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Developing A Visitor Questionnaire
It is important and relatively inexpensive to find out what visitors believe is unique about your community. This insight is a valuable aid in the development of the communities competitive edge,
Most communities have a location where visitors can come to ask questions and get information about the area. Usually, this is a visitors’ center or chamber of commerce office but it can one or more locations within your community that visitors would have a tendency to visit. Most people who visit these centers are there to gain information for them selves, but smart community leaders can balance this exchange by asking visitors to fill out a brief questionnaire.
First, the questionnaire should find out the visitor’s place of residence. Name and address should be optional since this is personal information, but it is important that respondents give their home town and state. With this information, you can pinpoint those areas currently contributing a heavy concentration of visitors to your town. These areas can then become prime targets for promotional activity.
Secondly, the questionnaire should ask the purpose (business or pleasure) and the destination of the visitor’s trip. These questions should yield a brief profile of what brings visitors into the community. If a large proportion of the questionnaires show similar responses of one type or another, you can gain insight valuable as you plan your approach for the promotional campaign. For example, if you found that many visitors were passing through your town on the way from Alberta to California vacation spots, you would select a promotional medium that would reach prospective vacationers from Alberta, and you would tailor the promotional message to appeal to that audience.
Another question that should be included: What have you particularly noticed that you like about our town? This question will draw a variety of responses. If a pattern develops such as “good road service” or “historical sites” or “that lighthouse on the way into town,” then you will be armed with a feature of the community that is, in the opinion of outsiders, unique and marketable.
Add more questions if you feel they are necessary, but remember: the more questions on the form, the more likely it is that prospective respondents will leave blanks or refuse to bother with the questionnaire. Keep it short. One side of an 8 1/2” x 11” sheet of paper is least intimidating-to both the respondent and the person analyzing the completed questionnaires.
If you don’t want to use a questionnaire, a guest registry is a good source of location information. The easiest way to compile location information is with a map and pins. This will give a visual display of the results. Whatever method you use, something along these lines should be instituted. It is a good, inexpensive source of information that will help you plan an effective promotional campaign.