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This morning the sun is shining bright outside as you and sit comfortably in your office. With a cup of hot coffee by your side and memories of your last holiday still fresh in your mind, even if you say so yourself, today at least, life is sweet.

As you take a sip of your early morning double espresso you feel a rush of cool air and catch a movement from the corner of your eye. As if from nowhere there is now an impeccably dressed stranger sitting in the chair opposite. Yes you are surprised; after all you didn’t hear anyone knock and before you can say anything he starts in a relaxed and measured voice.

‘Here is the deal’

‘In every city of the world I am going to advertise your product on billboards at the busiest junctions.’

‘I will be able to tell you how many people see the advertisement, their age, nationality and gender.’

‘I will tell you exactly what they think of your product and can even give you their contact details. While they are looking at the billboard I will allow them to view your website and even make a purchase if they feel the urge.’

‘I will have all this ready in two days and it will cost you less than a small advertisement in your typical trade journal.’

He stops for just a second. ‘Interested?’

Now you might think that you should beware of offers that sound too good to be true, that you are going to wake up soon or maybe that you really should get a lock for that office door.

But let us just take a minute. If you are still reading this well I am that man who has come from nowhere and offered you a deal.

The advertising site is on the Internet and the billboard I’m offering is the humble online survey.

Stop for a second and start to associate an online survey not with ‘market research’ but with ‘marketing’. And not any type of marketing this is ‘Marketing’ with a very large capital ‘M’ and in flashing neon lights. Marketing that is direct, low cost, quick, and effective.

You can advertise a published online survey on a website, or via email and like a billboard by the side of a major road junction, your message will appear in front of people. But unlike a billboard where the number of people that see an advert has to be estimated (based on an arbitrary percentage of total volume of traffic), the online survey records the number of times a survey is started.

Online surveys can ask demographic questions such as age, gender and nationality and in doing so allows you to collate metrics about the effectiveness of your promotion and confirm that you are interacting with the target respondent on a one-on-one level.

Unlike a billboard where the message is often subliminal, or maybe just trying to achieve brand awareness, with an online survey you have the opportunity to connect with the public to find out what they really think about your product, how it relates to them, how it is perceived.

Using an online survey website it takes only minutes and hours to create a survey and using the power of the Internet an online survey can reach hundreds of thousands of people on a daily basis.

Even if you offer a prize as an incentive for people to complete the survey or use Pay Per Click advertising to capture a wider, or more focused audience you will still have low cost but effective marketing.

‘Okay then, tell me. Is it a deal?’