Google Docs, something everyone should know!

As a consultant I'm all to familiar with the need of business owners to get feedback from their customers. Incidentally, not only business owners but every one at some point in time need to get feedback. A website developer that needs a contact us page or a sign up page, a student that's doing a project and needs responses.

Here are some more specific examples.




A sign up form e.g. Name, Email, Address

A testimonial that you're requesting e.g Can you describe what this product/service means to you?
A product review e.g How did you enjoy our new beverage?
A process review e.g. Which of these payment methods do you prefer.
Getting an opinion e.g. What do you think we could do to improve this product/service.
Now what's great about those questions are that the persons who actually respond normally spend the time thinking about their response or have always been saying to themselves "Why dont they do this this way?"


Google Forms (built ontop of google spreadsheet) gives you the quick design of a form (which otherwise you would have had to code in php, html, xml, css etc) as well as a database to collect the responses (which otherwise you would have had to collect in .Sql, Microsoft Access etc).

Now you've automatically eliminated needing to contact me or anyone like me for this very simple task. Well why would I be happy about loosing out on money, well because honestly I take on larger more technical problems and it just wouldnt be right. Down right wrong. We're all here to help each other and sometimes its just a bit of knowledge that separates who gets it done from who doesnt get it done.


Specific advantages of google forms are:


a) Create questions quickly
b) Add a theme to the questions by chosing a theme from the theme bank.
c) Send your form to anyone to view at anytime, because each form is an actual webpage!
d) Collect responses as well as choose when to stop collecting responses
e) Get graphing analysis to see what responses most of the respondents have in common.

Now, for a tool that is free and reliable, I say this is the most effective feedback tool that is out there on the market as it relates to forms. There are a few limitations, well one really. You cant add your own theme and you cant add your own pictures to questions, but hey I'm sure you didnt spend a dime or a sleepless night coding in google to create this tool so lets just appreciate all the other very useful stuff, use it and get on with our core business.

Cheers.