Data Driven Marketing: Differences Between Surveys and Experiments

As a marketer, data is valuable and a key that leads to

countless initiatives. There are different marketing practices that provide marketers with information on consumers, but each practice is utilized for different cases, and they serve different purposes. In our most recent blog post, The Impact of Research: A Marketer’s Best Resource, we detailed how critical research is to marketers and the role it plays when making informed decisions. Marketing research surveys and marketing experiments are vital tools often used to retain insight from consumers. Surveys are created to gain specific

self-reported market data. Experiments involve manipulating independent variables and observing cause-and-effect.

Selecting between the use of either marketing tool, and knowing when to use each is important. Surveys will provide qualitative data through closed-ended questionnaires, sharing consumer details about preferences, attitudes, and opinions. Surveys allow marketers to survey extensive amounts of people at once creating greater accessibility to data sources. This tool should be used when marketers are interested in understanding consumer satisfaction, brand awareness, or market trends. Surveys are beneficial for descriptive research and truly help marketers understand consumers on a more personable level. We can utilize the beauty or events industries for examples of how survey implementation happens within both:

• Beauty brands will ask consumers what skin or hair concerns they may experience to create new products or adjust current products.

• Guests may be asked feedback about their event experience after attending a corporate event.

• Clients can be asked their satisfaction level of service from vendors post- event or service.

Surveys provide first-hand information that allows understanding and evaluation to take place,

and results in marketers and organizations making adjustments or predictions based on the

acquired data.Experiments create the opportunity for marketers to test variables in

a controlled environment.

Experiments are usually conducted with a

smaller sample size but provide more precision. Experiments can be conducted in a lab (artificial) setting or a field (natural) setting. Some controlled settings such as A/B testing, allows marketers to

observe cause-and-effect and use findings to guide their decision making. Marketing experiments are most useful when trying to

decide what option or variable may perform better than the other.

Marketers often see experimentation examples within the beauty and event industries:

• Beauty brands may test two versions of an advertisement

and see which leads to more website visits.

• Event managers may use different vendors and aesthetics and measure client satisfaction

and monitor social media engagement.

• Beauty brands may test whether user generated content or professional content performs

better with consumer engagement and sales.

Experiments become insightful to organizations when deciding what product or service should

be launched or when deciding on how to improve marketing performance with clients.

Overall, surveys and experiments are two impactful marketing tools that aid in gaining better

understanding and data of consumers. They each have strengths, weaknesses, and purposes

which make the results achieved through each unique. Marketers should always be strategic and

think with the end in mind when deciding which marketing practice to utilize.