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If you’re looking to conduct a consumer survey to gather quick opinions or a better understanding of your target audience using an online method, it may be difficult to know where to start. An internet search on ‘consumer surveys’ will rapidly pull up results displaying a variety of options, with Google Surveys coming up near the top; a familiar, well known brand may feel like the safest option as a starting point for your research, particularly if on the surface it does a similar job to any market research agency.
Before you decide, however, we thought it would be helpful to briefly summarise the (rather large) difference in offerings between Google surveys and a traditional market research agencies to see which is a better fit for you.
Market research agencies vs Google Surveys
| Market research agencies | Google Surveys |
|---|---|
| Consultancy and advice offered on questionnaire design & research objectives | Example questionnaires to look at & no consultancy |
| 20-25 question limit | Strict 10 question limit |
| Higher cost option | Lower cost option |
| As many screener questions as required | Limit of 4 screener questions |
| Able to route questions depending on answers of previous questions | No question routing |
| A big variety of question types can be used | Question types limited to multiple choice, image choice and 5-point scales |
| Sophisticated targeting e.g. the pet the respondent owns, hobbies etc. | Targeting limited to age, gender, android use and region |
| Restricted to respondents on panels | Wider reach beyond just panels – target through web pages |
| Quality check conducted on every survey | No obvious quality check |
| Sampling done for you | Own control over sampling |
| Tables and PPT report – explained in context of the aims and objectives with analysis | Automated charts – limited analysis and explanations |
| Option to have results presented and explained to you by a real person | No presentation option |
| Alternative perspective from researcher | Perspective of survey owner only |
| Analysis of open-ended questions | No analysis on open-ended questions |
For a more in-depth comparison between the two options, please see our longer read here.
On the whole, if you’re looking for rapid answers at a low cost then Google Surveys is the most likely option for you, but this is most suited to researchers who know who their audience is and know exactly what they want to ask them, with little assistance with results analysis and understanding.
Although a Market Research agency is often thought to be the more expensive option, here at Opinipoll we pride ourselves on being budget aware and delivering quick and clean results. Our costs include expert advice on both the research and questionnaire design, having the faff of sampling taken off your hands and options for extra analysis with a more in-depth explanation of the results – check out our free quote calculator today.
