What Makes a Good Survey?

Surveys are a great way to capture and find out more data about your customers, or even your colleagues, if you decide to conduct an internal survey. The data collected by surveys used both internally and externally provides you with the building block to start constructing a more catered and personalized experience, depending on what your goals are.  

You can use a survey to provide a more personalized experience when:

• Reviewing customer satisfaction and highlighting areas that need improvement 
• Collecting customer information at events in a quick manner 

• Explore new product improvements or potentials based on what your customers want 

The more information you get the better your business can become, but what makes a good survey and a bad one? 

Below, we have complied a list of what makes a good survey versus what you should avoid when creating your surveys.  

What makes a good survey? 

Speak your respondent’s language

Regardless of which target audience is taking your survey, it’s always recommended that you use clear, concise, and uncomplicated language. You should make a conscious effort to not use technical terms that your respondents may not understand and avoid using acronyms which could confuse your respondents.  

If your questions are easily understood, then the greater the detail your respondent can give. Your respondents will be more inclined to complete your survey if it’s simple and doesn’t require lots of previous knowledge, which could alienate your customers. 

*Quick tip: If you feel that a question could be difficult to understand then include a simple example to help your respondents work out how to accurately respond. 

Make your questions short and direct

The shorter, simpler and more direct your questions are, the greater the chance you have that people will fill in your survey. Respondents could possibly feel bored or irritated if your survey is too long and exit without submitting. If you make your survey questions too long or vague, you might end up failing to communicate the purpose of why you have included that question and the overall relevance it has to your survey.  

Make use of our skip logic and dynamic question types

By leveraging ClickDimension’s skip logic and dynamic question types, you can really tailor your survey to meet your needs. With this, you can allow your respondents to skip to the next question or page depending on their answer given. You’re also making the survey far more personalized by only showing questions based on their answers to previous questions. Respondents will appreciate the personalized touch and will feel like the answers they provide will matter.  

Don’t forget to get in touch with our Marketing Services team, who can provide you with all of the expertise you need to supercharge your marketing team and efforts. 

Free Downloadable Resource: The Marketing Survival Guide 2023

Things to avoid when creating surveys

Too much choice

If you provide your respondents with too many choices when answering a question, they may feel confused about their answer. If you feel like you are struggling to limit their options, a useful tip is to use the ‘Has Comment’ option in our Clickdimensions’ Online Survey editor type. This way, the respondent can provide an alternative answer if they have one.  

Unnecessary questions

If your survey contains too many unnecessary questions, it will not help you to gain insight into your topic interest. With each question you provide, the answer you should be looking for should provide you with useful and helpful information regarding your chosen topic.   

Quick tip: Don’t give your respondents too many options as it will dilute the end data, instead focus on 3-5 answers 

By following the above advice, you are off to a great start with your surveys! By making sure your surveys are simple, personalized and restricted in terms of the number of answers possible, your data will be more accurate, and you can act on your respondent’s feedback in an effective manner. Making your respondents feel listened to and positive that they were given the opportunity to express their views and opinions. 

ClickDimensions Survey Expertise 

ClickDimensions Surveys tool allows you to create your own surveys and collect all of your respondent data in the CRM. As part of the ClickDimensions Marketing Automation solution, your team can create amazing surveys, distribute them across segmented lists and see all the data collected right in one place using our friendly and simple interface.  

Want to find out more about ClickDimensions Marketing Automation solution? Talk to our team and request a demo here