Q. What’s one tip for maximizing the effectiveness of customer surveys on your website?
The following answers are provided by the Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) is an invite-only organization comprised of the world’s most promising young entrepreneurs. In partnership with Citi, YEC recently launched StartupCollective, a free virtual mentorship program that helps millions of entrepreneurs start and grow businesses.
1. Offer an Incentive
Your customers will be way more likely to fill out a customer survey if they are incentivized to do so. The data has value, so it is worth giving your customers an incentive to help you out because you will get significantly more data by doing so.
– Josh Weiss, Bluegala
2. Keep It Simple
So many companies seem to ask endless questions on surveys. I think it’s much more effective to ask a few questions that will be incredibly insightful for your business. The survey takers will give you better answers, and you’ll get more responses.
– Patrick Conley, Automation Heroes
3. Make It Beautiful
We use Typeform to create beautiful and easy-to-use surveys. Since we started using these attractive and mobile-friendly surveys, our completion rate has almost doubled. I highly recommend spending time to make sure your surveys look and feel beautiful. Design matters!
– Adam Lieb, Duxter
4. Try Google Surveys
Google offers a free, easy-to-implement survey tool that takes only minutes to set up. Every website should add it today. The tool aggregates responses on a monthly basis with all the graphs and word clouds you could want. Its simplicity allows you to enact any necessary changes for your website and business.
– Brendon Schenecker, Travel Vegas
5. Make the Survey Personable
One of the problems with surveys is that they are not very personable. When you have an automated voice asking if you have the time to complete an automated survey after a phone call, the results are not very good. Instead, the secret is to explain why you are asking each question, what it will do for your business by getting better data and how you are going to use the responses.
– Dave Nevogt, Hubstaff.com
6. Use a Recommendation Scale
If you’re gauging customer satisfaction, be sure to ask, “How likely is it that you would recommend this company to a friend or colleague?” Use a scale from 1-10. Make it easy and based on behavioral triggers, such as customers who have logged in multiple times, with a widget. Qualaroo is a good pick.
– Andrew Fayad, eLearning Mind
7. Ask Actionable Questions
I can’t believe how often I see survey questions that don’t really help the company take action or lead it to a decision. What exactly is the difference between rating a shopping experience as a six versus a seven? Gather information that is actionable and focused, so you can improve your service by removing barriers and annoyances without guessing what the results really mean.
– Seth Talbott, AtomOrbit
8. Use FluidSurveys
I’ve found FluidSurveys to produce some of the most beautiful survey software I’ve ever seen. The interface is clean and easy to understand. I find that most user survey software looks like it was built in the ’90s, and the opposite is true with FluidSurveys. We’ve seen fantastic engagement while using them.
– Liam Martin, Staff.com
9. Choose Words Carefully
Market research surveys have a reputation for being dry and stuffy. Instead of using verbiage that is drab, make your customer surveys engaging by choosing words that are fun and playful. When you speak to the customer in a familiar and friendly tone, you’re more likely to get an increased response rate to the survey. That will give you a better view of your customers’ sentiments and preferences.
– Doreen Bloch, Poshly Inc.
10. Start Simple
Some surveys dive right in with tough questions that get to the heart its purpose. Try kicking off the survey experience with questions that are easy and fulfilling to answer (e.g. male/female, age, years in business). You’ll get more buy-in throughout the rest of the survey and can even tailor it based on their responses. Focus on your survey-taker first.
– Matt Hunckler, Verge
Image Credit: Shutterstock.com
