4 Tips for the Best Survey Experience

Imagine you have started creating a survey to better understand your consumers. You have questions, but you’re unsure of how to get the insights you need.

Surveys are not only a powerful market research tool, but they can provide a rewarding experience for consumers when used correctly. However, it has become a challenge to keep consumers focused and engaged. According to the GRIT CPR Report 2017,

“Over half of respondents admitted that the design of a survey impacts their willingness to complete it.”

To keep your respondents active, a seamless survey experience must be created. Below are 4 tips for making sure your survey experience is beneficial for both you and your respondents.

Enhancing the Survey Experience

1.Start with the Basics

Your questions need to be clear and easy to understand for respondents. 22% of respondents desire a change in the format of surveys in insight communities, including duration, number of questions, and the length of the survey. While you may find yourself writing with specific industry terms, stop and make sure respondents are familiar with your terminology as well. Miscommunication and lack of understanding can negatively affect your results. Write with familiar wording, and your respondents will have a smoother survey taking experience, allowing you to get the answers you need.

2.Inspire your Respondents

Incentives such as rewards and prizes are the main reason respondents participate in research. However, there are more ways to appease your respondents than simply financial motivations. Altruism, the satisfaction of demonstrating interest and participation in decision making, is very important to consumers. It is a close second to financial, and includes respondents enjoying surveys because their opinions are being valued. Keep self-gratification alive, and make your surveys fun so respondents want to come back for more.

3.Stay Interactive

Switching back and forth from single and multiple choice questions to ratings can become tedious for your respondent. Give respondents a new motive to stay engaged by using unique question types, such as hot spots and heat maps. Hot spots, commonly used in product concept testing, allow respondents to select a particular region of an image they like or dislike. Such results are quantitative, as they are expressed through percentages for each region. Heat maps on the other hand, provide a more accurate understanding of respondents for they are not restricted by regions. Respondents are free to select any area on the image allowing for full freedom.

4.Go Mobile

Go to where your respondents are: their cellular device. Mobile market research is a great opportunity for respondents because of its convenience factor. Respondents can take surveys on-the-go, and researchers capture an 'in the moment' experience through multi-media capabilities such as uploading pictures, videos, or audio recordings right to their survey.

To learn more about how proper survey design and development can benefit both your brand and audience, contact the My-Take team.