Top 8 Survey Questions to Ask

Do you wish to ace your feedback questionnaire to achieve the best results? What is it that you look for while drafting a questionnaire for your desired survey research? Let us assist you with simple tips on the best questions to ask in a survey.

Throwing light on how our lives, in general, feel like a constant race it is essential to invest in less time-consuming things. To carry out an authentic survey, the researcher must carefully examine all angles of their survey to attract the attention of the audience, keep them hooked to the questionnaire, and achieve success in the first hit without wasting any time or effort.

While asking questions in a survey, numerous factors must be considered:

1. Be aware of who your target audience is and what are their basic requirements.
2. Environmental factors like the right time, place, and opportunity to approach.
3. Clearly outlined goal or description of the primary purpose of the survey.
4. A sampling of the population.
5. A detailed structure of the Questionnaire.
6. Unbiased approach towards the research.

The most fundamental element out of all these factors is to ask spot-on questions to derive the exact and accurate results of the survey and fulfill the purpose and effort of conducting it.

You must have filled out some surveys and would have come across various types of questions in a questionnaire, like, ‘How would you rate today’s visit to the store?’ or ‘How was your experience at our store today?’.

Now can you identify a difference in the structure or framing of these questions? The first one is a close-ended question with a straight answer while the second one is an open-ended question requiring a subjective answer.

Good survey researchers keep a culmination of different types of questions that are required to come to an effective conclusion to call it successful research.

Let us now consider the type of questions to ask and the set scenarios of when to ask those questions:

1. One-word identification questions - These questions are asked for the personal identification of the person. They include name, contact details, age, ethnicity, nationality, gender, address, etc. It differs based on the type of business. Certain surveys often exclude the name and contact details to keep the details of the person anonymous if required.

2. Close-ended questions - These questions are simple to answer and take less time for the consumer as compared to subjective questions.

   • Multiple choice questions - These questions include giving the respondent multiple options to choose the most appropriate answer.
   • Rating-scale questions - These questions include giving the respondent the option to rate their answer on a quantitative scale. For eg - Rate the experience of your visit on a scale of 1-5 (5 being the best experience)
   • One-word open-ended question - These questions ask for a one-word answer from the respondents. For eg - Which place do you belong to?
   • Yes or No questions - These questions ask for a clear affirmative or negative response from the respondent. For eg - Did you enjoy your experience with us?/Did you feel our website was easy to navigate?

3. Open-ended questions - These questions require time and thought as they have no pre-fixed answers. They give the respondent the chance to explain their likes/dislikes and views/comments in detail for a better and more comprehensive understanding of the researcher.

   • One-line answers - These questions require a brief answer based on the personal experience of the respondent. For eg. - What did you like the most about our product?/Which product did you like the most and why?
   • Subjective brief answers - These types of questions require a detailed answer from the respondent. They help the researcher identify the loopholes and offer a chance to make the experience of their customers better than before. For eg.- What was the purpose of your visit?/How can we make your experience better at the company name?

Once the researcher is clear about the type of questions they want to fit in the questionnaire is when they must decide on exactly what question to ask to get the best results. Let us consider a business event or visit, online/offline, and look at the apt set of questions to be asked from the client to achieve interesting feedback.

Important questions you should ask your customer after an online/offline visit:

Q1. On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate your visit today?

This question gives the client as well as the researcher a base to answer and comprehend the next subjective question in detail.

Q2. Were you able to fulfill the purpose of your visit? If not, how can we make it better?

Start with a yes/no question followed by an open-ended question to support that answer. This way of questioning showcases the respondent a positive approach from your end and leaves it open-ended for suggestions.

Q3. Tell us three things that you feel we are missing out on. (Feel free to add more to the list)

This question gives them a clear structure for their answer and makes them believe that their feedback will be taken into consideration. It will also give you active suggestions on what to add to your business.

Q4. What is the one thing that you liked the most about our service/product?

This question gives you an idea of the kind of things you should increase to please customers and attract more attention to your business.

Q5. From where did you find out about us?

This question describes exactly where you should invest in advertising your business to fetch more customers.

Q6. Mention two services/products that you did not like and why?

This is an extremely important question for positive criticism which will help you get a fair idea of the loopholes in your products.

Q7. Have you gone through our website? Did you find what you were looking for?

Your website is often a deal-maker or breaker depending upon how accessible the customer feels it is for them hence it is necessary to take an idea of their views of the website.

Q8. What is the one thing that will persuade you to visit us again?

Let this be an open-ended question you ask for the customers to place their personal experiences on paper.

The key is to not rush into the process of drafting a questionnaire, avoid repetition or similarity in questions, and keep your focus on more close-ended questions which should be marked as required, and limited open-ended questions to be marked as optional to save time for the respondent. Giving the opportunity of offering feedback to the respondents in their own words could help you uncover enormous opportunities that you may have otherwise overlooked while setting up shop.