Running a business requires you to have an exceptional grasp of your target market. Customers should always receive the number one priority, especially when it comes to service delivery and offering 24/7 support.
The only way to serve your customers and ensure they are satisfied is to conduct market surveys and hear their side of the story.
Conducting customer surveys helps you understand how customers perceive your brand identity and some of the strategies you can implement to increase profitability.
However, conducting this survey requires you to have a reliable tool that will enable you to collect accurate information from your target market.
The Likert scale is one of the tools that every business owner requires in order to conduct effective surveys that generate accurate data.
Even though a Likert scale may sound like one of the latest tools in the industry, the truth is that most people have already interacted with this type of survey without knowing.
Have you ever been asked how much you agree or disagree with something? This is exactly what the Likert scale does when conducting market surveys.
The tool offers you an effective method of collecting data from your customers, enabling you to step in your customers' shoes.
Likert scales are mostly used to measure feelings, opinions, and attitudes depending on the topic of discussion. The tool is designed to convert qualitative data into quantitative data insights that business owners and marketers can use to make decisions.
The responses generated on the scale are easier to visualize since they speak on behalf of the respondent. Even though conducting a survey is considered easier, the difficult part is to visualize the responses.
This is one of the major aspects that has made a Likert scale a popular option that every business owner needs to conduct effective surveys. Let's look at how the Likert scale works!
What is a Likert Scale?
A Likert scale is used to represent survey responses in a manner that respondents can understand. The scale represents different types of responses regardless of the type of survey conducted by marketers.
In addition, the scale is mostly used to represent responses to close-ended questions. Most of the questions used in this scenario do not require explanations from the respondent.
The data collected using the scale is precise and can be used in decision-making without implementing any other additional techniques. The number of responses outlined on the Likert scale depends on the scale you use to visualize the survey responses.
The scale was first invented by Rensis Likert, an American social scientist. It offers a better method for marketers to measure opinions and perceptions of responses toward their respective brands.
Contrary to binary questions that only give you a couple of answers, the Likert scale gives you access to a wide array of responses you can choose from.
If you are looking for a method that you can use to collect more granular feedback for your survey questions, the Likert scale has everything you need. Most people who utilize this scale are always on the lookout for more information about how the target audience perceives their brand.
Benefits of the Likert Scale
Using the Likert scale when conducting your market surveys comes with added advantages that you can enjoy. Below are the benefits of using the Likert scale responses in a survey.
- Works Better when Questions are Focused on a Specific Topic
When conducting surveys, you need to clearly interpret the areas you need to address. All the series of questions to utilize in a survey should focus on addressing a specific topic.
Conducting a survey with generalized questions will not give you access to the information you need since you will likely miss some important points. Creating questions that address specific topics enables you to collect accurate feedback that you can use to make accurate judgments at the end.
Grouping different questions together makes it difficult for the respondent to open up. When you focus on a specific topic of discussion, the respondent is likely to open up depending on how the question is addressed to them.
As a result, you are likely to get access to valuable information that you can utilize in your decision-making.
- Generates Brief and Accurate Response
Collecting accurate feedback from a target audience is not easier, especially when you do not have a reliable means of data collection. The responses on a Likert scale are brief and direct to the point.
The response generated on the scale does not require further analysis before making the final judgment. Regardless of the type of survey questions used, the responses are always brief and accurate, provided that you targeted the right audience.
Learning more about your customers will help you understand how to present your questions to collect the right feedback.
The Likert scale does not require you to have any technical data analysis skills to elaborate on the data collected. All you have to do is ensure you have all the right questions and address them properly to collect reliable feedback.
It is important for you to conduct thorough research before coming up with survey questions that pinpoint your areas of interest in the best way possible.
- Likert Scale Questions Keep Your Respondents Happy
When your respondents are happy, they are always willing to give accurate feedback. It is important to ensure that you address your customers in the right way in order to collect information that you can use in decision-making.
Most people tend to have the right questions with the right market audience but find it difficult to address them. This is why business owners and marketers need to understand their target audience to determine the areas of interest before addressing them.
The Likert scale helps you avoid some of the most common pitfalls marketers tend to fall into during surveys. You should not use overly broad questions to address your customers since most of them do not have time to think and give accurate feedback.
Overloading your respondents with multiple questions is likely to frustrate them, thus turning down your survey. Some of them may start answering the questions quickly, giving you inaccurate feedback that won't help you in decision-making.
Final Takes
Scaling your survey responses can be difficult if you are new to data analysis. The good news is that there are multiple data visualization tools available that can be of great assistance in ensuring that the feedback you generate is accurate based on your primary objective.
The mode in which you use to deliver your questions to your target market can also impact the accuracy of the data you collect. The Likert scale offers you an impeccable method of data collection when conducting surveys.
Note that there are different types of Likert scales that are used in market surveys. The scales vary from one another and are used depending on the type of data you intend to collect.
The primary objective and the nature of your target audience will help you determine a suitable scale. Provided that you have a basic understanding of your target market and the primary objective of your survey, you stand a chance to collect reliable information.
