Everyday thousands of organizations and persons use web forms and surveys with diverse purposes. Did you go to the bank and afterwards received an email inviting you to rate the attention received? Did you shop online and then received questions about your satisfaction level with the new product? Are you a member of a club where the authorities want to know your options about the facilities?
Online surveys are an increasingly used tool as it is available for everyone. You don't have to invest a high budget, some offers include free versions! You also don't have to be a developer or a computer genius to use them!
If you feel like your time has arrived to start creating online forms, but don't know where to start, you've come to the right place!
In this article we will explain in Five steps the basic issues to solve so as to start using this tool.
Step 1: Who do I want completing my form and for what purpose?
Describe clearly who your customer persona is and what are your objectives for the survey. Define them with the highest precision as possible. Do you want to be known in a certain audience? Do you want to know the opinion of your customers? Or evaluate the commitment of members of your organization?
Ultimately, what questions do you seek to solve? From the very first moment you must have an answer to this question so as to be clear of the reasons behind why you are creating the survey (what is the valuable data you are looking for).
Step 2: How does it serve my audience?
It's key to identify what moves your audience towards responding to it. Think that probably, they are persons who receive a lot of invitations to answer online surveys. What can you do to stand out?
Perhaps they are employees from your company that want to be heard so as to improve the working environment. Or clients from your bar that would like to try new varieties of cocktails. Or art fans that want to see new proposals according to their interests.
In any case, always consider what is the value they will get after completing your survey, and not the many others they are receiving.
The universe of online surveys is too broad! Several tools exist in order to create them and distribute them, and probably not all of them can adapt to your style and needs.
Step 3: Which is the most useful platform for me?
The universe of online surveys is too broad! Several tools exist to create them and distribute them, and probably not all of them adapt to your style and needs.
To start with, you can differentiate them for their costs: many are paid and to use them you need to pay a subscription. Some of them offer a free trial, and others also have free versions with limited features. If you are giving your first steps in the survey world, this last alternative is the ideal one, as it lets you access a tool and try it as many times as you want to.
Also, you can find platforms that will let you create very basic surveys and web forms (only text and very few options to format the question) and others with much diverse tools. For example, you will be able to customize them with your visual identity and add images, videos, and other resources, which is highly recommendable as it increases the interest of the user answering it.
Step 4: How do I create the survey?
You have finally reached the time to create your questionnaire. Several question formats exist: scales, rankings, opened/closed, multiple choice…. If you are going to create your first form, maybe it's more convenient to use the last format, as it is friendly for the user and can be answered more clearly and quickly. Also, its results are easily analyzed.
Some tools offer pre designed surveys for specific needs, like customer satisfaction, post-sale, or online shopping. This resource is of great utility as it facilitates the creation of your campaign. The only thing you need to do is adapt them and personalize them.
In any case, the important thing to do is to offer the respondent a simple and effortless experience. Try making short and relevant questions to the public.
Step 5: How do I distribute the survey?
Once the campaign is ready, it's time to send it! That's why you have to consider what is the best channel to get to your audience. Is it convenient to send the form via email? Share it through social media? Post it on your website? Send it through WhatsApp?
You can choose any of the previous options, entirely digital or you can go for a physical alternative: distribute them with a QR code, print them, and spread them in a physical store or publish them in a magazine or flyer. Any person with a mobile phone will be able to scan it and access it.
We recommend choosing a platform that offers you the greatest variety of channels to send your survey, as this will allow you to get a greater number of responses.