Emails have always been an effective channel of communication for brands to connect with their customers.

• Quick data collection. Email surveys offer brands quick access to a diverse range of customer data. The responses come in almost immediately, enabling you to dive into timely analysis and data-driven decisions.
• Convenient to use. Creating email surveys and dispatching them to your recipients is only a matter of a few clicks. It’s also a simple and straightforward process for your subscribers to fill in at their convenience, thus making it a win-win situation.
• Reduced cost. A great advantage of email surveys is that they involve a very small cost. You can find a variety of free and low cost survey solutions in the market to create a dedicated survey based on your unique needs.
• Personalization options. Email surveys come with many personalization options to target recipients with tailored content. From adding their name to leveraging their purchase history, you can craft customized surveys that bring back an increased response rate.

• Make it clear. Your subject line should convey the purpose of your survey email in just a few words. It always works to include the actual words, such as survey or feedback, for readers to know exactly what the required action is.
• Include an incentive. If your survey email comes with an incentive (more on that later), your subject line should highlight it. Knowing there’s something in for them will give them motivation enough to take action.
• Use the first question. Consider adding the first question of your email survey to your subject line. This is a great way to warm your recipients up and directly engage them in a conversation, resulting in increased completion rates.
• Get creative. As with every email, adding some creativity in your subject lines is key for subscribers to open them. Include relevant and fun emojis, throw in some humor when appropriate, or bring out your audience’s pain points.

• 85% of users use smartphones to access email. (Adobe)
• Mobile accounted for 42% of all email opens in 2019. (Litmus)
• The ratio between received and sent emails is 3:1. (Radicati)
• 47% of consumers use a mobile application for checking their email. (Campaign Monitor)

Source: 99Firms

Using mobile-friendly survey designs is essential to improve your response rate. Even better, invest in a survey tool that comes with responsive survey templates that allow you to create and share mobile-optimized surveys.

This way, your email surveys will render well on every device, ensuring that all users share an equal experience when offering their feedback.

Regardless of how well you know your audience, you can never be sure what resonates with them every time.

To take the guesswork out of your email surveys, it’s important to dispatch them to a small group of your subscribers first to detect and fix potential issues.

Also, running A/B tests will help you determine which components bring the best results and incorporate them in your strategy. You can try out variations and experiment with different incentives, number of fields, or question types.

After measuring the results, you can tell what works and where there’s room for improvement. This process, along with customer feedback, will give you all the insights required to optimize your email surveys over time.

The post Email Surveys 101: The Guide to Success appeared first on Shout.com.

Conducting surveys in the hotel industry is invaluable for gaining insights into guest experiences and improving guest satisfaction.

• Gauge and enhance guest satisfaction
• Identify areas for improvement
• Personalize guest experiences
• Enhance customer services
• Monitor patterns and trends
• Build guest loyalty

In essence, hotel guest surveys allow you to shape your services and experiences to create a win-win situation for both your guests and your business.

1. How would you rate your overall experience staying at our hotel?
2. What aspects of our hotel services could we improve?
3. Please rate the cleanliness of your hotel room.
4. How would you rate our food and beverage offerings?
5. Were you satisfied with the reservation process?
6. How likely are you to recommend our hotel to a friend or colleague?
7. Did you experience any issues during the check-out process?
8. If you had any specific requests during your stay, were they adequately accommodated by our staff?
9. Please rate the quality of food and beverages offered at our hotel.
10. Were there any specific aspects of your stay that exceeded your expectations?

1. What was the primary purpose of your stay at our hotel?
2. How did you hear about our hotel and decide to book with us?
3. What are your preferred amenities or services when choosing a hotel for your stay?
4. What factors influenced your decision to choose our hotel over others in the area?
5. Would you be interested in receiving occasional email updates and exclusive offers from our hotel in the future?

We know that every hotel is different, so you’ll have different amenities available to guests. But, simply chop and change what amenities you provide into the below questions.

1. Which of the following hotel amenities did you use during your stay? (list amenities)
2. How satisfied were you with the availability and quality of our fitness center and its equipment?
3. How would you rate your experience with our on-site restaurant’s food and service?
4. Did you have the opportunity to use our spa facilities or services during your stay?
5. Were you satisfied with the availability and speed of our Wi-Fi?

1. How would you rate the courtesy and friendliness of our staff during your stay?
2. Were there any specific staff members who stood out for their exceptional service? If so, please provide their names and share your experience with them.
3. Did the staff respond promptly and effectively to your requests or concerns during your stay?
4. Please share any comments about our staff’s performance.
5. How satisfied were you with the overall customer service experience at our hotel?

There are a multitude of ways you can ask for feedback from hotel guests, including:

The post 25 Hotel Survey Questions to Improve Guest Satisfaction appeared first on Shout.com.

In this article, we’ll explore the key elements of crafting user experience survey questions that yield meaningful feedback. We’ll also provide a comprehensive list of example user experience survey questions to help you get started.

User experience (UX) refers to the interaction and perception that users have when engaging with a product, website, application, or service.

It encompasses all aspects of a user’s experience, including their emotions, attitudes, behaviors, and satisfaction levels throughout their journey. User experience takes into account various factors such as:

• Usability
• Accessibility
• Visual design
• Content clarity
• Responsiveness
• Fulfillment of user goals and expectations

It focuses on creating intuitive, meaningful, and enjoyable experiences that meet the needs and desires of the users. By prioritizing UX, businesses can raise customer satisfaction, increase engagement, and build long-lasting relationships with their target audience.

Let’s delve into each step of the user experience survey process to guide you in unlocking valuable feedback.

1. Determine your goals:
   Clearly define the objectives of your user experience survey. What specific insights or information are you seeking to gather? Understanding your goals will help shape the survey design and question selection.
   
2. Select a survey method:
   Decide on the most suitable method for your survey, considering factors such as your target audience, resources, and timeline.
   
3. Design your survey questions:
   Write clear questions that align with your goals. Utilize a mix of question types such as Likert scales, multiple-choice, open-ended, ranking, and rating scales to capture a comprehensive view of the user experience.
   
4. Sequence the questions:
   Organize the survey questions in a logical flow. Start with your most important questions, this ensures you collect the data you need even if respondents drop out. Place the most important questions upfront to capture respondents’ attention and engagement.
   
5. Pilot test your survey:
   Before launching the survey, conduct a pilot test with a small group of participants. This step helps identify potential issues with question clarity, response options, or survey length. Make adjustments as necessary based on the pilot feedback.
   
6. Distribute the survey:
   Depending on your chosen method, distribute the survey to your target audience. This can involve sharing a link, in-person interviews, usability testing sessions, or even in-app surveys.
   
7. Collect and analyze the data:
   As responses come in, collect and compile the data. Ensure that the data is stored securely and protected. Once collected, analyze the data to gain insights and identify patterns, trends, and areas for improvement.
   
8. Draw conclusions and take action:
   Analyze the survey findings and draw conclusions based on the data. Use these insights to make informed decisions, prioritize improvements, and enhance the user experience of your product or service.

It’s important to use a mix of question types to reduce survey fatigue and increase response rates.

Here are some commonly used question types in UX surveys:

• Likert Scales: Measures respondents’ level of agreement with a statement or question on a scale, typically ranging from “Strongly Disagree” to “Strongly Agree.”
• Multiple-Choice Questions: Provides predefined response options for participants to choose from.
• Open-Ended Questions: Allows respondents to provide detailed, open-ended feedback and insights.
• Ranking: Asks participants to prioritize a list of items based on their preferences or importance.
• Rating: Evaluates specific aspects on a numerical scale, such as satisfaction levels or usability ratings.
• Binary: Typically, these are Yes/No questions that allow you to filter survey results based on opposing opinions.

To help you kickstart your survey, here’s a list of example UX survey questions you can ask potential and existing customers.

With each question, we’ll recommend the best question type to use. You should be able to find these with any survey software, but you can rest assured that Shout offers them all.

Customizing these questions to fit your industry will provide you with valuable feedback to identify areas for improvement.

Use these questions to understand areas of strength and identify opportunities for improvement to enhance overall user satisfaction.

• On a scale of 1-10, how satisfied are you with the overall user experience?
  [Opinion Scale]
  
  
• Did our website/product/service provide value to you?
  [Binary Yes/No]
  
  
• How likely are you to recommend our product/service to others?
  [Net Promoter Score]
  
  
• What aspects of our product/service do you appreciate the most?
  [Multiple-Choice (Multi-Select)]
  
  
• Is there anything about our product/service that you find frustrating?
  [Comment Box]
  
  
• What made you choose us over our competitors?
  [Multiple-Choice (Multi-Select)]
  
  
• Would you consider using our website/product/service again in the future?
  [Binary Yes/No]
  
  
• How well did our website/product/service fulfil your needs or requirements?
  [Matrix / Likert Scale]
  
  
• Is there anything we can do to improve the overall user experience based on your feedback?
  [Comment Box]
  

Assess users’ experience in terms of navigation, efficiency, clarity of instructions, and overall usability.

• How easy is our product/ application to use?
  [Matrix / Likert Scale]
  
  
• Which specific features or elements were confusing or difficult to use?
  [Multiple-Choice (Multi-Select]
  
  
• Were you able to accomplish your goals using our website/product?
  [Binary Yes/No]
  
  
• What improvements would you suggest to make our website/product more user-friendly?
  [Textbox (Multiple)]
  
  
• What’s the most difficult part of the application to navigate?
  [Dropdown List]
  
  
• How useful was our help documentation in helping you understand our product/service?
  [Matrix / Likert Scale]
  
  
• Did you feel that the overall layout and organization of our website/product is intuitive?
  [Binary Yes/No]
  
  
• How well did our website/product guide you through the different steps or processes?
  [Opinion Scale]
  

These questions assess the users’ perception of aesthetics, usability, and brand consistency.

• Out of 5 stars, how would you rate the visual design of our website?
  [Star Rating]
  
  
• Are there any aspects of the design that you would like to see improved?
  [Comment Box]
  
  
• Does the visual design of our website/product align with the overall brand image?
  [Binary Yes/No]
  
  
• Are there any design elements that distract or hinder your experience?
  [Text Boxes (Multiple)]
  
  
• How easily were you able to easily navigate and find your way around our website/product?
  [Matrix / Likert Scale]
  
  
• Did you find the placement of content or features intuitive and user-friendly?
  [Binary Yes/No]
  
  
• How well did the visual design contribute to your overall understanding of the information or functionality provided?
  [Opinion Scale]
  
  
• Is there anything we can do to improve the visual design and layout of our website/product based on your experience?
  [Comment Box]
  

By understanding the user’s opinion on content quality and relevance, you can enhance user experience.

• Did you find the information presented relevant to your needs?
  
  
• Was the content easy to understand and digest?
  
  
• Is there any additional content or information you want to see on our website/product?
  [Text Boxes (Multiple)]
  
  
• How well did the content provided address your questions or concerns?
  [Opinion Scale]
  
  
• Did you find the language and tone of the content appropriate and engaging?
  []Binary Yes/No]
  
  
• How satisfied are you with the information on our website?
  [Matrix / Likert Scale]
  
  
• How easy was it to find the information you were looking for on our website/product?
  [Matrix / Likert Scale]
  

These questions aim to gather feedback on the performance and speed aspects of the user experience. They cover areas such as responsiveness, loading times, navigation, and overall satisfaction.

• Did you experience any issues with the website/product performance or speed?
  [Binary Yes/No]
  
  
• Does our website/product respond quickly to your interactions?
  [Slider]
  
  
• Have you encountered any delays or lags while using our website/product?
  [Binary Yes/No]
  
  
• How satisfied are you with the overall performance and speed of our website/ application?
  [Matrix / Likert Scale]
  
  
• How quickly did our website/product load pages or screens for you?
  [Opinion Scale]
  
  
• Were you able to smoothly navigate different sections or features of our website/product?
  [Binary Yes/No]
  
  
• Is there anything we can do to improve the performance and speed of our website/product based on your experience?
  
  
• When did you experience an issue with our website or application?
  [Date]
  

These questions aim to gather feedback on various aspects of the customer support experience. This includes satisfaction levels, the effectiveness of communication, issue resolution, and overall quality of service.

• How satisfied are you with the level of customer support provided?
  [Matrix / Likert Scale]
  
  
• Were your inquiries or issues resolved in a timely manner?
  [Binary Yes/No]
  
  
• Did the customer support representative address your concerns adequately?
  [Binary Yes/No]
  
  
• Did the customer support representative provide clear explanations or instructions?
  [Opinion Scale]
  
  
• Is there anything we can do to improve our customer support experience?
  [Comment Box]
  
  
• How likely are you to recommend our customer support agents to others?
  [Net Promoter Score]
  
  
• Were you satisfied with the communication channels available for contacting our support team?
  [Matrix / Likert Scale]
  

The post User Experience Survey Questions, Methods & More appeared first on Shout.com.

Likert scale questions are some of the most commonly used question types in surveys. From customer satisfaction to employee performance, they can be extremely effective in understanding the attitudes and opinions of respondents.

• Strongly Agree
• Agree
• Neutral
• Disagree
• Strongly Disagree

• DON’T: “How satisfied are you with this product?”
• DO: “How satisfied are you with the price of this product?”
• DON’T: “Do you consider X celebrity hot right now?”
• DO: “Do you consider X celebrity popular right now among your colleagues?”
• DON’T: “How often do you use public transportation?”
• DO: “How often did you use public transportation on weekends throughout this year?”

• STATEMENT: “I am satisfied with the quality of this product?”
• QUESTION: “How satisfied are you with the quality of this product?”
• STATEMENT: “The organization invests time and money to keep the employees updated with technology.”
• QUESTION: “Are you satisfied with the amount of time and money the organization invests in keeping employees updated with technology?”
• STATEMENT: “I am likely to recommend X brand’s products to my family members.”
• QUESTION: “How likely are you to recommend X brand’s products to your family members?”

• UNIPOLAR: “How appealing does this product look to you?”
• BIPOLAR: “How likely are you to purchase this product?”
• UNIPOLAR: “How much attention do you pay to influencers promoting brands?”
• BIPOLAR: “How satisfied are you with our customer support?”
• UNIPOLAR: “How satisfied are you with your performance during the past year?”
• BIPOLAR: “How likely are you to seek a second job?”

The post How to Write Effective Likert Scale Questions appeared first on Shout.com.

Let’s explore what hypothetical questions are, how they can when creating surveys, and go over some examples.

What are Hypothetical Questions?

Hypothetical questions ask people to consider a fictitious scenario and imagine what they would do or how they would feel. They’re intended to be thought-provoking, as they’re used to understand a person’s thought process, motivations, or decision-making criteria.

How to Use Hypothetical Questions

When used correctly, they can provide valuable insights into attitudes, behaviors, and preferences. Here are some tips on how to use hypothetical questions effectively in your surveys:

1. Start with a clear and concise hypothetical scenario. The scenario should be relevant to the research topic and easy for respondents to understand.
2. Use concrete details to help stimulate critical thinking.
3.  Provide a range of options or responses to choose from (if you’re using closed questions).
4. Use open-ended questions to encourage respondents to provide detailed and nuanced answers.
5. Use them in conjunction with other question types, such as Likert scales or multiple-choice questions, to gather a variety of data.

Hypothetical question examples

Here are five examples of hypothetical questions:

• If you could go back in time and change one decision you made, what would it be?
• If you suddenly became invisible, what would be the first thing you would do?
• If you won the lottery, what would be the first thing you would buy?
• If you were stranded on a deserted island and could only bring one item with you, what would it be?
• If you could have any superpower, what would it be and why?

These are much more general questions that won’t help you collect useful data for your research. So, let’s get into some specific examples of hypothetical questions for surveys below.

Examples of Hypothetical Questions in Surveys

Hypothetical questions can be useful in many contexts, as they allow you to understand how individuals might respond to different scenarios.

Customer experience and satisfaction

Hypothetical questions allow businesses to understand how customers might react to new products or services or changes that may impact them.

Here are a few examples for customer experience surveys:

1. If you experienced a problem with our product or service, how would you like us to resolve the issue?
2. What rewards or benefits would you find most appealing for a customer loyalty program?
3. Would you be interested in trying out our new feature?
4. If our product or service was no longer available, how would you feel and what would you do?

Employee satisfaction surveys

Hypothetical questions can allow companies to gauge how employees may react to changes in their workplace or role. For example, you can better understand how employees handle challenges, resolve conflicts, and make decisions. Here are a few examples for employee satisfaction surveys:

1. If you were given more autonomy in your role, how do you think it would affect your job satisfaction and productivity?
2. How would you handle a difficult co-worker and ensure a positive outcome?
3. What professional development training would you undergo, and why?
4. If your work schedule changed, how would it impact your work-life balance and overall job satisfaction?

These types of questions can provide insights into employees’ attitudes and preferences, as well as identify opportunities to increase job satisfaction and engagement.

Additionally, they can help companies anticipate potential issues or conflicts in the workplace, allowing employers to proactively address these issues.

Recruitment surveys

When recruiting new individuals, it’s important to understand how candidates will react to different scenarios in the workplace. Here are some examples of hypothetical questions for a recruitment survey:

• Would you accept a job offer that required you to move to another city?
• If you were offered a higher salary at another company, but the job was less aligned with your long-term career goals, what would you do?
• What steps would you take to meet a tight deadline?
• When faced with a difficult customer, how would you handle the situation to ensure that you meet their needs while maintaining company policies?
• If one of your team members was not contributing equally, what steps would you take to address the situation?
• How would you learn the necessary skills to complete a task you’re unfamiliar with?

These questions help you identify the most suitable candidate and whether they align with your company values.

Political polling

In political polling, hypothetical questions allow pollsters to gauge how voters react to new policies, candidates, and campaign strategies. Here are some examples for use in a political polling survey:

• If a candidate you support were to change their stance on an issue, would you still support them in the upcoming election?
• If a candidate you do not support were to win the election, how would you feel about the outcome?
• If Candidate A proposed a new tax plan, how likely would you be to support it?
• If Candidate B changed their position on an issue, would you be more or less likely to vote for them?
• If a third-party candidate entered the race, would you be more or less likely to vote for your current preferred candidate?
• If a scandal broke out about a candidate, how likely would it be to change your opinion of them?

Such questions can help pollsters craft messages and anticipate shifts in public opinion.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Hypothetical Questions

Like any question type, these have their advantages and disadvantages. Here are some of the key pros and cons of using hypothetical questions in survey research:

Advantages

Here are some advantages/benefits of asking hypothetical questions in surveys:

1. Promote critical thinking by asking individuals to consider alternative perspectives.
2. They can make surveys more engaging, as they require respondents to think more deeply about their responses.
3. Identify potential issues or opportunities.
4. Gain richer insight into attitudes and beliefs based on respondents’ answers.
5. Help researchers understand the how and why of decision-making processes.

Disadvantages

Here are some potential disadvantages of asking hypothetical questions:

• They may not always accurately reflect real-life situations, reducing the validity and reliability of survey reports.
• Hypothetical questions can be challenging to interpret, particularly if respondents have varying levels of understanding of the scenario.
• The insights generated may not always apply to real-life situations, particularly if the scenario is too abstract or far-fetched.
• Respondents may provide answers they perceive as socially desirable rather than accurately reflecting their opinions or attitudes, leading to response bias.
• They can be time-consuming and require a high level of cognitive effort, causing survey fatigue.

Wrapping Up

Overall, hypothetical questions can be a valuable tool in survey research. By providing clear and concise scenarios, being specific in the questions asked, and using a variety of question types, researchers can gather valuable insights into the attitudes, behaviors, and preferences of their survey respondents.

However, it’s important to consider the potential limitations and disadvantages of hypothetical questions and use them with other question types to gather a well-rounded picture of survey respondents.

The post How to Use Hypothetical Questions appeared first on Shout.com.

• Anonymous vs confidential surveys
  • Anonymous surveys
  • Confidential surveys
• How to create an anonymous survey
  • Can you track responses whilst keeping a survey anonymous?
• How to create a confidential survey
• Wrapping up

Anonymous and confidential surveys are tools for collecting feedback whilst protecting respondent privacy.

They can go a long way in encouraging open and honest responses, which are essential to any research.

But, what’s the difference between them?

Anonymous vs confidential surveys

These surveys both aim to protect the privacy of participants, but they do so in different ways.

Anonymous surveys don’t collect information that identifies respondents. Confidential surveys can collect personal data, but there are restrictions on who can access results.

These surveys aim to build trust and good faith with survey respondents.

Let’s get into the nitty-gritty of these two survey types below.

Anonymous surveys

An anonymous survey is one in which the questions do not, in any way, reveal a respondent’s identity. Which is to say, you don’t collect an personal information from them.

They’re perfect in situations where you’re asking for sensitive information, as the anonymity encourages people to provide honest feedback.

The advantage of anonymous surveys is that they may increase response rates, as people may feel more comfortable responding.

Conducting this type of survey doesn’t mean you can’t ask demographic questions. As long as you can’t identify a person based on their response, your survey is still anonymous.

Confidential surveys

Confidential surveys are where first-party data is collected, but is kept private. The survey administrator protects the identity of respondents and only uses that data for research or statistical analysis.

These are common in workplace settings, e.g. employee engagement surveys, where knowing who provided the feedback is essential to interpreting results.

This doesn’t just apply to names and email addresses, as in these instances something as innocuous as a job title can identify respondents.

How to create an anonymous survey

Creating an anonymous survey is fairly straightforward, all you need to do is avoid asking any questions that reveal a respondent’s identity.

If you’re using an online survey tool, you may also need to disable any features that track any personal information.

By default, all surveys created with Shout are completely anonymous. We don’t use cookies, collect IP addresses, or track respondents unnecessarily.

To help assure your respondents of this, it’s best practice to include an introduction or disclaimer that states all survey responses are anonymous.

Can you track responses whilst keeping a survey anonymous?

With Shout this is entirely possible.

Our Pseudonymization feature allows you to separate personally identifiable information from any other response data in your survey results.

This means that you can send a survey to an email list, and track who has and hasn’t responded, whilst ensuring that survey data isn’t linked to any particular contact.

You can also set a minimum response quota, that restricts access to your results until that quota has been met. Meaning, the first respondents can’t be identified simply because they’re the only ones to have responded.

How to create a confidential survey

Confidential surveys are set up as any other survey would be, but the results are restricted to a select group of people.

There must be strict guidelines in place for who can access personal data.

Let’s use employee engagement surveys as an example to show why this is important. There may be cases where managers read employee responses and attempt to identify who wrote them.

Whilst this may be with the best intentions, it violates the trust those employees have put in you.

An impartial researcher should use the data to identify patterns and trends, then report on these findings to managers and senior staff.

Wrapping up

The difference between anonymous and confidential surveys is that only confidential surveys collect personal data. But they both strive to protect the anonymity of respondents.

In doing so, they encourage honest feedback and enable you to make data-driven decisions.

The post Anonymous vs Confidential Surveys appeared first on Shout.com.

So, let’s get right into open-ended vs. closed-ended questions.

Open-ended questions

Open-ended questions allow respondents to provide a free-form answer, meaning that they can respond in their own words.

These types of questions are used to gather qualitative data, as they allow for a more in-depth and detailed understanding of the respondent’s thoughts and opinions.

However, open feedback can be time-consuming to analyze, and the responses may be more difficult to compare across respondents.

Examples of open-ended questions

Examples of open-ended questions include:

1. How would you improve our product/ service?
2. Can you tell me about a difficult experience you’ve had and how you overcame it?
3. How do you see the future of this industry?
4. What do you think are the most important qualities for success in this field?
5. Can you describe a time when you had to work with a difficult team member?
6. In your opinion, what are some of the major challenges facing society today?
7. How do you manage stress and stay motivated in your work?
8. Can you tell me about a particularly meaningful project you have worked on?
9. In your opinion, what are the key factors that contribute to a successful business?
10. How do you approach problem-solving and decision-making in your work?

When it comes to choosing a question type for open-ended questions, you’ll likely need to use one of the below:

• Text box
• Text boxes (Multiple)
• Comment/ Essay Box
• Contact Forms
• Picture comments

Closed-ended questions

Closed-ended questions require a one word answer, such as a yes or no, or a selection from a predefined list of options.

These types of questions collect quantitative data, as they allow for easy comparison and analysis.

One advantage of closed-ended questions is that they are quick and easy to answer, and they can be used to gather a large amount of data in a short period of time. They are also useful for comparing responses across a large sample of respondents.

There are lots of question types you can use when asking closed-ended questions in surveys, including:

• Multiple choice questions
• Matrix (Likert Scale)
• Opinion scale (rating scale)
• Sliders
• Net Promoter Score
• Dates
• Binary Yes/No
• Star rating
• Picture choice questions
• Drop-down list
• Order ranking

Examples of closed-ended questions

Here are some usable examples of closed-ended questions:

1. How old are you?
2. What is your gender?
3. Are you currently employed?
4. In which country do you reside?
5. How likely are you to recommend this product/ service to a friend or colleague?
6. On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate the service you received?
7. Do you own or rent your home?
8. How many children do you have?
9. What is your highest level of education?
10. On what date will you be attending the event?

Open-ended vs. closed-ended questions, which to use?

It is also important to note that the use of open-ended and closed-ended questions is not mutually exclusive, and a survey or research study can include a mix of both types of questions.

This provides a more well-rounded understanding of the research topic, as the quantitative data from closed-ended questions compliments the qualitative data from open-ended questions.

Wrapping up

There you have it, the difference between open-ended vs. closed-ended questions lies in the type of data they collect.

Open-ended questions elicit free-form responses which makes them perfect for qualitative research. Whilst closed-ended questions are essential for quantitative research.

Both types of questions have their advantages and disadvantages, but work well when used in tandem to provide a more complete understanding of the topic being researched.

The post Open-Ended vs. Closed-Ended Questions in Surveys appeared first on Shout.com.

It can be time-consuming, but it’s important to ensure that your questions are clear and everything is working as intended before sharing with your audience.

What is survey testing?

Survey testing refers to the process of evaluating the quality and effectiveness of a survey before you distribute it to a larger population.

This can include testing the survey questions for clarity, testing the survey logic and flow, and pilot testing the survey with a small group of participants to assess its effectiveness and identify any issues or areas for improvement.

The goal of this is to ensure that the survey will produce valid and reliable data.

Guide for testing surveys

If this is your first experience with questionnaire design, you may want to familiarise yourself with the best practices for writing survey questions. This will give you a good head start and help you avoid creating a flawed survey.

Below, we’ll describe the process and steps for testing your survey at different junctures. Some of these steps occur before you share your survey with respondents.

But it may surprise you that some of this analysis occurs after you’ve collected responses.

1. Preview your survey

Before sharing your survey with your target audience, you should preview and test its content and functionality first. Any decent survey software will allow you to do this in the app.

Here are a few ways to identify potential problems before running a pilot survey:

Review surveys questions

This ensures that your questions are clear, easy to understand, and free of errors. Some other factors you’ll want to keep in mind are:

• Question-wording: you should word questions clearly and concisely.

• Question order: the order of survey questions can have unintentional effects on how people respond to the following questions. You should order questions logically and in a way that creates as little bias as possible.
• Question balance: There are two types of survey questions; closed-ended questions and open-ended questions. Both are essential to conducting well-rounded research projects, but the overuse of either can lead to survey fatigue (especially open-ended questions).

• Avoid leading questions: to ensure the data you collect is accurate, you must avoid leading questions.

• Don’t ask double-barrelled questions: only ever ask one question at a time. Failing to do this will confuse audiences and can result in inaccurate data.

Take a test run

This is an important step if you’ve enabled any custom features in your survey. Logic and Piping and both prime examples of this, you’ll want to be sure this is all working.

Shout allows you to respond to survey questions, as a respondent would, without saving a response.

Check device responsiveness

You’ll also want to check how your survey looks on different devices, like tablets and mobiles. Most online survey tools will do this for you, Shout will even let you preview your survey on mobile and tablet in the builder.

What you’ll want to check is that there are no bulky sections of text or other survey design issues that may impact respondent experiences.

When you’re previewing and testing your survey, you must do so from the point of view of a respondent. Try and remove any bias from your mind, and take an objective look at your questions.

The best thing to do would be to ask a friend or colleague to do a test run of your survey and have them give feedback on their experience.

2. Run a pilot test of your survey

Once you’ve tested the survey on your end, you’ll want to run a pilot study with a small sample of respondents. This is where you’d ask a small group of people, similar to the target audience, to answer the questions in your survey.

This allows you to identify any errors, confusion, or response bias in your survey before it goes live.

This also provides valuable insight into the kind of data you’ll collect, which can completely change your outlook on the survey questions you ask.

We recommend running a pilot test of your survey by the same method as you intend to conduct the real survey. This will give you the most comparable results and allows you to make accurate changes to your questions.

However, you may benefit from testing your survey via the below methods:

Online surveys

An online survey is a method of collecting data in which a researcher asks a set of questions to a group of participants through an online platform, such as a website, email, or social media. The participants respond to the questions by selecting from a list of predefined options or giving open feedback.

Face-to-face interviews

A face-to-face interview survey is a method of collecting data in which a trained interviewer interviews with a respondent in person. These types of surveys are typically used when the research topic is sensitive or personal. They can also gather detailed information from respondents, as the interviewer can ask follow-up questions and probe for more information.

Telephone interviews

A telephone interview survey is a method of collecting data in which a trained interviewer interviews with a respondent over the phone. These types of surveys are typically used to reach a wide geographic area and are less expensive than face-to-face interview surveys. They also reach respondents who may be hard to reach or who are not able to take part in a face-to-face interview.

Focus groups

A focus group survey is a method of collecting data in which a trained moderator leads a group discussion with a small, diverse group of individuals who share similar characteristics or experiences related to a specific research topic. The participants are selected based on specific criteria such as demographics, behaviour, or attitudes.

Observational studies

An observational study is a research method in which the researcher observes and records the behaviour of individuals or groups without actively influencing or altering it. The goal of an observational study is to understand the relationship between different variables and to gather information about a specific phenomenon in a natural setting.

3. Identify the best distribution method

After the questionnaire has been pilot tested, and any necessary changes have been made, it’s ready to go.

You may be wondering why we’ve included a section on distribution in an article about survey testing. That’s because, in an ideal world, you should also test which method of distribution has the highest yield of survey respondents.

If you’re distributing to an email list, this will be less of a concern for you. But other methods such as social media, phone, website embeds, and QR codes can be subject to fewer responses if the proper strategy isn’t in place.

Also, it’s important to ensure that the data collected is accurate and unbiased. This can be done by using random sampling techniques, using multiple methods of data collection, and using ethical research practices.

4. Report on your findings

Once you’ve collected and analyzed data, it’s important to report on your findings. Two ways of doing this are a written survey report or a presentation.

After analyzing the data, you may notice some issues that escaped you when survey testing. This is completely normal, and just something you’ll have to take note of when you conduct a survey again in the future.

Create a document that outlines these issues, whether they were caused by questions or technical glitches, and have it ready for next time.

Wrapping up

Survey testing is an essential part of market research and a valuable tool for businesses, organizations, and individuals to gather information and insights from their target audience.

The process of survey testing begins with the development of a questionnaire, followed by pilot testing, distribution, data collection, and analysis.

It’s important to note that survey testing is a process and not a one-time event, you need to continuously test and gather feedback to improve your surveys and your understanding of your target audience.

It’s important to report the findings clearly and concisely, making it easy for the reader to understand. With the right approach, survey testing can provide valuable insights that can aid in making informed decisions.

The post Survey Testing: A Guide to Collecting Actionable Data appeared first on Shout.com.

• What is survey completion rate?
• How to calculate survey completion rate
• What’s the difference between a survey completion rate and response rate?
• 9 Tips to help increase your survey completion rate
• Wrapping up

Survey completion rates are important because they provide insight into the effectiveness of a survey. High completion rates can indicate that it was well-received and that respondents were willing to invest the time and effort.

Low completion rates can indicate that it wasn’t engaging or relevant, or that it was too long or difficult.

This also means that you’d only collect a portion of the survey data you need. This can spell the end of your project, whether you’re conducting market research or measuring customer satisfaction.

Understanding the factors that contribute to survey completion rates can help researchers to create more effective surveys.

What is survey completion rate?

Survey completion rates refer to the percentage of people who start a survey and finish it. These rates can vary widely depending on several factors, including survey length, subject matter, and the incentives offered for completion.

Below, we’ll explore some of the key considerations for increasing survey completion rates.

How to calculate survey completion rate

To calculate survey completion rate, you’ll need to determine the number of people who started and the number of people who finished it.

Here’s the basic formula:

Survey completion rate = (Number of people who finished the survey / Number of people who started the survey) * 100%

For example, if a survey was sent to 100 people and 50 people started it, but only 40 people finished it, the completion rate would be calculated as follows:

Survey completion rate = (40 / 50) * 100% = 80%

This means that it had a completion rate of 80%.

It’s important to note that survey completion rate only considers people who started a response. It doesn’t take into account people who did not start it or who were not contacted.

To get truly gauge the success of a survey, it may be necessary to also consider response rate. This takes into account all the people who were contacted, regardless of whether they completed it or not.

What’s the difference between a survey completion rate and response rate?

Survey completion rates refer to the percentage of people who start a survey and finish it. On the other hand, survey response rates refer to the percentage of people who respond, regardless of whether they complete it or not.

Survey completion rates do not provide a full picture of a survey’s reach.

Survey response rates are generally considered to be a more comprehensive measure of the success of a survey, as they take into account all the people who were contacted, regardless of whether they completed it.

9 Tips to help increase your survey completion rate

Below, we’ll explore some of the key considerations for improving survey completion rates, as well as some best practices for survey design.

1. Reduce survey length

One of the most important factors in survey completion rates is the length of the survey.

Surveys that are too long are more likely to be abandoned before completion, as respondents may become bored or annoyed with the length.

On the other hand, those that are too short may not gather enough data to be meaningful.

Striking the right balance is key, and the ideal length will depend on the subject matter and the target audience.

2. Ensure surveys are relevant and interesting

Following on from above, the subject matter of a survey will also contribute to a higher or lower completion rate. Surveys that are relevant and interesting to respondents are more likely to be completed.

Those that are too technical or unrelated to respondents’ interests are more likely to be abandoned.

To improve the completion rates, it’s important to consider your target audience and tailor topics and questions to their interests and needs.

3. Offer an incentive for survey respondents

Incentives can also be a powerful tool in improving survey completion rates.

Offering a reward for completing the survey, such as a discount or a chance to enter a prize draw, can increase the likelihood of completion.

However, it’s important to consider the type of incentive that’s offered, as some may be more appealing to certain audiences than others.

4. Craft a survey design that catches the eye

The design of the survey itself can also impact completion rates. Surveys that are well-designed and easy to understand are more likely to be completed.

This includes factors such as the layout and formatting, as well as the language used. They should be easy to read and navigate, and should avoid using jargon or complex language that may be confusing to the respondent.

5. Choose the right distribution method

Another factor to consider is the method of distribution or delivery. Surveys that are delivered via email or online are generally more convenient for respondents and are therefore more likely to be completed.

Those that are delivered via mail or on paper may be more inconvenient and may have lower completion rates as a result.

If you create email surveys with Shout, you’ll be able to track who has and hasn’t responded. You can then send reminders to those who’re yet to respond to increase your response rate

You can then filter your results by completion, and send a follow-up campaign to ask dropouts to complete their response.

6. Remove non-essential questions

You should consider removing all questions that are not essential for you to meet your research goals. Not only do they increase survey length, they may also impact any trust respondents have with you.

7. Write clear and concise survey questions

It is also important to be clear and concise in the wording of the questions. Questions should be easy to understand and should not require a lot of thought or effort to answer.

Additionally, it can be helpful to provide clear instructions, including how long your survey is expected to take and any other relevant information.

8. Keep responses anonymous

Another best practice is to maintain the confidentiality and privacy of the respondent.

Surveys that assure respondents that their responses will be kept confidential and anonymous are more likely to be completed, as respondents may be more willing to share sensitive or personal information if they feel that their privacy is being respected.

With Shout, all responses are anonymous by default. We also offer a number of features to boost anonymity and compliance when collecting survey data:

• Pseudonymization: Separate personally identifiable information from response data in your survey report
• Minimum response quota: Set a minimum response quota for surveys to lock results until that quota is met.
• Collect Consent: Collect explicit consent from respondents when adding them to the Shout CRM.
• Group by lawful basis for processing data: Group survey contacts by the lawful basis for processing their data (e.g. Legitimate Interests, Consent, Contact, Public Task, etc.).

9. Reach out to respondents who dropped out

Finally, it is important to follow up with respondents who have not completed the survey.

This could include sending reminder emails or phone calls, or offering additional incentives to encourage completion.

As we mentioned above, you can track responses and follow up with respondents who dropped out of your survey in a few clicks.

Wrapping up

In addition to providing insight into the effectiveness of a survey, completion rates can also be used to measure the success of a campaign.

By tracking changes in completion rates over time, researchers can determine whether their efforts to improve the survey are having the desired effect.

Whilst you might not be able to identify exactly why respondents are dropping out of your survey, the above tips will help you increase completion rates.

The post 9 Strategies for Boosting Your Survey Completion Rate appeared first on Shout.com.