Revealed: Secrets to Writing Great Online Survey Questions

An online survey can be a powerful tool for your business—if it’s written the right way. To get the answers you’re looking for, you need to ask the right questions. Also pay attention to several other aspects of your surveys: the length, the question format, the process for collecting responses, even the appearance of your surveys.

Read on for our top tips for writing online survey questions that get results.

Survey question do’s and don’ts:

• DO include a brief overview above your survey to orient the reader.
• DON’T include a long history of the company, a pitch for your business, or other distracting text at the beginning of a survey.
• DO keep your survey short. Most people don’t want to spend a long time reading through survey questions—the longer your survey, the fewer completed responses you’ll receive.
• DON’T include questions that aren’t essential or important for your needs. Icebreakers and filler questions only clutter your survey and distract participants.
• DO phrase your questions directly, with easy-to-understand and informal language.
• DON’T, however, “talk down” to your participants or explain things exhaustively.
• DO ask mostly closed-ended questions with yes/no or multiple choice answers. Leading, open-ended questions are often ignored in an online survey.
• DON’T generalize multiple-choice responses. For example, when asking a question that requires a quantity response, such as “How often do you make purchases online?”, avoid response choices like “never, almost never, occasionally, sometimes, frequently.” Instead, offer specific ranges: “0, 1 – 2 times per month or less, 3 – 5 times per month, More than 5 times per month.”
• DO give your survey an interesting name, and create a compelling subject line for emails that include a link to your survey.
• DON’T require customers to answer survey questions in order to complete a purchase, ask a customer service question, or any other routine function of your business (though it’s fine to offer an additional reward for completing a survey).

Leave it to Informatix

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