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Survey Funnel 101: 3 Steps to Optimizing Your Sales Pipeline

david@shout.com — Thu, 25 Jan 2024 10:27:47 +0000

Survey funnels are essential for businesses seeking to use customer feedback and insights to create more personalized customer experiences.

Below, we’ll be diving into what survey funnels are, how they can benefit your business, and (most importantly) how to get create a survey funnel for your business.

What is a survey funnel?

A survey funnel is the process of playing one or more surveys at key touchpoints throughout the customer journey.

These surveys have one goal, to segment your audience based on the feedback given for the purpose of delivering the most relevant product, service or content.

They can help increase conversions and identify qualified leads in all customer-centric activities, from email marketing to sales.

Difference between a survey funnel and a lead magnet

There’s a fair amount of conflicting information on survey funnels, which we believe creates more confusion than is necessary.

So we’d like to clear the air for you.

The job of a survey funnel is to capture information from leads and website visitors in order to direct them to content that is most relevant to them (personalization).

Lead magnets are useful pieces of content, created with the intention of capturing lead information in exchange for access to that content.

The difference here is in lead intent.

Lead magnets are only capturing leads who have a specific interest in the magnet content itself. They can be effective because they’re targeted, but there’s also a natural limit to how many leads they can generate.

Lead Magnet Funnel

Survey funnels cast a much wider net. They collect data from a more general audience, whilst also segmenting that audience into smaller targeted groups and directing them to personlized content.

Survey Funnel

What are the benefits of a survey funnel?

It’s no secret that understanding your audience is the cornerstone of successful marketing (and sales). Survey funnels provide an opportunity for you to learn everything you need to know about prospects at the earliest touchpoints.

Let’s get into more ways you can benefit below:

Personalized messaging: By understanding customer preferences, you can deliver the most relevant content possible and increase conversion rates.

Real-time feedback loop: Survey funnels collect continuous feedback, meaning you stay informed on your audience and identify changing preferences immediately.

Responsive improvements: Rather than waiting for periodic feedback, you can address concerns and rectify issues as soon as they arise.

Targeted recommendations: Learning as much as you can about potential customers means you can recommend the most relevant product for them, increasing the likelihood that they’d convert.

Reduce friction in the sales process: Collecting feedback on your sales funnel allows you to remove irrelevant steps and optimize those that encourage leads to convert.

Build stronger customer relationships: When customers see changes that were informed by their feedback, their commitment to your brand strengthens. Meaning they’re more loyal, and can become your advocates.

How to create a survey funnel

Before you get started creating a survey funnel, you need to have a rough idea of how you’re going to segment your leads.

One they’ve completed your survey, these lead segments (sometimes referred to as “buckets”) will be delivered personalized content to encourage them to convert.

So, take stock of what this content will be, e.g. whether it’s an email nurturing campaign a product landing page, and factor that into your survey funnel.

Step 1: Create your survey questions

The purpose of survey funnels is to plug any leaks in your lead conversion strategy, and the survey questions you ask should reflect this.

However, we recommend keeping your survey to a maximum of seven questions. Any longer and you’ll start seeing your drop-off rate increase.

Question wording will vary depending on your goals and industry, so instead of giving you exact questions, we’ll recommend what kind of data you’ll want to collect.

Identify pain points (in order to be the solution)

Your priority in this survey should be to identify a problem or challenge (pain points) that leads are experiencing. This will go a long way in helping you tailor content that promotes your product/ service/ offering as a solution to that problem.

This will also be the primary method by which you segment leads into buckets, and determine where they are sent once the survey is completed.

Ask why this problem hasn’t been solved (to help you qualify leads)

When leads are shopping around, it’s important to find out why they haven’t settled on a solution yet. You’ll find these answers often align with questions that qualify leads.

E.g. is there a budgetary restraint? are they looking for a specific feature? are they not being provided the level of support they need?

Not only can these questions help you disqualify leads you can’t convert, they can also highlight the leaks in your competitors’ funnels.

Collect demographic information (the more you know, the richer your data)

Now this step is completely optional, but knowing more about your leads are can really enrich your data.

These questions can cover everything form the industry they work in and their job role, to interests and content preferences.

But, a word of warning. Don’t ask too may of these questions, and only ask what you think will help you boost your conversion rate.

Any respondent is reluctant to hand over too much personal information, especially if they think it isn’t relevant to the task at hand.

Step 2: Use questions to create cluster segments

For the most part, questions that address lead problems and challenges will be used to define your segments.

This is because the content you direct them to will often act as the solution to that problem. Whether this is an email sequence, a product page, or a whitepaper.

You can, of course, use other questions to further inform how leads are segmented. But you’ll begin with those all important pain points.

So, let’s get into a basic example below.

We’ll use a multiple-choice question for this, but there are many other types of questions you can use.

Question: “In terms of [product/ service], what is the biggest problem or challenge you’re facing?”

Answers:

A. No collaboration options
B. Lack of customer support
C. Too difficult to use
D. Hidden costs
E. Rising costs

This is a very simple example, but these answers allow us to infer the value these leads are seeking:

A = Collaboration
B = Accessibility and communication
C = Usability and self-taught use
D = Transparency
E = Value for money

These values can then be used as the basis for our segments, which will inform what content we direct leads to upon completion.

Step 3: Configure your survey exit conditions (outcomes)

Your survey questions have now done their job, which is to segment your audience into specific groups.

And we know, using surveys to segment an audience isn’t breaking any new ground. What’s special about this strategy is what we do next.

Now we need to define an outcome for each of those groups as they exit your survey.

If we follow on from our above example, our outcomes may look a little something like this:

A. No collaboration options –> Team Features Landing Page.
B. Lack of customer support –> Testimonial showcasing your excellent support.
C. Too difficult to use –> Page highlighting the ease of use of your product.
D. Hidden costs –> Pricing page illustrating your transparent pricing.
E. Rising costs –> Discount promotional page.

This example is a little close-ended, but there’s no reason your survey funnel couldn’t lead into a multi-step process, like an email nurturing campaign.

But what we’re trying to illustrate is; we’ve taken a general audience (with many wants and needs) and funnelled them into segments (with shared needs).

Each of those segments is then delivered a targeted piece (or series) of content, which is far more likely to encourage conversions.

Choosing the right survey software

Rather than suggest different survey software providers, we thought it best to tell you what features will help turn your funnel into a highly-converting machine.

So, let’s get into some of those below:

Exit page redirect

Redirect respondents to an external URL upon completion of your survey.

An absolutely essential feature if you need to send leads to a landing page once their response is submitted.

Question logic

Question logic allows you to create custom paths through your survey based on answer choices.

Another crucial feature, especially if you want segments to be based on multiple answers throughout your survey funnel.

Text piping (answer piping)

Pass text into questions, answers, and other survey fields.

Text piping allows you to pass lead information (such as names) into your survey, making questions and answers feel much more relevant. You can also use this feature to pass chosen answers into following question or answer fields.

Website embed

Embed your survey on a web page or inside a popup.

A must have feature if you want to capture data from website visitors. A fantastic setup for this use case would be to have your survey pop up after visitors spend a set time on your homepage.

Email invitations

Send bespoke email invitations for your survey funnel.

Email invitations allow you to retarget a previously engaged audience. Sending to an existing email list also means you don’t have to collect contact information in your survey funnel, which can increase response rates.

There are many more features we could include, but if we did, we’d be here all day. But, it’s worth noting that all these features are available with Shout ;).

Wrapping up

If you’re looking for a way to increase your conversion rate, creating a survey funnel is one of the best ways of doing so.

Not only can you learn more about your audience, you can deliver personalized content, build relationships, and boost sales.

If you think we’ve missed anything at all, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us.

The post Survey Funnel 101: 3 Steps to Optimizing Your Sales Pipeline appeared first on Shout.com.

9 Strategies to Improve Employee Performance

david@shout.com — Wed, 03 Jan 2024 15:38:20 +0000

Regardless of how talented and experienced your team is, there is always room for improvement in optimizing employee performance. Work overload, work-related burnout, team conflicts and toxic environments can heavily influence individual performance.

50% of workers claimed to be highly stressed out at their jobs on a daily basis. Stress is a factor that definitely impacts employee performance and doesn’t allow them to reach their full potential.

However, there are plenty of practices you can follow for overcoming these challenges. Let’s dive deeper into learning more about them.

1. Encourage your employees to take accountability

Taking ownership means being responsible for the work you do while aiming for self-development and ensuring that you are taking the organization towards success.

Whenever you motivate employees to take accountability of their work, you create an environment that allows each worker to know how much their actions and decisions impact the organization.

If you want each of your workers to hold accountability for their actions, you need to follow these steps:

Use the SMART approach for your employees goals. This allows them to set their goals by being Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound.
Conduct one-on-one meetings to address all professional challenges of your team. Allow your team members to learn new skills that align with their goals and interests. This not only improves the bond between your team and the organization, but gives them a motivational boost.
Avoid micromanaging your team, especially your remote workforce. Keep in mind that tracking your team’s performance is important. Use tools that allow your team to track their most productive work hours, so they know when their peak performance is reached.

Especially if your team is working remotely, it’s important to never stress them out and let them do their own thing.

2. Create an employee handbook

An Employee Handbook is a document that specifies all procedures and policies your business withholds. This document in a short overview that defines your organization’s culture. It’s important that you include all of the important information in one place.

Sometimes, it may seem challenging to prepare one document that talks about your organization’s culture and the working conditions. You can use employee handbook templates to help you save time, without needing to start from scratch.

The key elements of an employee handbook include:

The company’s culture and value: Make sure that the mission, vision, and values of your business are aligning with the employees work ethic.
Legal Policy Framework: Address internal policies and legal requirements, ensuring that you remain compliant and employees have a clear understanding of workplace norms.
Work-life balance strategies: Show employees holiday schedules, leave policies, their work hours, and how your organization supports a work-life balance.
Development opportunities: Highlight training, performance reviews, and encourage career progression and growth.

Employee handbooks are great for creating a fair and consistent working environment for all employees, protecting legal interests of businesses simultaneously.

Team collaboration and knowledge sharing are powerful tools that an organization can use to foster growth and unlock employee potential in the long-term.

This involves incorporating professional insights, experiences, and expertise to team members for building a collaborative work culture.

Not only does this strengthen relationships between teams, but also improves team engagement. Moreover, here are a few tactics you can use for promoting collaboration and knowledge sharing within your team:

Encourage meetings with your employees, where they can share insights on new ideas they may have or best practices.
Promote an open communication culture that creates a safe space for your teammates to share ideas and express their personal opinions with senior managers. This might motivate the team to excel in performance.
Encourage knowledge-sharing and collaboration practices for your company’s work policies. This promotes a collaborative work culture.
Encourage teamwork from different departments to share expertise with one another. Cross-functional team environments promote skill and knowledge sharing.

Strengthening relationships between team members is important. Therefore, knowledge sharing and collaboration between departments is the way to do so.

4. Set up rewards programs

Rewarding your employees for a job well done has a long-lasting impact. Statistics show that employee performance and engagement rates are 14% higher in organizations with recognition programs than those without them.

Nevertheless, it can reduce employee turnover rates and accelerate revenue generation in the long-term. Even if you were to casually work at a job, you wouldn’t be too happy if the organization was showing a lack of appreciation for your hard work.

Therefore, it’s important to reward employees and make them feel valued about everything they are doing. In short, it’s important to consider the following:

Meet together to celebrate individual milestones with each team member.
Give out shout outs via email for employee efforts.
Provide bonuses that may include promotions, monetary benefits, or something else your organization can offer.

Every reward doesn’t have to be monetary. Showing appreciation is more than anything and can significantly influence how employees feel.

You want your team members to give their best, and this can never happen when you are constantly on their head.

5. Perform employee performance reviews

Giving out performance reviews might just be another effective way for your team to exceed expectations. Whenever you give constant feedback on what employees can improve, this motivates them to do better.

Statistics show that 94% of organizations claim that their review process needs work.

It’s always important to have a clear roadmap of accomplishing your goals. The outcome will always be a good one and make sure that it improves employee trust, morale, and performance.

Moreover, here are a few important tips you can follow:

Decide performance review frequencies and schedule meetings based on each employees specific agendas
Collect feedback from seniors in the team regarding employee performance, milestones reached or that need to be achieved, and all weak areas that need improvement.
Make sure that all team members are present in the meeting for guiding teammates on work-related technicalities, challenges, and more. During performance reviews, you can also encourage team members to learn new skills on work based on the feedback they need.

There are plenty of performance review tools you can use and most of them allow you track employee progress and conduct frequent reviews.

Moreover, you can create personalized review templates for each employee based on their assigned roles, responsibilities, department, and more.

6. Implement flexible working schedules

Time zone differences can actually affect real-time collaboration and communication. Employers can always implement a flexible working schedule.

Especially if you are working remotely, this is highly required. In fact, the latest statistics show that nearly 30% of the workforce is remaining remote.

Managers can use different communication and collaboration tools for allowing interactions and make sure that employees from different time zones have equal opportunities for contributing towards the same goals.

The world is becoming remote, and most of the jobs that require you to be present are also implementing flexible working schedules.

7. Promote fairness and equality

If there’s one thing you want to promote in your organization, it’s that everyone should respect different cultural contexts. It’s great to establish transparent performance assessment criteria that apply to all regions.

There should be no biased opinions in performance evaluation. Especially if your team is international, this is something you should pay more attention to.

Not treating everyone the same can result in long-term effects and significantly demotivate the team’s performance levels.

8. Be open to feedback

Collecting feedback from employees is important for unlocking full employee potential, especially if actionable advice is provided. Here are some points to pain attention to when it comes to receiving criticism:

Employee Engagement Survey | Created with Shout.com

Remain flexible and avoid staying defensive. Conduct employee feedback surveys to learn more about what your team needs in case they can’t say it directly.
Request clarifications. Asking clarifying questions is always important in case you have any doubts and concerns on how you can make something better.
Pay close attention to actions, and not words. The most concerning part should be the way someone behaves during working hours.
After you receive feedback, the best thing you can do is to take action instantly.

Feedback is important if you want your organization to go a step further. What’s essential is to take action instantly once you receive the feedback.

This is the only way to show your team that you care and that you’re there for them when needed.

9. Have an employee-centric approach

Putting your employees at the center of your performance management is another excellent practice you can encourage.

It involves recognizing individual strengths, acknowledging growth potential, and providing development opportunities.

Treating your employees as valuable assets and empowering them to do better is what cultivates a great working culture, promotes a high engagement level, and brings innovation to your organization.

About the author

Tony Ademi is a freelance SEO content and copywriter. For roughly four years, Tony has managed to write more than 500 SEO-optimized articles and most of them have ranked #1 on Google. When writing, Tony’s main focus is to carefully do research and make sure that his content is high-quality.

The post 9 Strategies to Improve Employee Performance appeared first on Shout.com.

Email Surveys 101: The Guide to Success

david@shout.com — Thu, 21 Dec 2023 15:55:28 +0000

Emails have always been an effective channel of communication for brands to connect with their customers.

The objective of an email campaign may vary from promoting new products or services to sharing important business news or valuable content.

Also, email marketing is a great choice for marketers and business owners who want to gather feedback from their customers.

Email surveys can be a game-changer for your marketing efforts, allowing you to target broader audiences and collect critical insights to optimize different parts of your marketing strategy. Let’s discover how!

What are email surveys and why should you use them?

Email surveys are questionnaires businesses incorporate into their emails to collect valuable feedback from their subscribers.

They could serve different purposes, such as collecting product feedback, tracking your customer team’s performance, and measuring user experience.

You can even use them to learn about why visitors abandon their carts or why recipients choose to unsubscribe from your email list.

No matter the specific objective, it’s a bulletproof method to improve your strategy and enhance customer satisfaction.

But it’s time to get more specific about the advantages of incorporating surveys in your emails:

Quick data collection. Email surveys offer brands quick access to a diverse range of customer data. The responses come in almost immediately, enabling you to dive into timely analysis and data-driven decisions.
Convenient to use. Creating email surveys and dispatching them to your recipients is only a matter of a few clicks. It’s also a simple and straightforward process for your subscribers to fill in at their convenience, thus making it a win-win situation.
Reduced cost. A great advantage of email surveys is that they involve a very small cost. You can find a variety of free and low cost survey solutions in the market to create a dedicated survey based on your unique needs.
Personalization options. Email surveys come with many personalization options to target recipients with tailored content. From adding their name to leveraging their purchase history, you can craft customized surveys that bring back an increased response rate.

7 Tactics to get the most out of email surveys

We’ve gone through why you should use email surveys in your email marketing. But how will you ensure that every email survey you send counts?

To help you out, we gathered the best tactics to urge subscribers to open your survey emails and participate.

1. Write engaging and clear email subject lines

As all email marketers will tell you, everything starts with your email subject line. If you want high email survey response rates, you have to increase your email open rates. And what is the number one prerequisite for people opening your emails?

You guessed that right, your email subject line. Well-written subject lines create great first impressions and entice readers to open the email and take the survey.

You may wonder how you will know that your email subject lines are the best you can come with. First of all, robust newsletter apps give you all the necessary tools to A/B test your subject lines by sending two email versions to different segments of your audience and check which performed better.

Moreover, some email marketing solutions, like Moosend, even come with an AI-powered email subject line tester. Such a tool facilitates creating strong subject lines by gathering data from a variety of sources and thousands of email campaigns.

But let’s go through some other tried and tested tactics to create effective subject lines:

Make it clear. Your subject line should convey the purpose of your survey email in just a few words. It always works to include the actual words, such as survey or feedback, for readers to know exactly what the required action is.
Include an incentive. If your survey email comes with an incentive (more on that later), your subject line should highlight it. Knowing there’s something in for them will give them motivation enough to take action.
Use the first question. Consider adding the first question of your email survey to your subject line. This is a great way to warm your recipients up and directly engage them in a conversation, resulting in increased completion rates.
Get creative. As with every email, adding some creativity in your subject lines is key for subscribers to open them. Include relevant and fun emojis, throw in some humor when appropriate, or bring out your audience’s pain points.

2. Show each subscriber that you value their feedback

You may send your email surveys to a large percentage of your email list – perhaps even all of them. However, each subscriber should feel that they were specifically selected to conduct the survey and that their individual opinion makes a difference to you.

How can you achieve that? Personalization is the secret sauce to create a sense of importance and convince your audience to participate.

Segment your recipients into different groups and dispatch relevant surveys according to the segmentation criteria you’ve set. From customizing your email content to adding personalized elements like images or videos, personalizing your survey emails increases recipient engagement.

Also, it’s imperative that your email survey questions are adjusted to each recipient’s behavior, actions, and level of awareness with your brand. For instance, applying the skip logic makes survey completion feel more relevant to each reader. Some survey tools allow you to show specific questions to respondents based on their previous answers.

For instance, if you reach out to collect feedback on a negative experience on your website, including customized content indicates that you value their opinion and care to do better. Especially when addressing concerns, approaching the issue on a one-to-one basis is essential.

In addition to that, make sure readers understand that you read their feedback and will take the necessary steps to improve. Don’t neglect to send a follow-up email to share the survey results and what your next actions will be based on the insights gained.

3. Keep your surveys short, concise, and well-structured

We can take one thing for granted: recipients have a short attention span and a plethora of marketing emails to read. As you can tell, making them fill out long surveys might result in abandoning the process.

So, your email surveys should be brief, concise, and centered around specific questions. EmployIng relevant questions aligned with your survey objectives goes a long way in getting high response rates and helpful feedback.

Don’t go overboard with multiple questions or asking insignificant questions. Making it as easy and quick as possible for subscribers to complete your survey is key to boosting your completion rate.

But if you absolutely need to add multiple questions, turn them into multiple-choice questions or use drop-down menus to facilitate the process. Also, your questions should be concise and easy to understand. Therefore, invest in clear and impactful wording instead of technical jargon that will tire users out.

Last but not least, it’s important to create email surveys that are easy to skim and visually appealing.

Choose clear and consistent formatting, offer participants straightforward instructions on how to complete the survey, and consider adding compelling visuals to create an even more engaging survey experience.

4. Optimize your sending time and frequency

Sending your emails at the right time is among the best-performing email practices, no matter the email purpose.

So, taking all the above into account will take you nowhere if you send your email survey at the wrong time. The right sending time ensures that your recipients will take the time to complete it.

Best email survey sending times may vary depending on your industry, survey type, or specific objective. Let’s say that you want to use your email survey to get feedback on a new product or service.

It makes sense to send your email survey soon enough for your customers to remember their experience, but not too soon because they probably won’t have spent enough time using it and will end up ignoring your email.

But the best way to nail your sending time is to test sending your email surveys at different times. This will help you discover the best-performing ones according to your audience’s habits and preferences and trace patterns that work. Also, don’t forget to test the frequency of your email surveys.

Overdoing it with this type of email campaign could lead to respondent fatigue and decreased completion rates.

As a general rule, it’s better to trigger surveys after specific user actions, like someone purchasing a product or watching a webinar. Or, if you need regular and comprehensive feedback, consider leveraging annually or quarterly email surveys.

5. Optimize for mobile

Even if you’re an entry-level marketer, you must know that the vast majority of your audience opens their emails on mobile devices.

Therefore, it’s imperative that you provide an optimized mobile experience for all users to view every element of your emails. Poor mobile experience is among the first reasons behind users with smaller screens abandoning emails.

• 85% of users use smartphones to access email. (Adobe)
• Mobile accounted for 42% of all email opens in 2019. (Litmus)
• The ratio between received and sent emails is 3:1. (Radicati)
• 47% of consumers use a mobile application for checking their email. (Campaign Monitor)

Source: 99Firms

Using mobile-friendly survey designs is essential to improve your response rate. Even better, invest in a survey tool that comes with responsive survey templates that allow you to create and share mobile-optimized surveys.

This way, your email surveys will render well on every device, ensuring that all users share an equal experience when offering their feedback.

6. Offer incentives to your respondents

More often than not, consumers wonder what’s in it for them when coming across a request to provide feedback. After all, they give your business part of their time, so it’s only natural that they ask for something in return.

When you create a survey email, make sure to highlight what they will gain if they participate in your survey. There’s no better way to do so than adding the incentive to your subject line for readers to have enough motivation to open your email.

Many business owners fear that offering incentives translates into spending a fortune but that’s not the case. It might be something as simple as exclusive content, free online courses, product samples, or free shipping coupons.

Such incentives are usually all it takes to grab recipients’ attention and enable higher completion rates. In case your survey requires more time than usual, consider offering a more valuable incentive such as a generous discount for their next purchase, a gift card, or access to premium trials.

7. Test and optimize your email surveys

Regardless of how well you know your audience, you can never be sure what resonates with them every time.

To take the guesswork out of your email surveys, it’s important to dispatch them to a small group of your subscribers first to detect and fix potential issues.

Also, running A/B tests will help you determine which components bring the best results and incorporate them in your strategy. You can try out variations and experiment with different incentives, number of fields, or question types.

After measuring the results, you can tell what works and where there’s room for improvement. This process, along with customer feedback, will give you all the insights required to optimize your email surveys over time.

Final words

Creating and sending email surveys to your target audience should be an integral part of your overall marketing strategy.

Asking for your recipients’ feedback helps you connect with your customers and get a deeper understanding of their needs and preferences.

By following these guidelines, you will get the most out of your email surveys, using them to inform your business decisions and provide your customers with memorable experiences.

About the author

Maria Fintanidou works as a copywriter for email marketing automation software Moosend, having created the Help Articles (FAQs) and overseen the platform’s translations in Greek and Spanish. She loves exploring new cultures and ways of thinking through traveling, reading, and language learning.

The post Email Surveys 101: The Guide to Success appeared first on Shout.com.

How to Ask for the Sale Without Being Pushy

david@shout.com — Tue, 21 Nov 2023 15:32:10 +0000

In the intricate dance of sales, the line between persuasion and pushiness can be razor-thin.

This article delves into the strategies and techniques that can transform the sales process into a collaborative exchange, where customers feel empowered rather than pressured.

So, let’s get started with answering how to get the sale without being pushy.

Starting with…

1. Build a strong foundation

Understand who your customers are

A successful salesperson knows that the foundation is laid in a solid understanding of your customer.

This understanding goes beyond mere demographics; it delves into the nuanced realm of needs and preferences.

Create Buyer Personas To Better Understand Customers

Recognizing the unique challenges, aspirations, and pain points of your potential client positions you not as a mere seller but as a solution provider.

Methods for collecting information

Before embarking on your sales pitch, invest time in comprehensive research. Sales professionals can leverage social media, customer reviews, and market trends to paint a detailed portrait of your prospective buyer.

Engage in conversations, online and offline, to unearth insights into their motivations and concerns.

The goal is to tailor your approach, ensuring that your product or service aligns seamlessly with their needs.

Establish trust with customers

Trust is the currency of successful sales, and establishing it begins with building a genuine connection.

Customers are not just seeking products; they’re seeking long-term support in exchange for their purchase. Therefore, the significance of authentic rapport cannot be overstated.

How to build trust with customers

Active listening emerges as a cornerstone in fostering trust. Demonstrate a sincere interest in what your customer has to say, allowing them to express their needs.

Beyond listening, find common ground. Whether it’s a shared experience, a mutual acquaintance, or a similar professional background, these commonalities create a bridge, fostering a sense of connection.

2. Master the art of persuasion

Focus on value, rather than price

Selling on price alone often commoditizes your offering, positioning it as interchangeable with your competitors.

On the contrary, selling on value involves communicating the unique benefits and advantages that set your product or service apart.

This approach not only justifies the cost but transforms the purchasing decision into an investment in quality and satisfaction.

How to demonstrate value to customers

To convey value effectively, focus on the outcomes and experiences your product delivers.

For instance, instead of merely stating the specifications of a camera, highlight how its advanced features capture moments with unparalleled clarity, turning ordinary memories into cherished masterpieces.

Draw attention to the long-term benefits, whether they be time saved, enhanced productivity, or an improved quality of life.

Highlight benefits, not features

While features describe what a product or service does, benefits demonstrate how it directly solves a problem or fulfils a need for customers.

By highlighting benefits, you eliminate the friction of customers trying to figure out how your product solves their problems.

Instead you connect the dots for them, which is a hell of a lot more persuasive than a list of contextless features.

How to frame features as benefits

Imagine that you’re selling a software with robust analytics features, then emphasize how these analytics empower the customer to make data-driven decisions swiftly, enhancing efficiency and driving business growth.

By translating features into tangible benefits, you bridge the gap between what your product does and why it matters to the customer.

Testimonials, case studies, and endorsements wield a unique power—they provide a real-world narrative of your product or service in action.

Testimonials from satisfied customers serve as personal endorsements, offering a glimpse into the positive experiences others have had.

Collect Testimonials To Build trust

Meanwhile, detailed case studies delve into the challenges faced by customers and how your offering provided a solution.

Endorsements from industry influencers or recognized authorities shows leads you have a successful track record.

So, if you’re asking yourself how to make the sale without being pushy, proof of a great track record can be your answer.

Display them prominently on your website, in marketing materials, or during presentations.

The collective voice of satisfied customers becomes a chorus of credibility, resonating far beyond the confines of your sales pitch.

As a result, social proof becomes a cornerstone in the art of persuasion, turning skeptics into believers and casual interest into confident commitments.

3. The soft close

Ask open-ended questions

Unlike closed-ended questions that elicit simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’ responses, open-ended questions invite customers to share their thoughts, concerns, and desires in a more expansive manner.

Examples of open-ended questions

Can you share more about the specific goals you’re aiming to achieve with our product/service?
What challenges are you currently facing in your [industry/business] that you hope our solution can address?
How do you envision our product fitting into your existing workflow?

By encouraging customers to elaborate on their requirements, open-ended questions lay the groundwork for a more personalized sales strategy.

Subtly trial closes throughout your conversation

Instead of waiting until the end of the pitch to ask for a sale, trial closes are subtle checkpoints that allow you to assess the customer’s receptiveness throughout the conversation.

They provide an opportunity for the customer to express any reservations or concerns early on, allowing you to address them promptly (which is a win-win).

Simultaneously, they gently nudge the customer towards considering the idea of making a purchase, paving the way for a smoother transition when the actual closing moment arrives.

Examples of trial closes

Based on what we’ve discussed so far, can you see how our product/service might benefit your [specific need]?
How does our solution align with your expectations for [desired outcome]?
If we were able to address [customer’s primary concern], would you be ready to move forward?

4. Respectful persistence

Follow-up strategically

This is likely the most important steps in learning how to ask for the sale without being pushy.

One of the biggest turn-offs for leads is them feeling you’re in a rush to close the deal. Instinctively, they’ll want to wait until they’re ready to buy without being hounded.

Effective follow-up is a delicate balance between maintaining engagement and respecting the customer’s space.

It reinforces your commitment to their needs while avoiding the pitfalls of persistence that may be perceived as pushy.

A well-timed and thoughtful follow-up demonstrates dedication and can be the catalyst for converting a lead into a loyal customer.

Tips on follow up timing and methods

Personalize Timing: Consider the nature of your product or service and the customer’s buying cycle. Tailor your follow-up to align with these considerations, avoiding generic timelines.
Vary Communication Channels: Mix up your communication channels to cater to individual preferences. Whether it’s a personalized email, a brief phone call, or even a thoughtful message on LinkedIn, diversifying your approach ensures a more engaging interaction.

Offer options, not ultimatums

By offering choices, you empower the customer in the decision-making process, allowing them to align their preferences with the solutions you provide.

This sense of control not only fosters a positive experience but also increases the likelihood of closing a sale.

Also, if a customer expresses reservations one option, you’re able to navigate around those concerns by offering an alternative.

Examples of offering options

Plan A focuses on [specific features], whilst Plan B focuses on [different features].
Standard delivery or Express delivery for a faster turnaround.
Monthly, quarterly or annual payment plans.

Offering options to leads makes the sales process more collaborative, and ensures that they feel accomodated.

You can also couple this with a sense of urgency, say a timed discount on one of the options which may make it more alluring.

Wrapping up: How to ask for the sale without being pushy

So, we’re hoping we’ve given you some great insight on how to ask for the sale without being pushy.

Respectful persistence, manifested through strategic follow-up and the presentation of options, ensures a lasting connection with diverse buyer personas.

Remember, the journey from pitch to purchase is not a solitary event but a dynamic relationship.

As you embark on your sales endeavors, let empathy guide your approach, turning each interaction into a meaningful step toward mutual success.

The post How to Ask for the Sale Without Being Pushy appeared first on Shout.com.

25 Hotel Survey Questions to Improve Guest Satisfaction

david@shout.com — Tue, 07 Nov 2023 10:47:05 +0000

Conducting surveys in the hotel industry is invaluable for gaining insights into guest experiences and improving guest satisfaction.

In this article, we’ll provide a range of hotel survey questions to help you gather valuable feedback from your guests.

What are hotel guest surveys?

Hotel guest surveys are the secret sauce of the hospitality industry, the behind-the-scenes magic that turns a good hotel into a great one.

Imagine a tool that lets you peek into the minds of your guests, discovering their likes and dislikes, all while sipping a cup of coffee in the comfort of your office.

They can help you achieve important goals for your hotel:

Gauge and enhance guest satisfaction
Identify areas for improvement
Personalize guest experiences
Enhance customer services
Monitor patterns and trends
Build guest loyalty

In essence, hotel guest surveys allow you to shape your services and experiences to create a win-win situation for both your guests and your business.

Hotel survey questions

To help give you an idea of the kind of hotel survey questions you should be asking guests, here are some general examples:

How would you rate your overall experience staying at our hotel?
What aspects of our hotel services could we improve?
Please rate the cleanliness of your hotel room.
How would you rate our food and beverage offerings?
Were you satisfied with the reservation process?
How likely are you to recommend our hotel to a friend or colleague?
Did you experience any issues during the check-out process?
If you had any specific requests during your stay, were they adequately accommodated by our staff?
Please rate the quality of food and beverages offered at our hotel.
Were there any specific aspects of your stay that exceeded your expectations?

Questions to learn more about your guests

These hotel survey questions provide insights into why guests choose your hotel, their preferences, and how they found you.

What was the primary purpose of your stay at our hotel?
How did you hear about our hotel and decide to book with us?
What are your preferred amenities or services when choosing a hotel for your stay?
What factors influenced your decision to choose our hotel over others in the area?
Would you be interested in receiving occasional email updates and exclusive offers from our hotel in the future?

Hotel amenities questions

We know that every hotel is different, so you’ll have different amenities available to guests. But, simply chop and change what amenities you provide into the below questions.

Which of the following hotel amenities did you use during your stay? (list amenities)
How satisfied were you with the availability and quality of our fitness center and its equipment?
How would you rate your experience with our on-site restaurant’s food and service?
Did you have the opportunity to use our spa facilities or services during your stay?
Were you satisfied with the availability and speed of our Wi-Fi?

Customer service and staff interaction questions

Hotel staff are on the front line of ensuring excellent customer satisfaction. So, it’s important you have questions dedicated to how your staff interact with guests.

How would you rate the courtesy and friendliness of our staff during your stay?
Were there any specific staff members who stood out for their exceptional service? If so, please provide their names and share your experience with them.
Did the staff respond promptly and effectively to your requests or concerns during your stay?
Please share any comments about our staff’s performance.
How satisfied were you with the overall customer service experience at our hotel?

How do you ask ask guests for feedback in the hotel industry?

There are a multitude of ways you can ask for feedback from hotel guests, including:

Post-stay email surveys

One common approach is to send email surveys to guests shortly after their stay. Using an online survey maker gives you a great deal of control over the design and branding of your guest survey.

The other benefit is that all the data is compiled for you in digital reports, where (depending on the provider you choose) tools for analysing data.

With Shout, you can upload your contacts to our integrated CRM, create email invitations, and even send reminders to those yet to respond.

You’ll have full control over designs, choose between traditional and conversational surveys, and access to filtering and comparison tools in your survey reports.

QR codes

Placing QR codes in prominent locations, such as reception desks, guest rooms, or restaurant menus, is a convenient way to encourage guests to provide feedback.

When scanned with a smartphone, the QR code can direct guests to an online survey where they can share their thoughts. This method leverages technology and makes it easy for guests to participate.

Paper surveys

Traditional paper surveys are still used in some hotels. These surveys can be placed in guest rooms, handed out at the front desk, or left in common areas.

While less common in the digital age, some guests may prefer the tactile experience of filling out a physical survey.

Tablet or kiosk surveys

Some hotels have introduced tablets or kiosks in common areas where guests can complete surveys on the spot.

These interactive surveys can capture immediate feedback while it’s still fresh in the guest’s mind.

In-person interviews

For more in-depth feedback, especially for special occasions or events, hotels may conduct in-person interviews with guests during their stay. This approach can provide rich qualitative data but may be more resource-intensive.

To maximize the effectiveness of these methods, it’s important to keep surveys concise, user-friendly, and mobile-responsive.

Additionally, it’s crucial to assure guests that their feedback will be used to improve the quality of their future stays.

Wrapping up: Hotel survey questions to improve guest satisfaction

Collecting guest feedback with hotel survey questions is the cornerstone of elevating the hospitality industry.

By leveraging a variety of survey methods, including online surveys, hotels can tap into valuable insights.

These insights not only enhance the guest experience but also empower hotels to continually refine their services, exceed expectations, and build lasting guest loyalty.

With feedback channels ranging from email surveys to QR codes, hotels can adapt and improve in a rapidly changing world, ultimately ensuring memorable and satisfying stays for every guest.

The post 25 Hotel Survey Questions to Improve Guest Satisfaction appeared first on Shout.com.

7 Best Online Calculator Builders

david@shout.com — Mon, 30 Oct 2023 11:08:14 +0000

The best online calculator builders will help you boost engagement, increase traffic, and generate leads for your business.

In this article, we’ll delve into our curated list of the top tools for creating custom calculators in 2023.

1. Shout.com

Shout has introduced a state-of-the-art online calculator builder that places no limitations on impressions or submissions. Generate leads, quote prices, and engage your audience without worrying about arbitrary limitations.

Shout’s software is completely code-free, meaning you don’t have to be a developer to create interactive calculators.

You can also collect feedback with surveys, collect leads with forms, and perform assessments with quizzes.

Features

WYSIWYG editor: Watch your calculator come to life in real-time, giving you a glimpse of participants’ perspective as you create.

Import your own datasets: Reference preexisting data in your formulas and use them to influence calculations with an Excel-style table.

Custom scoring: Assign positive and negative values to answer options to be factored into final calculations.

Basic and advanced operators: Use basic math operators like +, -, *, / and () to build formulas as well as more advanced functions like IF statements, sin, cos and tan.

Conditional messages: Create personalized messages to trigger when conditional parameters are met.

Embeds & popups: Embed calculators on your website or have them popup or slide out at the click of a button.

Email gating: Require contact information, such as names and email addresses, before showing results.

Multi-step calculators: Split your fields across multiple pages to create a step-by-step calculator.

Integrated CRM: Save lead details directly to Shout’s CRM, collect consent, and group contacts based on your lawful basis for processing data.

Brand control: Add your logo, customize styles, remove Shout branding, and use a custom domain & link.

Redirect on submission: Redirect participants to a website or landing page upon submission.

Collaboration: Share calculators with your Shout team and collaborate on building and data analysis.

Pricing

Free Trial: 14 day free trial with all the features of the Pro plan.

20 submissions.
5000 email invitations.

Pro Plan: $25 per month (paid annually).

Unlimited submissions and impressions.
5000 email invitations.
3 users.
3 live calculators.
Unlimited surveys, quizzes and forms.

Business Plan: £59 per month (paid annually).

Unlimited submissions and impressions.
7000 email invitations.
5 users.
3 live calculators.
Unlimited surveys quizzes and forms.

2. Outgrow

Ourgrow is one of the most popular online calculator builders, providing no-code tools for acquiring qualified leads.

They’re well known for templates that’re pre-optimized for collecting leads and boosting engagement.

Features

Responsive designs: Calculators are responsive on desktops, tablets and mobiles.

Layouts and templates: Select from a range of styles and templates.

Embeds: Embed your calculator anywhere.

Formula and logic jumps: Conditional messages, CTAs, and outcome mapping.

Analytics and tracking: Facebook and Google Analytics tracking codes.

Welcome pages: Design a custom welcome page for visitors.

Pricing

Freelancer: $14 per month (paid annually)

3000 submissions per year.
5 content types (quiz, assessment, poll, calculator, form & survey).
1 user.

Freelancer Pro: $25 per month (paid annually)

12,000 submissions per year.
7 content types (quiz, assessment, poll, calculator, form & survey, eCommerce recommendation, giveaway).
1 user.

Essentials: $95 per month (paid annually)

90,000 submissions per year.
8 content types (quiz, assessment, poll, calculator, form & survey, eCommerce recommendation, giveaway, chatbot).
3 users.

Business: $600 per month (paid annually)

600,000 submissions per year.
8 content types (quiz, assessment, poll, calculator, form & survey, eCommerce recommendation, giveaway, chatbot).
10 users.

3. Involve.me

Involve.me is tool for creating interactive content that can be integrated in your sales funnel. Their products aim to create personalized interactions that improve user engagement and experiences to help turn your audience into customers.

Features

Design and templates: Customize global, page and content element designs to align with your brand guidelines.

Multiple outcomes: Show different exit pages and CTAs based on participant answers.

Logic jumps: Allow respondents to skip irrelevant questions and create custom paths through your projects.

Embeds & popups: Publish projects as a popup or embed them on your website.

Participant emails: Send email confirmations to participants after submission.

Hidden fields: Personalize project content with for existing contacts.

Pricing

Free

3 live projects.
100 submissions per month.

Basic: $29 per month (paid annually)

5 live projects.
1,000 submissions per month.
3000 email invites.

Pro: $59 per month (paid annually)

15 live projects.
5,000 submissions per month.
15,000 email invites.

Business: $129 per month (paid annually)

30 live projects.
15,000 submissions per month.
45,000 email invites.

4. Calconic

Calconic is an online tool that enables users to create customizable calculators and interactive forms for their websites.

They offer responsive designs and various pre-made templates, making it a user-friendly choice for businesses and individuals looking to boost engagement.

Features

Order forms: Collect customer contact details, mark dates and receive email notifications when orders are submitted.

Collect payments: Accept online payments via PayPal directly through your website.

Mail results: Send participants a full summary of their answer choices with a customizable email.

Friendly formula editor: Formula builder includes a range of operations and functions

Conditional element visibility: Hide or reveal calculator fields based on answers and inputs.

Themes and palettes: Choose from a selection of themes to match your website.

Pricing

Free

5 active calculators
500 impressions per month

Light: €4 per month (paid annually)

10 active calculators
3,000 impressions per month
750 email notifications per month

Regular: €12 per month (paid annually)

20 active calculators
15,000 impressions per month
3,000 email notifications per month

Bold: €40 per month (paid annually)

Unlimited active calculators
75,000 impressions per month
15,000 email notifications per month

5. Calculoid

Calculoid is an interactive calculator builder that allows for easy embedding into your website. Calculators are fully compatible with mobile devices, and there’s no coding knowledge required to start building.

Best of all you can connect your calculators to over 1000 applications using Zapier.

Features

Excel-like formulas: Use popular Excel formulas like IF, sin, cos, tan and log in calculations.

Online payments: Connect calculators to Stripe or Paypal and accept payments online.

Payment checkout: Collect billing information and integrate calculators with your billing system.

Mail results: Send calculator results directly to customer emails and grow your contact list.

Multi-page calculators: Split interactive calculators across multiple pages.

Conditional fields: Set logical conditions to show or hide specific fields of a calculator.

Pricing

Free

500 impressions per month
0 private calculators

Lead Generation: $19 per month

2,000 impressions per month
2 private calculators

High traffic & eCommerce: $39 per month

10,000 impressions per month
5 private calculators

Agency: From $99 per month

100,000+ impressions per month
5+ private calculators

6. Convert Calculator

ConvertCalculator is a no-code sales and marketing tool for creating calculators, forms, landing pages and apps. Use cases range from product configurtors and booking forms to lead capture and price quoting.

They offer integrations with platforms such as Hubspot, MailChimp, and Stripe and their calculators work perfectly on all available CMS.

Features

Online surveys: collect feedback and power research with data using surveys.

Quizzes: Boost engagement and lead generation with online quizzes.

Accept payments: Accept payments using order forms and convert customers there and then.

100+ Integrations: Integrate calculators with your CRM or with other tools through Zapier.

eSignatures: Have participants provide a digital signature in calculators.

Pricing

Free

100 impressions per month
Platinum features until you reach 100 impressions per month

Hobby: $15 per month (paid annually)

2,000 impressions
0 submissions
0 payments

Pro: $35 per month (paid annually)

10,000 impressions
200 submissions
30 payments

Premium: $65 per month (paid annually)

50,000 impressions
1,000 submissions
300 payments

Platinum: $100 per month (paid annually)

300,000 impressions
10,000 submissions
3,000 payments

7. uCalc

uCalc supports the creation of calculators and forms for business. They pride themselves on the convenience of their tools, providing dozens of ready-to-use templates categorized by industry.

They also offer a nifty service where they’ll find a contractor to create a custom calculator for you. Of course, they still make sure your calculator is of the highest quality and is delivered by a deadline set by you.

Features

Design & templates: Choose from a range of ready-to-use templates and customize their styling.

Email & SMS notifications: Receive a notification by email or SMS when responses are submitted.

Automatic discounts: Configure automatic discounts for product quantities and service types.

Collect payments: Accept online payments directly in the web calculator.

Order stats: Track where orders are received from.

Price

Basic: $7.20 per month (paid annually)

5 forms / calculators
3 pages
300 email notifications

Standard: $17.60 per month (paid annually)

15 forms / calculators
10 pages
1,000 email notifications

Pro: $40 per month (paid annually)

Unlimited forms
Unlimited pages
3,000 email notifications

Wrapping up: 7 best online calculator builders

So there you have it, our list of the 7 best online calculator builders in 2023. We’re sure this list will keep growing as more and more brilliant tools are created.

But, for now let’s sum up the list above for anyone who needs a tldr:

1. Shout.com

2. Outgrow

3. Involve.me

4. Calconic

5. Calculoid

6. ConvertCalculator

7. uCalc

And if you need some good calculator examples to get you started with these tools, here’s a list:

BMI calculator
Survey response rate calculator
Weight converter
Price quote calculator
Distance converter
KPI tracker
Net Promoter Score calculator

If you’d like to recommend one of your favourite online calculator builders, don’t hesitate to get in touch and let us know.

The post 7 Best Online Calculator Builders appeared first on Shout.com.

How to Build a Price Quote Calculator (in 4 steps)

david@shout.com — Fri, 27 Oct 2023 11:56:03 +0000

Whilst pricing is a pivotal factor in marketing a product, it’s not always just a question of how much. You can show you’ve gone above an beyond by offering a personalized custom price quote calculator.

This article delves into the world of price quote calculators, and how they can transform your business.

What is a price quote calculator?

Price quote calculators are designed to estimate the cost of products or services, providing potential customers with customized price quotes or estimates.

They serve as a bridge between businesses and customers, offering transparency and trust.

Customers are empowered with the ability to receive instant, personalized quotes, while businesses benefit from streamlined operations and enhanced customer satisfaction.

Before you get started, you’ll need to choose one of the best online calculator builders that suit your needs.

How to build a price quote calculator

Let’s get stuck into building a price quote calculator.

We’ll break this down into 5 easy steps, and delve into the different ways to personalize experiences for potential customers.

Step 1: Select the calculator project type

You’ll be able to create a variety of projects with Shout, including custom calculators, surveys, quizzes and forms.

Click the + icon and select the Calculator project type to get started. From here you can name your calculator, for this example we’ll go with “custom price quote calculator”.

You also have the choice between two navigation styles for calculators; single question per page or multi-question pages.

Single question per page calculators

Single question per page calculators do what they say on the tin. Each field will be displayed individually, and once potential customers input an answer they’ll be moved to the next page seamlessly.

Multi-question per page calculators

This navigation style allows you to add multiple questions or field on the same page. You can still add more pages to break up your calculators into multiple-steps.

Step 2. Add questions and fields

Once you’ve created a calculator project type, you’ll be taken to the builder. From here you can add questions, customize designs, and manage all calculator settings.

Click ‘New question’ in the left sidebar to open the question types library. You’ll have a huge selection of questions and fields for your calculators, including:

Sliders (Opinion Slider, Numeric Slider)
Numeric fields (Currency, Age, Integer, Decimal)
Multiple-choice (Single-Select, Multi-Select)
Picture-choice (Single-Select, Multi-Select)
Contact fields (Contact Form, Email Field, Website Field, Phone Number Field)
And much more!

Step 3. Assign values and build a formula

The next step is to assign values to answer options, these will be used to calculate final results. In our example, these values will be the individual costs that contribute to the price quote.

Assigning values

For most question types (such as multiple-choice and drop downs), click the answer option and enter a number into the Value field.

Pro Tip: If a question is mandatory, you can enabled the “Required” option in the question settings to ensure respondents provide an answer.

Building a formula

To calculator your final results you’ll need to build a formula. To do this, go to the Results exit page and click “Add New Result”.

From here you can customize the content that appears along side the calculator result. We’ll come back to this later, as for now we want to build a formula.

Click the + icon next to “Select a formula” and you’ll be taken to the formula builder.

Then simply drag and drop calculator questions from the left into your formula.

We’ll highlight any questions you add to your formula in blue, so you always know what you’re using or what may be missing.

Select from a range of operators and functions in the builder, or use almost all functions available in tools like Excel and Sheets.

For our formula, we’ll be adding the cost of the plan to the cost of the seats.

Step 4. Display results

Finally, you’ll need to choose how you want the quote to be displayed to potential customers. By default, results (price quotes) will be displayed on an exit page once a response has been submitted.

Real-time calculator results

Firstly, you could display the price quote in real-time alongside your calculator.

Results exit page

Alternatively, you can wait to show results until the potential customer reaches the Exit Page (after they’ve filled out all calculator fields).

This works especially well if you want to email gate the price quote.

What do we mean by that? Simply put, it’s where want collect contact information (such as names and email addresses) before displaying results.

So in this example, you’d have a page for calculator fields, then a page for contact information, then finally the results page.

You’ll have full control of what information is collected in contact forms with Shout. Whether you want to collect just names and email addresses or the whole shebang.

Features to make your price quote calculator shine

Here are some features we think will really benefit you when creating a price quote calculator with Shout.

Features	What it does
Call-to-actions	Add a CTA to results blocks to prompt user actions.
Redirects	Redirect potential customers on submission of their response to a website or landing page.
Answer piping	Pipe answer text and contact information into calculators and results to personalize experiences.
Conditional messages	Trigger custom messages for potential customers based on their final scores.
Integrated CRM	Store contact information you collect with calculators in Shout’s integrated CRM.
Collect & record consent	Collect explicit consent from leads to add them to your email lists and record it to their customer profiles in the CRM.

How to embed custom price quote calculators on your website

Once you’ve finished creating your interactive calculator, it’ll be time to decide how you want to share it.

You’ll have many distribution options with Shout, including email invitations, QR codes, popups and slideouts.

But, the most popular option for sharing calculators is embedding them on your website.

Simply head to the Send stage of your calculator, then click “Get the code” beneath the Embed option.

From here you can choose between a fixed height or set a custom height for your calculator.

Then it’s just a case of copying the code and pasting it onto your website.

If you’re using a CMS like WordPress or Wix, you can paste this code into a HTML block.

The post How to Build a Price Quote Calculator (in 4 steps) appeared first on Shout.com.

Release Notes: Interactive Calculator Builder

david@shout.com — Wed, 11 Oct 2023 09:51:41 +0000

This latest update bring an interactive calculator builder to Shout’s growing catalogue of products. Custom calculators offer a dynamic and user-friendly way to solve problems and inform decision making for website visitors and respondents.

They also provide you with an effective method of boosting engagement, increasing traffic, and generating leads. But we’ll get into this a bit further down.

For now, let’s drill into all the new features that comes with Shout’s interactive calculator builder.

Interactive calculator builder

Our interactive calculator builder requires no coding or development knowledge, it’s completely what-you-see-is-what-you-get (WYSIWYG).

Build calculators using many question types already available for surveys, quizzes, and forms, and select from our newly created calculator field types.

Calculator field types

We haven’t just added a new product to our catalogue, we’ve gone all out and introduced a range of new question types that are compatible with interactive calculators. These include:

Age: Input age as a number (e.g. 32).
Currency: Input currency or money as values (e.g. $29.99)
Integer: Accept whole numbers as an input (e.g. 5)
Decimal: Allow decimal values as an input (e.g. 2.55).
Numeric slider: Select a value along a predefined scale using a slider.

Along with the above, you can use these existing question types as part of your web calculators:

Opinion scale
Multi-choice (single-select)
Multi-choice (multi-select)
Binary Yes/No
Net Promoter Score
Star rating
Drop down list
Multi-select drop down list
Opinion slider
Matrix
Multi-factor scale
Multi-factor opinion slider
Picture choice (single-elect)
Picture choice (multi-select)

Formula builder

We’ve made it as easy as possible to create formulas. All calculator questions will be listed on the left of the builder, which you can drag-and-drop into formulas.

To offer a complete experience when building formulas, we’ve created both a simple formula builder and an Excel-style table.

Simple formula builder

You can think of the simple formula builder as a single cell in Excel or sheets. Whatever formulas you can create in a single cell in one of these other tools, you can create with the simple formula builder.

Excel style table

The Excel style table will act the same as an Excel or Sheets spreadsheet. You can import your own data set, add multiple formulas, and reference rows and columns.

You’ll need to select a results cell for a final value to be passed back into your calculator results.

Operators & functions

You can use any basic operators as part of your formula, such as:

Addition: +
Subtraction: –
Multiplication: *
Division: /
Power: ^
Grouping: ( )

You can also use more advanced operators and functions, such as:

Return minimum value: Min
Return maximum value: Max
Greater than: >
Less than: <
Equal to: =
IF statements: IF (

There are too many operators and functions for us to cover here, so head over to our help doc all about formula operators in calculators.

But a good rule of thumb is, if you can use it in Excel or Sheets, you can use it with Shout.

Showing calculator results

Just like with quizzes, your calculator results will automatically be displayed as an Exit Page. However, you can also show results in real-time as respondents enter values into calculator fields.

Here’s an overview of what content you can add to your results sections:

Results: Select one or more formulas to calculate values from.
Heading: Write a heading for your results. Each results section will have its own heading.
Image: Import an image to display along side the result.
Description: Craft a description for your results. In this section you can pipe text from question answers, hidden fields API, or our CRM. You can also pipe calculations from additional formulas into the description field.
Call-to-action: Add a CTA below a results section to send visitors to a landing page or website of your choice.

Conditional messages

Show conditional messages to visitors and respondents based on the result returned.

Simply open any result settings, and enable “Conditional messages” under the “More options” section. You’ll have access to two drop downs that control these messages.

The drop down on the left allows you to set parameters for:

Greater than: >
Greater than or equal to: >=
Equal to: ==

The drop down on the right allows you to set parameters for:

Lesser than: <
Lesser than or equal to: <=
Equal to: ==

To use only a single parameter, you can disable either drop down by selecting NA.

You can then write custom headers, descriptions and call-to-action for each conditional message you create.

Calculator reports

Calculator reports are split into two sections: formula data and question data.

Formula data

Formula results will appear at the top of your report, and will display four data points:

Average value: an average of all values returned by a formula.
Min: the smallest value input.
Max: the largest value input.
Response count: total number of saved responses for a formula.

Question data

Question results show only data pertaining to a calculator question or field. The exact data points that are displayed depends on the question type you use.

Numeric questions

Numeric questions (such as Decimal and Currency) will display the same data points as formula results. They will also include a list of all values input by individual respondents.

Multiple-choice questions

Closed questions will display the number of responses for each answer choice and the percentage illustrating its popularity.

Text questions

Open ended questions, such as text fields and contact forms, will produce a list of text responses.

You’ll have access to all the same methods of distribution as you do with surveys, quizzes and forms. These include:

URL link: share access with a simple link.
QR code: download a QR code for respondents to scan.
Website embed: embed calculators on your website.
Email invitation: craft bespoke email campaigns to share your calculator.
Pop-ups & slideouts: have your calculator pop-up or slide out at the click of a button.
Audience: target qualified respondents from all over the world.

Can I embed calculators on my website?

Absolutely! With a simple line of code (which we provide) you can display calculators in line with all your other content.

Our embeddable calculators can be styled to match the design of your website or landing page.

How can an interactive calculator help my business grow?

Here’s how you can use these calculators to drive traffic, boost engagement, and generate valuable leads.

Increase traffic

Interactive calculators are inherently shareable content. When people find a calculator that provides value, they’ll not only use it but also share it with their networks. This viral potential can significantly increase website traffic.

On top of this, search engines can recognize the value of free tools that solve problems for visitors. Meaning that interactive calculators can increase your authority and improve your search rankings.

Boost engagement

Web calculators offer a highly engaging user experience. They captivate visitors by providing instant, interactive results and a personalized touch.

Users are more likely to spend time on your site, exploring the calculator and, in turn, other content you offer.

This has the secondhand benefit of increasing time spent on your page, which is an important signal for search engines when ranking your page.

Generate leads

Custom calculators are extremely effective lead magnets. If you can identify what calculator will perform best with your audience, you can exchange results for contact information.

This creates a win-win scenario where users gain access to a useful resource, and you collect valuable leads for your marketing efforts.

Wrapping up

That’s everything you need to know about our new website calculator creator. Don’t hesitate to get in touch if you have any questions or feature suggestions.

The post Release Notes: Interactive Calculator Builder appeared first on Shout.com.

5 Calculators for Websites: Boost Traffic & Lead Generation

david@shout.com — Mon, 25 Sep 2023 11:35:48 +0000

Building calculators for websites is a game-changer for businesses seeking to boost traffic, increase user engagement, and generate valuable leads.

What are calculators for websites?

Calculators for websites are interactive tools embedded on a page that allows users to obtain information relevant to their needs, interests, or goals.

These calculators can take various forms and cater to a wide range of industries and niches, serving both curiosity and practical purposes.

A practical example would be building a price quote calculator to improve user experiences.

Benefits of building calculators for websites

In this ever-evolving landscape, static websites with basic content are rapidly losing ground to more dynamic, interactive platforms.

Custom calculators are one such interactive element that can revolutionize your website’s performance in several ways:

Enhance user experience: Website calculators transform passive visitors into active participants, even allowing them to solve real-life problems.
Increase traffic: When combined with effective SEO, free online tools (such as calculators) become a magnet for organic traffic.
Extend user sessions: Engaging content keeps visitors on your site longer, which signals to search engines that your content is valuable.
Lead generation: When creating calculators for your website, you can target them at specific audiences you want to attract.
Data collection: Collect anonymous information about a specific niche or even make calculator results gated, exchanging contact information for results.

5 examples of calculators for websites

Let’s get into some of the most popular interactive calculators for websites that you can start using as lead magnets, today.

Don’t worry, we’ll include the relevant formulas along with the example.

1. Mortgage calculator

This is a great option for real estate websites and financial businesses. A mortgage calculator is akin to a Swiss Army knife, serving both potential home buyers and the business itself.

Not only can you provide instant personalized information to visitors, you also collect real-time data on trends and preferences.

Mortgage calculator formula

The formula for a fixed rate loan would be:

Monthly payments = P x (r / n) x (1 + r / n)^n(t)] / (1 + r / n)^n(t) – 1
Monthly repayment formula

Let’s break this down below:

P: loan amount
r: interest rate
t: number of years (loan term)
n: payments per year

Keep in mind that there are variations of this formula for different types of mortgages. Such as adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs), where the interest rate can change over time.

2. ROI calculator

An ROI (Return on Investment) calculator is a versatile tool that holds immense value for businesses across various industries.

By allowing users to input investment figures, returns, and time frames, these website calculators can instantly calculate the potential ROI. This empowers prospects to make informed decisions about whether your product or service aligns with their financial goals.

ROI calculator formula

The below ROI calculation will return a percentage:

ROI = (Investment return – Amount invested) / Amount invested * 100
Return on investment formula

If you also wanted to calculate annualized ROI, where the length of investment is also include, use the below formula:

Annualized ROI = ((1+ ((Investment return – Amount invested) / Amount invested) -1) * 100
Annualized ROI formula

3. BMI calculator

In the health industry, information is empowerment, and a BMI (Body Mass Index) calculator is a fantastic example of this.

The keyword “BMI calculator” receives over 1.8 million searches per month. This gives you a huge opportunity to reach a massive audience.

A BMI calculator offers users a straightforward and quick method to assess their body composition. It operates on a simple formula that takes into account a person’s weight in kilograms and their height in meters:

BMI calculator formula

The below formula will return your visitors Body Mass Index.

BMI = Weight in kg / (height in meters)²
BMI formula

Users seeking to improve their health and fitness are likely to return to your site for guidance and support. This positions you as a trustworthy source of information.

4. NPS calculator

NPS (Net Promoter Score) helps businesses gauge customer loyalty and sentiment in regards to their business, brand or products.

Lots of businesses, especially small businesses, may collect feedback from customers but not have the budget to afford software to quantify this for them.

Creating a free NPS calculator would provide value to those wanting to calculate their Net Promoter Score without breaking the bank.

NPS calculator formula

Here’s the formula for calculating Net Promoter Score:

NPS = Percentage of Promoters – Percentage of Detractors
NPS formula

5. Budget planner calculator

Creating a budget planner calculator for a website allows you to provide a practical tool that’s relevant a wide range of visitors.

It can be useful for businesses to set project budgets and individuals seeking control over personal finances.

Budget planner calculator formula

You can find the formula for creating a budget planner calculator below:

Savings = Salary – Expenses
Budget planner formula

It’s up to you to define what contributes to monthly expenses. This can include:

Rent / mortage
Food & shopping
Bills
Tax
Leisure spend

Users seeking financial guidance are likely to engage with your calculator. This provides a gateway for you to offer personalized consultation, educational content, and financial services.

How to create custom calculators for websites

Before you get started creating calculators for websites, you ‘ll want to ensure that the software you choose has the following capabilities.

Simple and table-based formula builders
Advanced operators and functions
Mobile-friendly designs
Results analysis tools
Embeddable calculators & other distribution options.

Now, let’s dive into the steps you need to take for creating calculators for websites. For this walk through, we’ll provide both general advice and specifics for using Shout’s calculator builder.

Step 1. Choose a calculator style

Simpy put, this boils down to whether you want to display all calculator questions on a single page or display these fields one at a time.

Both have their benefits, but it depends on your personal style and what you’re trying to achieve.

Shout allows you to show multiple or single questions per page, but with either navigation style you can add more sections and pages. There’s no limit to your set up, and you can even combine this with question logic to create personalized paths.

Step 2. Add calculator questions

To increase engagement levels, we recommend using a varied range of calculator question types.

With Shout, you can use over 20 questions types in your calculators. These include everything from numeric questions like Age and Currency to closed questions like Multiple-Choice and Sliders.

Step 3. Build a formula

The next step is to start building a formula for your calculator. You can reference the one’s we’ve used above or use a search engine to find the exact formula you need.

With Shout, you have two options for build a formula. Firstly, you have access to our simple formula builder, which allows you to drag and drop in your questions and use basic and advanced operators.

You can also use our Excel-style table, where you can import your own datasets and reference that data in your formulae.

With both formula builders, you can employ advanced operators such as IF statements, logarithmic and root calculations. In fact, you can use almost any operator available in Excel or Sheets.

Step 4. Choose how to display your results

You have two options when it comes to displaying results; show them side-by-side with your calculator or make your results gated. Which you choose depends on your goal.

Increase traffic

If your goal to boost traffic, we recommend showing results to visitors in real time. This ensures there’s no friction for visitors and increases the likelihood of repeat visits in the future.

With Shout, you can fully customize what results to show side-by-side with your calculator. Personalize these with question answers, CRM data, images, calls-to-action, and any formulas you’ve created.

Generate leads

If your goal is to generate leads and collect contact information, you’ll likely want to gate your results. Naturally, the calculator results will act as an incentive for visitors to submit exchange their contact details.

With Shout, you’d simply need to add a contact form between your calculator and the Results page. Visitors won’t be able to view their results until they enter their contact info.

Step 5. Embed the calculator on your website

Once you’ve finalized your formula and design, it’s time to embed the calculator on your website. If this is a particularly common calculator, you have to ensure to add SEO content to the landing page.

Embedding a web calculator with Shout is easy, we provide a line of code and you paste it into your website.

If you’re using a content management system, such as WordPress, you can paste this code into a HTML element.

Wrapping up: calculators for websites

In a competitive online landscape, businesses must continually seek innovative ways to stand out and connect with their target audience.

Online calculators for websites offer precisely that—a dynamic, user-centric approach to engagement that enriches the UX and generates leads for business growth.

The post 5 Calculators for Websites: Boost Traffic & Lead Generation appeared first on Shout.com.

Start Stop Continue: Driving Continuous Improvement

david@shout.com — Mon, 24 Jul 2023 14:22:19 +0000

Organizations and teams are constantly seeking ways to improve their processes, boost efficiency, and enhance overall performance. One powerful technique that can help achieve these goals is the Start Stop Continue framework.

This enables teams to evaluate current practices, identify areas for improvement, and make decisions on what to start, stop, and continue.

Below, we’ll delve into the Start Stop Continue framework, explore examples, and discuss how to conduct a Start Stop Continue exercise.

What is start stop continue?

Start Stop Continue is a simple yet effective framework used to assess and optimize employee performance. It involves reflecting on the team’s core activities and separating them into three key categories:

Start

New actions or practices that the team should begin implementing to improve their performance or achieve specific objectives. These can range from adopting new technologies, introducing innovative strategies, or exploring fresh ideas.

Stop

The stop category focuses on identifying activities or practices that have a negative impact. By recognizing and removing these elements, teams can reduce waste, streamline processes, and create a more productive work environment.

Continue

Emphasize the importance of acknowledging and reinforcing activities or practices that yield positive results. By continuing effective behaviors, teams can build on their strengths, maintain momentum, and foster a culture of continuous improvement.

Benefits of start stop continue

The Start Stop Continue framework offers several benefits for teams and organizations:

Action-Oriented Approach: It emphasizes the importance of taking concrete steps to improve and achieve desired outcomes.
Encourage change: Team members reflect on their own behaviors and practices. This reflection can lead to changes that positively impact team dynamics, collaboration, and overall performance.
Reduce Waste and Improve Efficiency: The stop category prompts teams to identify activities that add little value or waste resources. By reducing waste and streamlining processes, teams can become more efficient and allocate resources more effectively.
Positively Impact Team Performance: By identifying and continuing practices that yield positive results, teams can reinforce behaviors that contribute to success. This recognition and reinforcement boost team morale, engagement, and overall performance.

Examples of start stop continue

Let’s get into some practical examples of the start stop continue framework below.

Start examples

In the “start” category of this framework, teams identify actions or practices that should implement to improve performance. Here are a couple of examples:

Example 1: Implementing a new project management software

Many project managers often find themselves grappling with inefficient processes and a lack of visibility into project progress.

By starting to implement a robust project management software, teams can streamline communication, centralize project data, and improve collaboration.

This new tool provides real-time updates on project milestones and resource allocation, ultimately enhancing project efficiency and overall team performance.

Example 2: Introducing a flexible work schedule for team members

In today’s work landscape, achieving a healthy work-life balance is crucial. By starting to introduce a flexible work schedule, teams can empower their members to have more control over their time.

This could include options such as flextime, compressed workweeks, or remote work arrangements. Such flexibility can boost employee satisfaction, reduce burnout, and foster a more productive and engaged team.

Stop examples

The “stop” category focuses on identifying activities or practices that have a negative impact. Let’s get into two real-world examples:

Example 1: Stopping redundant meetings

Meetings are often notorious for being time-consuming and unproductive. By stopping redundant meetings that don’t add value, people can reclaim valuable time and focus on more important tasks.

Instead, teams can explore alternative communication channels such as project management tools, collaboration platforms, or concise status updates.

Example 2: Ceasing a time-consuming but unproductive task

Sometimes, teams find themselves engaging in tasks that consume significant time and effort without producing meaningful outcomes. By stopping such activities, teams can redirect their energy toward more valuable initiatives.

This may involve delegating the task, automating certain aspects, or evaluating the task’s relevance and impact on overall goals.

Continue examples

The “continue” category emphasizes the importance of acknowledging and reinforcing activities or practices that yield positive results. Here are two examples of Continue:

Example 1: Regularly providing positive feedback to team members

Recognizing and appreciating team members’ efforts is essential for maintaining motivation and engagement. By continuing the practice of providing regular positive feedback, teams can create a supportive and empowering work environment.

A few ways you can accomplish this are through one-on-one meetings, team-wide recognition, or peer-to-peer recognition.

You can even ask team members to provide feedback on each other, which will build stronger relationships and improve efficiency. This could be part of a 360 review campaign, but this may impact the kind of responses employee’s submit.

Although, you can encourage more open and honest responses with anonymous surveys. All you’d need to do is collect feedback from employees about their colleagues, and whip up a report containing the positive elements for each.

Example 2: Continuing to invest in employee training and development

Continuous learning and growth are crucial for both individual team members and the overall team’s success. By continuing to invest in employee training and development programs, teams can foster a culture of continuous improvement.

This can involve providing opportunities for professional development, attending conferences or workshops, or assigning mentors to guide team members’ growth.

How to conduct a Start Stop Continue exercise

Preparation

Before conducting a Start Stop Continue exercise, it is essential to set the stage for productive discussions. Here’s how to prepare:

Communicate the Purpose: Clearly communicate to the team the objectives and benefits of the exercise. Emphasize that it is a collaborative effort aimed at improving team performance and fostering a culture of continuous improvement.
Provide Context: Share relevant information about the team’s current goals, challenges, and projects. This context will help team members generate more targeted and impactful suggestions during the exercise.

Step-by-step process

The Start Stop Continue exercise typically follows a structured process to ensure meaningful outcomes. Here’s a step-by-step guide:

Brainstorming ideas: Encourage team members to brainstorm ideas individually and write them down on sticky notes. These ideas can include activities, practices, or changes that fall into the start, stop, or continue categories. Allow for open-ended thinking and creativity during this phase.
Group suggestions: Gather all the sticky notes and categorize them into the start, stop, or continue categories. Facilitate a discussion where team members collectively group similar suggestions and identify common themes.

Instead of using physical sticky notes, you could collect these suggestions with a survey. It would be as simple as using an open-ended question to gather suggestions, then performing an analysis in the digital report. This would work better for teams who work from home or are spread out geographically.

After grouping the suggestions, prioritize them based on their potential impact, and alignment with the team’s goals. This process can involve voting, dot-voting, or utilizing other decision-making techniques.

Creating an action plan: Based on the suggestions, create an action plan that outlines the steps required to implement them. Break down the actions into smaller, manageable tasks and assign responsibilities to team members. This will ensure accountability and progress.
Assigning responsibilities: Clearly define roles and responsibilities for each action item. Ensure that team members understand their roles, deadlines, and any dependencies. Encourage collaboration and designate team leads or champions to drive the implementation process.

Wrapping up

The Start Stop Continue framework is a powerful tool for driving continuous improvement and enhancing team performance.

By evaluating actions, teams can decide on what to start, stop, and continue, leading to reduced waste, and improved efficiency.

Whether used in general team settings or within Agile and Scrum methodologies, the approach fosters a culture of learning, adaptation, and continuous growth. By leveraging this framework, teams can unlock their full potential and achieve sustainable success in their endeavours.

The post Start Stop Continue: Driving Continuous Improvement appeared first on Shout.com.

Shout.com

Survey Funnel 101: 3 Steps to Optimizing Your Sales Pipeline

What is a survey funnel?

Difference between a survey funnel and a lead magnet

What are the benefits of a survey funnel?

How to create a survey funnel

Step 1: Create your survey questions

Identify pain points (in order to be the solution)

Ask why this problem hasn’t been solved (to help you qualify leads)

Collect demographic information (the more you know, the richer your data)

Step 2: Use questions to create cluster segments

Step 3: Configure your survey exit conditions (outcomes)

Choosing the right survey software

Exit page redirect

Question logic

Text piping (answer piping)

Website embed

Email invitations

Wrapping up

9 Strategies to Improve Employee Performance

1. Encourage your employees to take accountability

2. Create an employee handbook

3. Foster knowledge sharing and collaboration

4. Set up rewards programs

5. Perform employee performance reviews

6. Implement flexible working schedules

7. Promote fairness and equality

8. Be open to feedback

9. Have an employee-centric approach

About the author

Email Surveys 101: The Guide to Success

What are email surveys and why should you use them?

7 Tactics to get the most out of email surveys

1. Write engaging and clear email subject lines

2. Show each subscriber that you value their feedback

3. Keep your surveys short, concise, and well-structured

4. Optimize your sending time and frequency

5. Optimize for mobile

6. Offer incentives to your respondents

7. Test and optimize your email surveys

Final words

About the author

How to Ask for the Sale Without Being Pushy

1. Build a strong foundation

Understand who your customers are

Methods for collecting information

Establish trust with customers

How to build trust with customers

2. Master the art of persuasion

Focus on value, rather than price

How to demonstrate value to customers

Highlight benefits, not features

How to frame features as benefits

Use social proof

Where to show social proof

3. The soft close

Ask open-ended questions

Examples of open-ended questions

Subtly trial closes throughout your conversation

Examples of trial closes

4. Respectful persistence

Follow-up strategically

Tips on follow up timing and methods

Offer options, not ultimatums

Examples of offering options

Wrapping up: How to ask for the sale without being pushy

25 Hotel Survey Questions to Improve Guest Satisfaction

What are hotel guest surveys?

Hotel survey questions

Questions to learn more about your guests

Hotel amenities questions

Customer service and staff interaction questions

How do you ask ask guests for feedback in the hotel industry?

Post-stay email surveys

QR codes

Paper surveys

Tablet or kiosk surveys

In-person interviews

Wrapping up: Hotel survey questions to improve guest satisfaction

7 Best Online Calculator Builders