Online surveys have become an indispensable tool for companies to gather feedback and insights from customers, employees, or other target groups. Well-designed surveys that follow research best practices in questionnaire design, distribution, analysis and reporting can yield incredibly useful information to guide business strategy and decisions.
However, creating an effective online survey is both an art and a science. Without adhering to research and survey methodology principles, the data collected can be meaningless or misleading.
In this comprehensive guide, we provide 18 best practices for conducting reliable online surveys that yield valid, actionable insights.
Why Online Surveys Matter
- Online surveys provide efficient way to gather data at scale from geographically dispersed groups
- Enable companies to directly hear from and understand their customers
- Support data-driven decision making across the organization
- Provide voice of customer insights to guide marketing, product development, HR and other key functions
However, only around 4% of a company‘s customers are reached for feedback. So there is both a need and an opportunity to conduct online surveys more systematically.
When executed correctly, online surveys can become an invaluable listening tool.
The growth of online surveys
Online surveys have seen rapid adoption over the past decade, enabled by advances in survey software, mobile technology and shifting consumer preferences.
[Insert chart showing growth in online survey usage globally].Key drivers include:
- Lower cost and easier administration than traditional surveys
- Ability to access respondents anytime, anywhere
- Technology facilitates data capture, organization and analysis
- Demand for consumer insights across functions
Marketing and market research lead usage at 37%, followed by academics (19%), HR (14%) and UX research (9%). This breakdown indicates the versatile applications of online surveys [Insert visual breakout by function].
As technology continues to evolve, so too do the capabilities to gather and leverage insights from online surveys…
Emerging Trends Shaping the Future of Online Surveys
A number of emerging capabilities powered by AI, automation and Big Data will reshape online surveys:
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AI for text analysis – Natural language processing can automatically classify open-ended responses, saving significant manual coding effort. machines are 50-70% accurate on simpler classification tasks currently but improving rapidly [stats on NLP accuracy gains].
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Customer journey mapping – Survey responses can be combined with behavioral data and analyzed through process mining algorithms. This links attitudes to actual behaviors in customer journeys.
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Scalable analytics – Running advanced analyses like text mining, conjoint analysis, or complex crosstabs across huge response volumes is enabled by enterprise Big Data platforms like Hadoop.
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Personalization – Adaptive surveys tailored to individual respondents based on past behaviors and preferences can improve relevance and reduce drop-off. AI makes real-time customization possible even at scale.
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Sentiment mapping – Linguistic analysis of open-ended comments provides granular measures of emotional valence – are customers frustrated, angry, satisfied? Sentiment analysis provides an added layer of insight into the voice of the customer.
18 Best Practices for Effective Online Surveys
Survey Respondents
The data is only as good as the respondents. So putting effort into recruiting representative, engaged participants is key.
1. Define target population and sampling frame
Be precise about the overall target population, then determine the sampling frame (subset realistically accessible as survey respondents). This guides respondent recruitment and determines interpretability of results.
2. Recruit representative, unbiased sample
A sample that accurately reflects key characteristics of the target population will yield generalizable insights… [Additional details on obtaining sample representativeness, mitigating sampling bias]
3. Prescreen participants
Check IP addresses and other markers to avoid duplicate responses from the same individual or suspicious responses. This helps improve data quality. [More details on prescreening methods]
4. Ensure confidentiality
Assure respondents that answers will remain confidential and anonymous to encourage participation and honest responses, especially on sensitive topics.
5. Test different distribution modes
Evaluate whether target respondents are most reachable via email surveys, SMS, QR codes, website pop ups etc. Multi-mode surveys often improves representation. [Success metrics and benchmarks for each distribution mode]
6. Keep it short and accessible
Long surveys lead to survey fatigue. Ensure mobile friendliness and reasonable time commitment to maintain engagement. [Optimizing survey length, tools for mobile administration]
7. Incentivize participation
Providing incentives, e.g. chance to win gift voucher, increases response rates and attention paid. But should not pressure unwilling participants. [More details on incentives best practices]
Survey Design
Careful survey design minimizes measurement error and biases.
8. Determine appropriate data type needed
Are you looking to gather qualitative insights (respondents‘ perspectives) or quantify attitudes/behaviors? This guides question formulation. [When to use quantitative vs. qualitative]
9. Ask one question at a time
Avoid double-barreled questions that ask two things in one. Simpler questions produce higher quality responses.
10. Use simple, neutral language
Avoid ambiguous, charged or biased wording. Test questions to ensure interpretability and face validity. [Question testing methodology]
11. Limit open-ended questions
While open questions provide richer qualitative data, too many lead to survey fatigue. Use judiciously based on analysis needs. [Best practices for coding and analyzing unstructured data]
12. Randomize question order
Vary order to minimize order effects, where preceding questions prime responses to later ones. [Types of order effects, randomized block design]
13. Include attention check questions
Add trick questions to check respondents are paying attention, not just clicking through. This helps flag invalid responses. [Examples of effective attention check questions]
Analysis
Turning survey data into insights requires robust quantitative analysis and qualitative coding…[Details on preparing data for analysis, statistical techniques, qualitative analysis, reporting]
Conclusion
Well-executed online surveys require carefully balanced tradeoffs between depth and accessibility, quantitative and qualitative data, structure and openness. By following the best practices around respondents, design and analysis, companies can collect incredibly valuable insights to inform strategy and better meet customer needs.
To discuss how advanced analytics and AI can help you get more value from online surveys, schedule a consultation.
