Surveys are a terrific way to gather vital information for your business. You may have already started surveying your customers with this popular data-collection method.

You may have found that surveys can help you survey large groups of people in a cost-effective manner. Perhaps you’re getting ready to send another survey, and you’d like to send one that isn’t predictable or boring.

Asking unexpected, fun questions is a great way to encourage more survey responses. You might find that shaking things up a bit increases your response rates.

We put together this list of five unique survey questions so you an reduce your survey abandonment rates and encourage more respondents to not only start your survey but finish it.

#1: Picture Question – Choose One

The image choice question is fun for respondents, and it’s especially useful for your more visual customers.

This type of question is a simple, closed-ended question where your survey respondents can choose from one or more image answers.

You provide the images, and they are free to pick their favorite(s).

We like the image-based question because it’s highly interactive for your survey respondents and encourages engagement. This is especially helpful if your customers are suffering from survey fatigue.

Because your customers are hit every day with surveys, the interactive image-based question can energize your customers and make them want to complete your survey. This can reduce your survey abandonment rate and increase your response rate.

The picture question can help you break through the survey clutter and show your customers their opinions matter.

#2: The Constant Sum Question

With this distinctive survey question, you allow your respondents to express how valuable or important something is to them.

A constant sum survey question helps you collect a ratio of data showing it in comparison to other data.

For example, you might offer respondents a sliding scale that they can move themselves. You could ask them to show how likely they are to do a series of things.

Let’s say you own a clothing store, and you want to know how likely your customers are to spend money on individual items. They can move the slider showing how they spend their money. You might ask them to slide the scale on the following:

• Pants
• Shirts
• Undergarments
• Pajamas
• Jewelry
• Hats and Belts
• Shoes

You can use this question when you are relatively sure your customers will make a purchase from you, but you want to know on what.

#3: Upload a File

There are times when you may really want to engage your survey respondents and asking them to upload a file on their cellphone is one way to do this.

Perhaps you’re looking for photos, documents or other information. If so, you can add an upload question to your survey.

Using this question allows your respondents to not only provide you a survey response but upload a file as well. It allows you to collect data that might not be available to you through standard survey questions.

While your customers will find this question fairly easy to deal with, you want to make sure to restrict the type of file your respondents can upload. For example, if you’re looking for an image, you don’t want them to upload a spreadsheet.

Be sure to provide hints and tips for users who may not be well-versed in mobile uploads.

#4: Reword the Question

Another way to make your surveys more unique is to get your creative juices working. Find fun ways to rewrite your standards survey questions so they inspire your respondents and elicit higher response rates.

Consider this survey question example:

How likely are you to purchase this product again?

• Heck yeah!
• Stuck in the middle.
• Wishy washy.
• No way.

By using clever choices, you give your customers a smile and create a survey they might actually want to complete.

Note, though, that this doesn’t work for all survey questions, and you should remain serious where it’s called for and if your industry wouldn’t work well with a bit of creativity.

Know your audience and use your best judgement.

#5: Throw in Some Humor

Yes, surveys are important for your data collection, and you don’t want to venture too far away from getting your results, but in the right circumstances you can consider using a little humor.

For example, if you have a long survey of 10 questions, and you want to add a bit of levity to the seriousness of it, you might through in a humorous question in the middle.

Do make sure the question still gathers data but ask it in a unique way. Perhaps halfway through your long survey, you might ask customers, “Are you tired yet?”

For the answers, make it apply to your business:

• Choice #1: Yes! I’m as tired as I was walking from one end of your store to the other to find what I needed.
• Choice #2: Of course not, you would never tire me.

From this question/answer, you add some humor, but you’re still able to take away vital data. If they chose choice #1, you might rethink your store layout for ease of use.

Bottom line have fun with your wording but do make sure you’re still getting valuable data about your customers’ experience with you. (tweet this)

Final Thoughts

Hilary Swank, a well-known actress, said, “If I’m going to do something different, and if I want it to meet someone’s needs, I really need to go the distance.”

If you take this quote to heart, you can see how important it is to first, survey your customers so you ensure you’re meeting their needs. Second, you want to create a survey that is engaging enough your customers will want to take it.

One way to do this is to throw in some unique survey questions to increase your response rate and engage your best customers.

Now that you have some survey questions to help you step out of your response, you’re well on your way to getting responses while making your customers feel that you went the extra mile to make sure their survey experience was one of a kind.

Surveys help you make the best decisions for your business. Are you ready to get started with your free Survey Town trial? Start with your free account today, and you can upgrade at any time.

Image:  Ricardo Gomez Angel on Unsplash