10 tips on how to create an effective survey

Let’s focus on surveys today and on how to create an effective one that will work for your business. Thinking about a survey, the first thing that comes to mind is “boring and always too long” Agree, but when you learn how to create an interesting and sexy survey, you win! 

Most of us simply don’t want to waste time answering a 30 question survey and that’s understanding. But as customers, we also want to express opinions and share thoughts when it comes to the quality of customer’s satisfaction and this is a great opportunity for marketers to get feedback on their products or services. It is understanding that not everyone’s a survey master and you may be a little bit lost in the thicket of information, but there are a few general rules that will lead you to understand the mechanism of an effective survey and how to create one that works for your business

1. Keep it short – keep it mobile centric

Whether it’s about service quality or product opinion, one thing that will work for all types of surveys is keeping it short. How short exactly? Well, as short as possible 🙂 Creating a survey is more like being a spy than an investigator. You just drop one or two questions from time to time instead of asking everything you want to know at the same time. Why keeping it short matters? We are overloaded by content, so the best strategy is to come up with a few questions once in a while rather than with a 30 question survey. However, if you need a longer one, you should keep it mobile centric so the user doesn’t have to scroll down the survey. Another important component of a longer survey is to create it more like a conversational type and fun. You can even use a chatbot as a medium for your survey, as it’s a perfect way to keep it interactive.  

2. Make it fun! 

Your clients are more likely to respond to your survey when you make it fun. It’s important in engaging processes so if you want to keep your audience engaged on your survey make them laugh and keep it humoristic. When it comes to conversational surveys graphics and “fun” components are the key engaging factors to increase the survey response rate. Consider using a quiz which is a great and even better way to grab your audience’s attention when it comes to fun content. 

3. Use graphics and colors!

People read pictures first! Did you know that 50% of the human brain is used for processing visual information? The use of colors increases the readership by 80%! (source https://www.brainybe.es/experts-hive/550-marketing-statistics-2022/) Visuals increase information rate by 78% so if you want your audience to pay attention to your surveys, don’t forget to use images, infographics and colors! If you are not sure which to use, you can always add them to an asset management platform that your team can access and share their thoughts.

4. Ask precisely 

It may be surprising, but asking questions is not that simple! To build a question that leads to an intuitive answer, you should use the right wording and question structure but also use the participant’s vocabulary and practice good grammar! The way you build a question should appear being asked by a real person, also this is a perfect excuse to smuggle some personal touches to the question and make your participants feel as if they are in a friendly environment. A precise question should be a combination of clear and direct information you want to get from your audience without leading them to ask themselves completing questions, example:  Instead of asking  How many books do you usually buy? Ask: How many books do you usually buy a month/year? This simple example shows the difference between two seemingly same questions. 

5. Avoid using the “No” word

When constructing your survey answers try to formulate them without giving your participant a choice between Yes/No or True/False ect., ect. Questions based on these statements do not produce valuable data, however they can be very helpful when using skip logic. If you want to know your client’s engagement on reading books, the choice in the answers should be: Very often, often, sometimes, rarely, never.  

6. Set a goal for your survey

There is a reason behind every survey and quiz. Sometimes you just need to keep your audience attention by entertainment, sometimes you need to clarify some of your hypotheses. Before you start a survey, specify your goals. You must know exactly what type of data you want to gather and based on this basis create questions and answer types. Setting a precise goal is key on creating a survey roadmap. Consider to be specific on your survey basis rather than general. 

7. Keep rating scales consistent

Rating scales are good when you keep them consistent. They can help you measure and compare data. Choose a scale eg. 1-10 and keep it through the survey instead of randomizing  it on every question. Switching from one scale to another is confusing for your respondents and leads to chaotic impressions. 

8. Consider offering an incentive

When it comes to surveys it’s more likely your participants will take part when they know they get something in return. It’s a win-win situation that helps increase your survey response rate. Some research shows that offering something in return boosts survey response rates up to 50%. Consider offering discounts or free samples of your products. 

9. Personal questions?

Leave them on the end. Remember the spy tactic I mentioned in the beginning?  If you want to gather personal data about your audience, you should ask all those questions at the end of your survey. Try to keep them casual and don’t avoid answers like “It’s complicated” or wider gender identity. 

10. Preview before sending!

Be like a doctor’s shelf that says “Before administering, check the drug three times” Imagine sending a survey just to discover you forgot to add a question, video or image. Ask colleagues to check the survey before sending so they can catch all mistakes you might not find on your own. 

Online surveys are far more useful features than they seem to. With these best practices, you will be able to take out of them as much as it’s only possible.