending on the purpose of the survey. For example, if you are conducting a survey about consumer preferences for a new product, your target audience will be those who might buy the product. If you are conducting an employee satisfaction survey, your target audience will be employees at your company.

2. Determine who represents the survey target audience

Once you've identified the characteristics of your target audience, you should work to make sure that their demographic profile is representative of the general population. For example, let's say that your survey is aimed at people aged 18-35 who live in the USA and earn more than $50k per year. Then, it's likely that those who respond will not be a good representation of the general population. That said, there are ways to increase participation rates by targeting specific groups within this demographic segment:

• target parents with children under five years old living in suburban areas;
• target women who work as accountants or real estate agents; etc.

Note that these are generic suggestions if you're looking to increase the target audience for your survey. However, each survey project is unique and target audiences will also tend to differ based on the project.

3. Assess if the audience is representative of the survey’s purpose

The survey target audience is the group that you are trying to understand, and their responses will reflect the needs of that group. If you are trying to find out about the needs of a particular group, then it’s important that your survey has a representative sample. A good survey will draw on different participants from different backgrounds, so they can give an accurate representation of their needs and wants.

You could also use a survey target audience to make sure that your survey is representative of the general population. For example, say that you want to conduct research into the issues faced by adults with disabilities in Ireland, including age-related barriers such as access limitations or discrimination in employment opportunities. This would require including people who meet these criteria within your sample frame. Additionally, this would allow for an appropriate comparison between how these factors affect those adults (who are likely more vulnerable than others) versus those without such difficulties or disadvantages. Therefore, you would get a better understanding of this issue.

4. Determine when the survey should be conducted

Timing is important in any survey, but it's especially crucial when you're trying to capture the right target audience. Here are some factors to keep in mind as you determine when to conduct your survey:

• The season and holidays. Seasonal trends can have a big impact on the results of your survey. For example, if you are surveying parents about their children's behaviour at school prior to the start of the new year, be sure that you do so during the summer break or around the weekend. For a guide on seasonality, check out Investopedia’s article here.
• Day of week or month of the year. While these don't directly affect how people respond to questions on surveys (i.e., it doesn't matter whether they answer with their left hand instead of their right), they can still play an indirect role in how much or little information respondents provide when completing them. For example, people who are travelling may feel rushed by time constraints which would make them less likely to give detailed answers than those who are just focusing on filling out surveys.

People who are at home may feel more comfortable answering questions honestly than those who are at work or school. If your survey includes personal information (e.g., age, gender, location), be sure that you include a statement about how it will be used. You should also include what benefits (if any) respondents will receive for taking part in it.

Check out Hubspot’s recommendations on the best time to send out surveys here.

5. Partner with a data collection panel

If you’re having trouble finding your target audience, don’t be afraid to have a backup plan. You could use social media or word of mouth to publicise your survey and get the word out about it. If that doesn’t work, you can partner with a data collection panel. A panel would streamline the process of finding the best survey target audience for you. Not only would they help find target audiences, but they would also take over programming and scripting for the survey.

You can usually find people who are willing to take your survey, but finding and defining your target audience is critical

Every survey requires its own unique design and target audience. You can usually find people who are willing to take your survey. However, finding and defining your target audience can be tough. A well-defined audience will help you reach the right people, and make sure that you are asking the right questions in your survey. Understanding how these audiences work is key to creating surveys that meet their needs.

Arguably, the easiest type of target audience to find is the demographic audience. This group has certain characteristics that define them as a group, such as gender, age, and location. These are often the easiest audiences to find because they are readily available through public records and other sources. Learn more about demographics here. 

Niche audiences such as heads of departments or offers in small or mid-sized companies are harder to locate. That's why we specialise in recruiting niche b2b and b2c respondents for all survey projects. To know more, drop us a line at sales@grape-data.com.

Conclusion

When you work with GrapeData, it’s easy to find a survey target audience. You can leave it to our AI and Geolocation tools to narrow down the respondents for you, allowing you to focus on exactly who you want to reach out to. Additionally, there are many ways to advertise your survey online or offline so that your target audience will be able to find it easily and take part in completing it without any issues along the way.