You want to grow your business and provide the best experience to your customers. You know that happy customers mean repeat business and new customer acquisition as well.

To accomplish your business goals, you want to use an important marketing tool – the customer survey. Securing customer feedback is crucial to growing your business.

Smart businesses know that sending surveys helps you gain valuable information to propel your business forward. Plus, surveys are easy and affordable to create. (tweet this)

You’ll find there are a few tricks to sending surveys that get responses. In this article, we look at seven proven methods you can use to get customers to answer your survey.

#1: Make Customers Feel Special

Since you want people to complete your survey, you have to make them feel special. How do you do this?

You want to show you genuinely appreciate your customers’ participation in your survey.

There are various types of messaging to use in your survey that accomplish this, and here are two suggestions:

• Use the subject line: “We want to know what you think.” This immediately sets the tone and lets your customers know that you really want to know their opinion on your products, services, or customer support. You might then elaborate a bit and tell your customers how their feedback will impact them and your business.
• Or, use this subject line: “Please take a short five minutes to complete this important survey.” With this sentence, you tell your customers up front how long your survey is going to take them. Five minutes is a good length because most people have that amount of time to spare. Be sure that you have had sample subjects take your survey, though. You don’t want to promise five minutes when it is really 10. Don’t forget to thank them as well. Always remember that shorter surveys are better.

#2: Provide an Incentive

You can try the above tactics, but if they aren’t working for you, try something different in your next survey.

Offer your customers an incentive to raise your survey completion rate. Here are a few examples:

• Offer a discount at the end of the survey. For example, you might provide a 15% off coupon for their next shopping trip.
• Give your customers a gift certificate at the end of the survey – $10-15 is a nice range.
• You can also offer a drawing as an incentive. For example, “Enter our survey and be entered into a drawing for a $100 gift card.”

Whatever incentive you offer, make sure you know your target audience. It should appeal to a broad range of your respondents.

#3: Use Multiple Channels

Sometimes businesses make the mistake of only sending surveys through one channel.

For example, if you post a link to your survey on Facebook, you won’t necessarily reach all of your customers. Some of them might not even use the social media platform.

The easiest, and usually the best way, to send surveys is through your survey provider or in other instances, your email marketing service provider.

If you have your customers’ email addresses, this is the most reliable way to get your surveys in front of your customers.

Next, you might consider posting your survey through your social media channels and putting it on a landing page on your website. You can also send survey links through SMS.

How does all of this help? It ensures that your customers will see your survey. If they ignore the first notice, but they see a link to the survey three more times, they might just click and complete it.

#4: Keep Your Survey Short

How long is too long?

Research shows that survey length is one of the most important thing respondents consider when completing your survey and accounts for many drop-outs.

As a rule of thumb, keep your surveys under 10 questions. For most surveys one-three is the ideal amount.

The last thing you want is your survey drop-out rate to increase because your survey is too long. Show your customers you appreciate their time by keeping your survey short.

It should only include the questions that you are actually going to act on in the near future.

#5: Be Timely

You want to send your customers their survey the same day they made their purchase or used their services.

It’s best if the experience is fresh in their mind because they’ll be more likely to complete your survey. If they can’t remember their experience, they might provide you with inaccurate feedback.

#6: Know the Goal of Your Survey

Before you even begin putting your survey together, you want to make sure you know the goal.

Perhaps your goal is to find out if your customers would recommend you business. Your go-to survey is the Net Promoter Score survey.

Or, your goal might be to find out how your customer liked the product they purchased. This is a short survey with detailed questions.

Next, you want to tell your customers up front what you’re going to do with the information. And, after the survey, when you’ve formulated your plan, email your customers and let them know the actions you’re going to take.

This helps them feel appreciated once again.

#7: Personalize Your Survey Email

Your customers expect you to know who they are.

According to a survey, when you send emails with personalized subject lines, your customers are 26% more likely to open them.

When survey respondents see their name in print on their screen, there is a subtle nod that encourages them to complete your survey. The human touch works when it comes to increasing survey response rates.

Consider using their name in not only the email subject line but the body of the email as well.

Final Thoughts

Now that you know the seven proven methods you can use to get customers to answer your survey, you’re ready to create your first survey.

You are also well on your way to understanding your customers’ needs and wants better so you can refine your products and improve your customer service.

By taking the time needed to create the best survey possible, you have a better shot at more responses which is just what you need to improve your business.

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.

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