Evaluating what your audience needs to know
Audience surveys help confirm or correct what we believe to be true. They can identify gaps in what you’re serving your readers, reaffirm the importance of what you are sending, and help make sure the time each of you are spending on every communication — whether it’s creating it or reading it — is a good use of that time.
- Do you survey your readers on a monthly, quarterly or yearly basis?
- If you said “No,” you’re not alone. Less than half of communicators do.
Yes, but: We believe that insight is critical to serving your readers well — and using your time wisely.
If you do not survey your readers regularly, we can help! Reach out to your account manager today. We have a lightweight and customizable survey we can help you set up and send to your readers.
You can also download an interactive version of this exercise to refer back to as often as you need, and explore our other Getting Started guides, too.
If you do survey your readers regularly, or once you run one with your HQ account manager, find the latest results. Spend the next few minutes jotting down what each of your three audiences likes, wants less of, and needs more of. Remember to include some of your findings from the “Audit” exercise, if relevant.
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Audience 1 |
Audience 2 |
Audience 3 |
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The more time you spend analyzing and evaluating your readers’ feedback, the more precise and essential your future communications can be. Reader trust stays strong, engagement grows, and you start to see an even more informed, aligned audience.
What’s next: During this exercise, you may have discovered some communications that are redundant or non-essential. Next, we’ll guide you through a consolidation exercise — identifying the best ways to create, cut, or combine the messages your readers need.