Surveys are an indispensable part of qualitative and quantitative research to analyse, test and substantiate your argument in a very structured manner. Apart from that, it has a significant role in making decisions about your product, marketing strategies and various other aspects concerning the start-up. There is a no better, easier and efficient method than online surveys to ensure excellent reach and informed inferences. The already popular reach of online surveys has further increased as pandemic raged. However, it is important to be mindful of certain details before you send out the forms for online surveys so as to ensure quality.
Defining Objectives
The first thing is to have a crystal clear idea of what your objective is and what is it that you are trying to know. Also implore on questions like how do you plan to implement the survey to fit into your needs, how are you going to create the survey, how will the data collected be used et cetera. All these might seem small and unnecessary however these small steps can make your results more organized and clear. Depending on your answers to these questions decide on the format in which you will conduct the survey, the platform on which you will circulate them, the details you will collect, the questions you will ask et cetera
Analyzing the Target Audience
While you devise the nuances of your online survey including the questions, its structure and the platforms, keep in mind your target audience. You can either use an existing customer base or shift to new areas depending on the requirements of the market. If your online survey caters to multiple categories of the audience be careful to arrange them in an extremely organised manner to avoid confusion.
Declare Your Intentions
Irrespective of whether people are going to read it or not, explicate your intention and purpose behind doing such a survey. Give your details and also that of the survey along with a statement asking the permission of the attendees to use the data they provide.
Keep it Short
This is one of the golden rules before you conduct an online survey for that matter. First of all, understand that people do not like to spend more than five minutes on any survey. Hence make sure you make your questionnaires are short. Try to gain as much information as possible from a very small number of questions. Aligning each question with your aims and objective will help you not to construct loosely structured questions. Well answered few questions are always better than unanswered questions or half baked answers.
Simplify the Questions
Another thing to be mindful of while drafting questions for your online surveys is to add close-ended questions everywhere possible. While this can be impossible in some instances, make sure that most of the questions can be answered in a yes or no. If you have multiple-choice questions or a rating scale, make sure to develop them in a uniform manner. This will not only help the people to answer the survey properly but also will help you in an easier analysis of the answers later.
Logical Order of Questions
In an online survey, questions are likely to make more sense when they are asked in a descending fashion, that is from broader questions to specific questions. Such a form of the questionnaire will help the people to think a bit more clearly on your questions and this will help you get authentic answers.
Testing the Survey
Before you release the survey for the public do not forget to test the survey. Run the survey thoroughly through as many diverse operating systems, web browsers and PC platforms as possible. This will be an excellent opportunity to figure out any technical glitches or structural problems.
Sending Reminders
An online world is also a fast-moving world, hence remember that nobody will be willingly doing your survey without a push. Considering that getting the survey completed is your need, send their target audience regular reminders to ensure better reach. However, the appropriateness of sending reminders for a survey vary from one topic to another. Make an informed and empathetic decision in this regard before you decide to send out reminders.
Thank You Screen
Thank you page is a crucial page for any survey form. Your form must have a good thank you screen that tells about your company. It helps to improve your brand image. You can also put a CTA in your thank you screen if you want. There are some Alternative toTypeform which helps you to customize your Thank You page. You can easily create a good thank you page with such tools. Moreover, thank you page helps the customer to remember your company as well.
Advantages of Online Surveys
• They ensure higher reach and sampling a huge population is not as difficult as before.
• Online surveys are extremely cost-efficient.
• They can be efficiently customized depending upon the requirements of the survey and the people.
• These online surveys are not restricted in terms of its circulation and can be sent across multiple platforms – As personal messages or through customer emails etc.
• They ensure high rates of responses.
• Studies show that respondents are more likely to provide better, longer and clearer answers for open-ended questions on the web than offline surveys.
• Online surveys make it extremely easier to import, analyze and document the data received.
• Online Surveys help in lead generation.
Disadvantages of Online Surveys
• Due to a large number of online surveys, people tend to dislike unsolicited surveys.
• There is always a chance that people can quit the survey in the midway.
• If the questions are not structured properly the results received can be vague and futile.
