Prospect or User Research Techniques
In this segment we’re going to share eight different research methods related to your prospect or user. These will be most useful for completing the prospect research document, but you’ll also find information and insights that will fit in the other docs as well.
The first of these techniques is a survey or questionnaire [5]. We’ve included a list of sample questions you can use to create your own surveys with this course. You’ll find that in your course materials.
This is one of the most powerful tools in your research tool box. The ability to communicate with past buyers and future prospects about what’s going on in their lives, why they need a solution, how the problem manifests itself … you won’t find better intel anywhere.
When creating your survey, keep to the minimum number of questions to get what you need. Only ask “must have” questions. Cut any “it would be nice to know this” kind of questions. Also, keep the questions open-ended, not multiple choice or yes/no. You want insights from your prospects, not validation of what you already believe.
There are several great survey tools you might consider from Typeform to SurveyMonkey. Quiz software like Interact can also work for this.
Once you’ve created your survey, ask your client to email the survey link to as many customers as possible. If your client has a list of prospects who have not purchased, you may also want to survey them. This is best coming from your client but if that’s not possible, you can email the list yourself. We’ve included a couple of templates you can use for this in your course materials.
If at all possible, you want a minimum of 30-40 or responses. More is better, but at some point, the gains from extra responses diminishes. If you run a survey and get thousands of responses, aim to review 20-25% of them, if possible. New AI tools can help you analyze the data and synthesize main themes from larger surveys. (And just a programming note: the AI4C course may provide additional ideas for using AI tools like ChatGPT and Claude to get insights from your data. Check that at at thecopywriterclub.com/AI4C). If you can’t get that many responses, or, there are no customers to survey, do your best to talk to as many potential buyers as possible. Some data is better than none. One more caveat… survey data that’s more than a year old is a bit untrustworthy. It can offer context, but to make sure you are working with the most correct assumptions, your data should have been collected in the last 6 months.
If you only have a handful of responses, make a note of anything interesting, but don’t give this data too much credit. You shouldn’t base major marketing decisions like headlines on a single response (unless you’re able to confirm it from other research sources).
When you analyze the answers to your questions, you’re looking for common themes, ideas, and phrases. Mark any phrase that stands out—this might be a good headline or bullet point in your copy. Give extra weight to longer answers. This is a signal that the person responding to your question cares enough to give more than the bare minimum answer.
The next technique is closely related to the last and that’s pop-up surveys [6]. These are often short 1 or 2 question surveys that pop up on a web page or sales page when the user’s mouse movements signal an intent to leave the page. If you’re able to use a pop-up survey, you might ask them what is missing that is keeping them from purchasing? Or, why didn’t they buy today? Use this data to improve the copy on the page and eliminate the issue.
If you ask more than two questions in a pop up survey, you are likely not going to get many responses. Trust us and keep this to the bare minimum.
Of course, you can put pop-up surveys on content or any web page. This data can be so useful when reworking headlines, finding problems to empathize with and solve, and for connecting with prospects who want to buy from you.
Another research tool you can use is the thank you page survey [7]. This shows up on the page a buyer sees immediately after purchasing. In this case, ask buyers what was going on in their lives to make them look for this solution today? And perhaps add a question about their expectations for the outcome. Once you’ve collected this data, you can use it to improve sales copy and any top of funnel content prospects see to move them toward purchasing sooner.
The next research technique you will want to implement is Non-buyer Follow up [8]. This is generally done via an email. If you can identify customers from your list who visit the page but do not buy, send them an email asking them why they passed on the offer. What were they looking for that they didn’t find? What would make the offer a no-brainer decision for them next time? This kind of information is incredibly valuable when it comes to writing the next version of your copy.
Another research technique you’ll want to use is the in-depth interview [9]. You probably don’t have the bandwidth to do very many of these, but if you can identify 3-7 customers in the same customer segment who are willing to talk about their experience with the product, do it. Don’t only talk to happy customers, interviews with dissatisfied customers can reveal some great insights you’ll want to address.
When conducting an interview, you will start with questions like those on the survey, but use this one-on-one opportunity to go deeper on pains, problems, needs, objections, and desired outcomes. Follow the conversation, rather than sticking to a set of questions. Record your call so you can focus on your interviewee and not worry about taking notes. Get a transcript when you’re done and add the exact words and phrases they share with you into your research docs.
The next technique is similar to that of the content audit. You’ll want to collect and review every case study or testimonial [10] you can get your hands on—positive or negative. Review them looking for words, phrases, ideas, insights, comments about pains, hesitations, and objections. Also look for surprises and other insights and add them to your documents.
If there’s a website or sales page or other online presence related to the product or service you are writing about, you may be able to use tracking software [11] to analyze your prospect’s behavior. Applications like HotJar and Inspectlet can track scrolling, clicking, and even eye movements. Google analytics has implemented some of these features in recent releases.
Most clients won’t have these tools installed but, if they have the budget, you may be able to recommend them and help install the tools to make this research possible. If you can get access to this kind of data, it can be incredibly useful for determining what information on an existing page is most engaging or not engaging enough. You can see where readers stop reading or scrolling, where their eyes go, and what interests them the most. Note the behaviors that stand out in your docs.
Finally, some clients will have support logs or a help inbox [12]. Take a look at the conversations happening there. Read the emails back and forth. Read the notes the support team has recorded. And add anything that stands out from these sources to your research documents.
In the next segment, we’ll talk briefly about some research techniques you can use to complete your brand/expert document.