Entering the online survey world is a fascinating trip.
At first, it can be a complex exercise, full of questions.
- What is my campaign objective? (respondents will want to know in advance why they are being asked to complete the survey)
- Whom am I addressing? (a key instance to know how to prepare the form)
- How do I design my online form?
- What question structure do I use?
- And finally, perhaps the most complex, how do I analyze the collected information?
However, once you have overcome the initial learning stage, you begin to appreciate the benefits that the online surveys bring you when it comes to getting to know your customers better and transform that knowledge into business intelligence.
Now, there comes a point in which you want to take a step further, make the most of the possibilities that these online surveys platforms offer you and become an advanced user.
If you feel identified with this, we will now give you some tips for you to create the perfect survey.
Define the goal
Always, no matter the case, you have to create your survey with a goal in mind. Why do you need to make a survey? Are you looking to generate leads for your company? Do you need to understand why users have unsubscribed from your platform? Do you want to collect personal data from your customers to expand your database and run more effective marketing campaigns? The questions are innumerable, but the important thing for you to understand from the beginning is the purpose of your campaign, so that the whole creation is aligned with your objective.
Generate easy to understand and answer online surveys
In an online survey, the fewer the questions, the better.
Multiple choice questions are a good way to reach that. Avoid asking too many open questions and be careful not to suggest the answer in the way you pose your question. Also, if possible, provide a clear response scale. Por example, from negative to positive, where 1 is the most negative answer and 10 the most positive one.
Avoid irrelevant questions
Respondents don't like to be faced with too many questions that are not relevant to them. Therefore It's important to avoid making the participants feel frustrated. To achieve this, you can use logic jumps, to create smart and receptive online surveys and avoid unnecessary questions. This guarantees that the irrelevant questions can be skipped and that each participant designs their own experience.
Respondents don't like to be faced with too many questions that are not relevant to them. Therefore It's important to avoid making the participants feel frustrated. To achieve this, you can for example use logic jumps, to create smart and receptive online surveys.
Dedicate time to the design
Appealing online surveys statistically, have higher response rates than unattractive ones. Pay attention to the design, the fonts and the colors, as these are useful resources to motivate your audience. Personalize the online form to make it more similar to you. Use your brand´s logo, colors, and typography.
include images and videos
The use of images and videos stimulates the respondent´s memory. Online survey platforms have very interesting resources to incorporate images (their own or from online image banks), videos or gifs to make the experience of answering an online questionnaire more “memorable”.
Group questions according to topics
By organizing your questions according to various topics, you can start with general questions first and then ask more specific ones. Remember that when you group questions that use the same response scale, participants will better understand the logic and will be able to answer the questions more quickly.
Include the sensitive questions at the end
It is wise to break the ice first with softer questions at the beginning of the online questionnaire. For example, if you created a survey for customers of a clothing store, you can start by asking them "What is your favorite color for this season?" It is a question that does not compromise the respondent at all.
After answering the first few questions, participants will become more confident and open up to share more sensitive or personal information, such as their age or level of education. Therefore, it is advisable to place these types of requests for more sensitive or personal matters at the end of your questionnaire.
Try it out
Before going public with your online survey, ask a few people of your team whom you trust, to try it. This way, you can make sure that it works correctly and that all the questions are clear. It is very likely that those people who complete the survey at your request will find aspects to improve that have been overlooked. For this reason, we recommend that you always look for the opinions of trusted third parties that provide you with an honest look.
Golden rule: less is more (A short survey is better than a long one)
Most participants are willing to spend little time answering a form. In practice, this means that an online survey with more than 20 questions is too long. This is why, in an environment in which we compete for the users time with many other marketing elements, remember that it's sometimes more convenient not to pretend to ask everything in only one survey. Sometimes it's better to leave some topics out of the survey so as not to overwhelm the respondent.
Okay, we know that perfection is an abstraction, but it's always nice to have an horizon to aspire to.
We hope these tips are useful to you and that you continue, throughout practice, enriching your experience in creating online surveys.