Polling and Campaigning Made Easier Using Online Surveys

Use surveys to discover more about the electorate, to identifying the
issues that really concern them so that each campaign can be tailored
to reach the hearts and minds of the voters.

Objective

For any survey it is important to decide from the beginning what the
objective of the survey is and when considering conducting a survey in
support of a particular candidate consider if the purpose of the survey
is to discover what the ‘issues’ are; or is the survey to
be used to promote the candidates image and policies?

In many cases objectives will be in line with the different phases of
an election process.

Pre-Campaign

Before campaigning begins a survey is an ideal method to canvass the
voters and to determine what the important issues are likely to be. To
gain a wider response across the whole political spectrum the survey will
preferably be conducted through an independent channel so that people’s
opinion of a particular candidate does not influence the research.

For a political survey it is essential that the demographics of those
surveyed are established as different groups are likely to have both common
and varied views. With demographic information there is an opportunity
to establish what the main issues are by age group, by income and by gender;
do people who rent have the same concerns as those that own their own
homes?

A pre-campaign survey will be able to monitor the mood of the voters.
Some may, if asked, even indicate who they are likely to vote for in a
future election. By listening to the electorate a campaign can be planned
better and will allow printed and oral marketing to be properly targeted
at the issues that people want addressed.

For candidates that appear out of step with the electorate surveys can
provide a measure of how much effort will be required, and in what areas,
so that people are convinced and change their views.

Campaign survey

During a campaign an online survey is an effective way to market a candidate’s
position. Tradition methods of leafleting rely on the recipient reading
and taking onboard the message. Leaflets are a one way marketing effort
and more often than not dismissed and discarded along with other ‘junk
mail’.

Consider on the other hand an online survey that can phrase questions
such as:-

Do you support candidate Jones’s pledge to cut the budget deficit
in half to $250 billion over four years; and to reintroduce budget rules
capping spending?

To answer this question the respondent has to engage mentally with the
survey by reading and then considering the statement before forming an
opinion. Because the respondent is able to express their view they are
also more likely going to consider the argument. An online survey is not
only able to deliver an important policy statement but will also allow
the campaign team to monitor the level of support that the candidate has
on specific issues.

With the new breed of online survey web sites generators such as www.SurveyGalaxy.com
multiple online surveys can be created and published in minutes making
it feasible to target specific groups on specific issues. There is no
longer a need to devise a ‘one size fits all’ survey. Surveys
that promote policies that are aimed at retired voters can be sent to
retired voters, while younger people can be sent surveys that promote
the candidates policy on issues that are only important to them.

Using the pre-campaign survey data the ‘undecided voter’
can be targeted and engaged, with perhaps the opposition’s policy
being used to highlight the benefit of voting for a candidate.

Do you support the opposition’s plans that will reduce the
tax burden for high earners and result in middle income families paying
more tax?

A well written campaign survey will promote the candidate, measure opinion
and monitor how effective the campaign is. Online surveys allow this to
be done with considerable ease, they are extremely cost effectively and
allow the results to be analysed on the fly.

Comparison

Compare the benefits of online surveys over other forms of campaigning
such as door to door and telephone canvassing, leafleting, advertising
and personal appearances.

If not already, the Internet is fast becoming the primary method of communication
for both business and personal use and provides direct access to a broad
cross section of any voting population.

Through the use of email, websites and search engine advertising online
surveys are able to target a large proportion of a population at a fraction
of the price compared to traditional marketing methods. With the online
surveys ability to provide market research, marketing and education there
is no other single form of marketing that is as cost effective and versatile.

With the speed of deployment being measured in hours and minutes, not
weeks and day, online surveys are able to deliver a flexible and dynamic
campaign message keeping pace with the political mood that can change
on the basis of a single comment or headline.

With each survey’s demographic data a campaign is able to accurately
and instantly measure the scale of success in terms of the number of ‘messages’
delivered, the target group and, based on the results, the effectiveness
of the online survey marketing campaign.