Surveys
Surveys can be highly advantageous to organizations in that they provide response data on customized questions; and when it comes to the technicalities of collecting and analyzing the survey data, there are a lot of low-cost and highly intuitive options out there these days. Thus, whether you’re looking to gather information on societal trends, information on overall consumer sentiment, or just some informative customer feedback, surveys can be an incredibly powerful and cost-effective way for your organization to gather actionable data-driven insights.
Asking The Right Questions
If survey questions are worded poorly, it becomes difficult or impossible to get valuable information out of them. Please view our blog series about crafting surveys that will yield the best possible results. Surveys can also be employed during the discovery phase of a project to provide direction and next steps.
Survey Tools
There are several key features to consider when choosing the survey tool you want to use:
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Skip Logic The ability to automatically skip some question(s) on the survey based on the answers the user submits. -
Cross Tabs/Filters A basic data reporting feature that shows the relationship(s) between how respondents answered multiple survey questions -
Randomization A random ordering of survey questions to prevent response bias -
A/B Testing Experimentally showing two versions of a website to different cohorts of site visitors to see which one generates better traffic/conversions
Free and free-version-available online survey tools make data collection a breeze, which is why Boxplot advises survey-utilizing clients to take advantage of such tools. Here are a few of our favorite online survey tools, along with the advantages and disadvantages of each:
Google Forms allows unlimited surveys, respondents, and collaborators for free, which is a key advantage over most other survey tools. Also included, for free, is skip logic, the ability to embed videos or images in your survey, and the option to embed the survey itself in your emails and/or website. As a final bonus, because Google Forms is a part of the Google suite, it automatically converts response data to spreadsheet form in Google Sheets.
As with Google Forms, the free version of SoGoSurvey allows unlimited surveys, unlimited respondents, and data exportation. Additionally, TypeForm offers a free built-in basic reporting feature which is available on the free version of neither Google Forms nor Survey Monkey. On the downside, skip logic isn’t available on the free version of TypeForm; the payware version adds a few features but costs $25 per month.
Survey Monkey offers an even more comprehensive list of features than Google Forms, but only certain features of Survey Monkey are included in the free version. Although the free version only allows 10 questions and 100 respondents per survey, the Gold version ―relatively inexpensive at only $300 per year― allows unlimited questions, unlimited respondents, exportation to spreadsheets, skip logic, 24/7 email support, randomization, cross tabs/filters, and A/B testing, the latter four of which are unavailable for Google Forms. The 15 available question types, even in the free version, is superior to Google Forms’s 11.
Analyzing Survey Data
Once you have a well-crafted survey, and have distributed it using one of the tools above (or of course, a non-digital method like sending people door-to-door), you’re ready to analyze the results! Boxplot has analyzed countless surveys for organizations. We’ve also completed projects where we’ve created personas using clustering algorithms from survey data. There are many ways to get valuable metrics from surveys that can lead to actionable insights for your business.
Get in Touch
If it’s your first time building a survey, or even if you’re a seasoned pro, leveraging survey data effectively can be a difficult task. Whether you’re in need of guidance on survey building or analyzing the data that results from it, we can help!
