It seems like everyone is survey happy these days. Get your oil changed, the next day the dealer wants to know if your floor mats are clean. Buy something online, chances are the next time you check email a customer satisfaction survey awaits. Call the cable company and they want to know if you’re happy or not (let’s just assume not). It’s understandable that we all get a little jaded that everyone wants to know our opinion.

Part of this, frankly, is to head off potential negative reviews on social media and sites like Yelp, TripAdvisor and Better Business Bureau. If companies can nip a problem in the bud, it prevents a potential viral social media episode of the wrong kind. The other part is more altruistic. Companies that use surveys are concerned about customers and want to use these interactions to benchmark success or service pain points.

You are our eyes and ears

We love surveys here as they give us an insight as to what’s happening on the front lines. While we talk with readers at trade shows and read your emails and social media posts, these are all anecdotal stories and may not reflect what’s happening in the industry at-large. This past year we’ve surveyed audiences at Leisure Group Travel, Student Travel Planning Guide, Reunions Workbook, Religious Travel Planning Guide and Sports Planning Guide.

The results are shaping not only what we’re covering, but how we are approaching the market. Take, for example, last year’s inaugural Group Intentions survey of Leisure Group Travel magazine readers. As a result of your comments, we shifted our stance on some long-held beliefs about how things were done and altered certain editorial coverage as a result. While these weren’t “baby with the bathwater” shifts, it’s important for us to stay on top of what challenges and opportunities our customers face so we can address them editorially.

We’re at it again with the second annual Group Intentions survey. What’s interesting about this year is that we have a benchmark to compare results against. So as we tabulate this year’s results, we can see how things may have changed, grown, shrunk or if there’s a statistical anomaly in our data collection.

We put a lot of work into producing what we hope you find as the best group travel publication, website and e-newsletter in the market. But we can’t do this without your help.

Please take a few minutes of your time and tell us what’s on your plate and on your mind by completing the Group Intentions survey. It will help us create a better Leisure Group Travel.