Surveys are almost like a double edged sword. On the one hand, a well-written concise survey is bound to help you figure out exactly what your customers expect, and desire. But on the other, asking the wrong questions in the survey is almost guaranteed to lead you astray.

Surveys are also a great way to give your customers the opportunity to feel more connected with your company.

A recent study on survey behaviour revealed dozens of rather absurd oddities. One of the most important being that almost 87% of all customers were willing to take the survey because they wanted a say in the future of the companies operations.

The question is, how do you ensure you are asking the right questions, with an adequate punchline?

No One Wants An Exam – Be Straight Forward

When you go to starbucks, do you want them to ask you fifty questions. But at the end of the day, all of those questions was just to figure out if you want sugar and milk in your beverage?

Probably not.

Consumers who take your survey are doing you a favor at the end of the day. It’s really important to make sure your questions are simple, understandable, and easy to answer. Be straightforward.

Here is an example of a really good survey that serves as an example to this point.

Have A Clear Indication Of What You Want Out Of Your Survey

When you ask consumers to take a survey on behalf of your business. You are going to need to tell them why, right?

If you are trying to figure out what customers think of your new packaging. Asking about the new Tesla car wouldn’t make much sense would it?

When setting up your survey – this is one of the most important things to keep consistent. That means identify exactly what the point of your survey is. From there, you want to figure out the key elements of that point. And direct your questions to find out those specific infographics.

For example, if you are looking for a specific product review. Talk about the product. Ask if the consumers like the idea, what do they like about similar products? This will give you the information that you need to ensure you have the biggest, baddest product on the market.

Avoid Being Bias Throughout Your Survey

When you run a successful business, it’s easy to become complacent.  For example, when finding out how to improve your top product. You might assume that all of the participants love your product, and they think it’s the best thing ever.

The truth is…

There will be customers who don’t love it. And who don’t appreciate your assumptions. At the end of the day, in order to get factual, straight to the point results; you need to keep your questions from being bias.

That means asking from a point that is completely disconnected to the topic at hand.

For example,

Poor questioning: Everyone knows how much you love our baseball product, but why do you love it so much?

Good questioning: If there is one thing you would change about our baseball product, what would it be. And why?

Speak In Your Audience’s Language

I had a doctor friend that loved lecturing me in everything medicine. He would spend hours at a time explaining chromosomes, and a bunch of other medical jargon that I could not remember even if I tried.

What’s the point of saying this?

Well, you don’t want to burden your consumers with things they really couldn’t be bothered with. No one likes niche-related jargon. Keep your questions in plain language that’s easy to digest.

Remember the entire point around your survey is to help you discover certain information to ensure the success of a new product/service. Or to help you improve your business overall. However, this will not work if people just answer for the sake of answering and don’t understand your question at all.

Another important thing to do is take the time.

Surveys are not something that you want to rush.

Those who take part appreciate companies that have taken the time and effort to ensure that all possible answers to questions are listed out to ensure there is a rugged “completeness” to the questionnaire. This has also been proven to increase response rates.

Make Sure You Are Approaching The Right Audience

This point is a tad simple. But at the end of the day, it’s still one of the most important ones to keep in mind. Your questions are targeted to help you with something specific. The research will be used to help you improve your business in some way or another, right?

Well, how are you going to get accurate results if you send the survey to parties that will not be interested in the changes/new products/services that you have to offer?

You really want to nail down your research. This way, you can ensure that only interested participants take part in the survey, ensuring you can get accurate results to help you make the best next move to propel your business to the next level.