Unlock insights from “subscribed-but-not-purchased” shoppers with these survey questions

The next time you survey shoppers subscribed to your list, here’s a simple yet effective methodological trick that can help you leverage those who have not yet made a purchase.

It involves what I call "question pairs."

For example

Q1: Is our brand relevant to your needs?

• Yes

• No

Q2: Could you see yourself buying from our brand in the next six months?

• Definitely

• It's possible

• Not really

• No

While these questions may seem ham-handed, when combined, they shed light on what’s preventing subscribed-but-not-purchased shoppers from buying.

Here's what you do: Take everyone who answers "Yes" to Q1 (“This brand is relevant to my needs”) but "No" or "Not really" to Q2 (“I don’t/don’t really see myself buying this brand”) and pose the following question:

Q3: If this brand is relevant to your needs, then why aren't you considering buying something?

(This question creates some tension, akin to a barista's unanswered announcement of "Cappuccino for Steve," that people feel the urge to resolve.)

Here are three things you can do once you’ve collected the data.

1. Build comprehensive FAQ pages to reduce bounce rate.

2. Identify valuable keywords for optimizing your SEO strategy.

3. Craft persuasive messaging on product pages to enhance conversion rates.

And use ChatGPT to analyze the results because they will be open-ended responses collected through a text box.