Survey/ Questionnaire Project

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OK, hear me out. This might sound confusing but I'll try to be clear. I recently read the book the E-Myth where the author gives a case study of where a survey/ questionnaire was used as a way to extract information from potential clients to help focus how the service provider (Landscape Architect) would direct their specific services or marketing efforts to better serve that client; or the person to whom the survey is given. The interesting point, however, is that the survey questions actually work the OPPOSITE way.

Written properly the questions would start to bring awareness or educate the 'client' or survey participant about general and/ or specific topics that they would not really otherwise have thought of. The questions serve to EDUCATE or bring heightened awareness to particular clients or survey recipients about why they NEED or why they should CONSIDER using a landscape architect through the topics represented in the survey/ questionnaire.

When you think about 'Who are our clients?" the questions could be phrased or directed somewhat differently. For example, a question for an architect would be different than that directed toward a civil engineer. It would also be interesting to have a group of questions directed to municipal clients such as Planning Directors and Parks Departments.

The questions could be framed such that they are able to be answered in a way where 1 is 'Lowest Value' and 5 is 'Highest Value'

Some sample questions would be:

Q. How important are design elements that contribute to enhancing the pedestrian scale environment?

Q. How important is the exterior environment as an extension of architectural program elements?

Q How do you value the designed landscape as an opportunity to provide for connectivity between site plan elements?

The idea for questions is to somehow get recipients to get the picture they should be thinking about some of wider (or specific) site related issues. And also that these are issues that are important to US as landscape architects.

Tags: architect, are, bring, do, important?, issues, la's, landscape, las, questionnaire

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Permalink Reply by Terry Naranjo on January 11, 2010 at 5:05am: Chris,

The fact is that many potential clients ARE uneducated in terms of how we can help them. Loaded? not necessarily in negative way that is intended to harm. Unpure? Not necessarily, but yeah, they're probably unpure. I'm unpure so why should I think that they aren't? If I wanted to rescue them from thier unpure ways I would probably have them read Ephesians 2: 1-10...; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Jennifer de Graaf, RLA on January 11, 2010 at 7:34pm: I feel that all program-developing questions (and probably most questions in general) are far better asked in person, and left off questionnaires.

I loathe client questionnaires. So much so, I even blogged about it. I think they insult everyone's intelligence, not just the client's.

My experience is that no matter what you write, a conversation is FAR more useful than asking the client to fill out a form (if they even do).

Few clients would be offended by being asked for their feelings on these subjects, and then perhaps some insightful follow-up questions. Any client, however, may very well get cheezed off at the exam / essay writing / here-you-do-the-work aspect of this approach.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Terry Naranjo on January 11, 2010 at 8:16pm: Thanks Jennifer for your input and for letting me know what your experience in the past has been. You're right, any client may get cheezed off if we were to ask them to write an essay or make them feel like they are doing work that would ultimately not benefit them at all. My point is that we CAN and WILL benefit them by sharing this information. Not trying to take, use, be subversive, anything like that...only to open doors. Also, there's no way that I personally could have a one-on-one conversation with all the prospective clients out there that I plan on targeting with this project...

This will LEAD to the one-on-one conversations (I'm absolutely convinced)...without knowing how I plan to frame it or the format it will take it's premature to suggest that it will be offensive. I really dont plan on offending anyone. In FACT, I plan on speaking to needs that are so primal and core to humanity that they will actually feel BETTER after they go through the process...

Once I get so many leads and potential business that I couldn't possibly handle them all I'll share the wealth and re-direct the overflow to all my supporters out there!... so prepare yourself! (just kidding); ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by David J. Chirico on January 11, 2010 at 7:56pm: I did some searching, even for architecture. Almost all searches came back as cut and dry qualification surveys or pre-surgery forms.

Terry, my conclusion is that this proactive idea will either take the field of landscape architecture out a whole new door as far as recognition, or the idea just doesn't yield any field tested results that are worth pursuing.

Best of luck to you!; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Terry Naranjo on January 11, 2010 at 8:19pm: David!!
Thanks for the well wishes!...I was just heading out the door for an all-night drinking binge to take my mind away from people just not seeing my benevolent true self when I thought I'd check back to the Forum. I'm staying in and working on this project!!! You may well have saved my life!... Ok...so maybe that's a bit overdramatic. True you are that no one has or will be doing what I have in mind to the scale that I have in mind.
I'll keep you posted on my progress...

T; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Jennifer de Graaf, RLA on January 12, 2010 at 3:26pm: Looking forward to the sea change you may effect. Keep us posted.; ▶ Reply to This