There are two ways to capture customer feedback. That is via surveys. Both long and short surveys have their time and place. In this blog, we will try to understand the difference between the two types of customer surveys and when you might need it. Before that, let us discuss the basics.
What Is A Survey?
A survey is a series of questions used in market research. It collects information from respondents on their experiences on certain topics.It is a methodological tool to gather insights, opinions, numerical details on topics or sets of topics.Market research professionals use surveys in various industries such as healthcare, business, social sciences and to collect demographic data.
However, in technical terms, the survey definition as per research is to collect subjective opinions from a sample of subjects. This data is analyzed to study the representative population. The word questionnaire and surveys are used interchangeably but they are the same.
What Is The Difference Between A Long Survey And A Short Survey?
The two types of customer feedback questionnaires are useful for different scenarios. Understanding the differences will help you make an informed decision to help you choose the right survey length for your research objectives. However, each type of a survey has its own use as per the situation and market research goals.
What is a long survey?
Long questionnaires have a larger number of questions to collect comprehensive data. These surveys are typically designed to delve deep into specific topics or behaviors. This enables market researchers to get comprehensive insights. Long surveys cover a wide range of topics in great detail. Long questionnaires are suitable for in-depth research and detailed analysis. However, the length of long questionnaires can cause respondent fatigue, higher drop-out rates resulting in lower survey completion rates.
What is a short survey?
Short questionnaires are concise and focused on very specific research objectives. This includes experiences while shopping, one specific interaction or a quick question at a touchpoint.Short surveys have higher completion rates due to their length. Respondents find it easier to answer a few quick questions.
Standard customer satisfaction metrics such as net promoter score (NPS surveys), customer effort score (CES metric), or a customer satisfaction score (CSAT metrics) are an example of a very short survey. Short surveys also include post purchase feedback or in-app feedback on a purchase.
Choose The Right Length Of A Survey: When And Where
There are places that require comprehensive research. While there are companies that rely on short responses from their targeted customers.
When should you use a long survey?
Longer surveys are used for various purposes across different fields and industries. Here are some common purposes:
- Market research: Used to collect detailed insights into consumer behavior, preferences and ongoing market trends. It can capture pain points, trigger points and purchasing motivations. Lengthy question forms can also gather details on potential opportunities, current market gaps and competitive insights.
- Product development: Used to Collect detailed feedback on prototype designs or product concepts.Understand usage patterns, identify areas for improvement and innovation. Identify bugs and glitches and upgrade potential on software applications.
- Employee feedback form: Long question formats are used to evaluate job satisfaction, employee engagement and the need for professional tools. It is used to identify areas for improvement in the workplace environment, upskilling requirements and internal systems. Determine collaborative efforts across departments and team work gaps.
- Census data on demographics: Super lengthy question forms are meant to capture data on multiple households, their income levels, family status, educational background and genders.It helps to calculate population figures across multiple regions and areas overall.
- Healthcare and medical research: Long response forms can collect detailed patient information for medical studies and research.It is meant to explore health-related behaviors, conditions, and long-term treatment outcomes.
- Financial and economic research: Lengthy questionnaires are meant to gather data on economic trends, financial behaviors, and investment preferences. It will assess the long term impact of economic policies on customers, people and businesses. The customer data will also check for the impact of tax brackets on populations and businesses and the economy.
When should you use a short survey?
Short surveys are goal oriented, have a short lifespan, and are usually inmoment in its features. People can respond to short surveys on-the-go via their mobile devices as well.
Here are the instances that use short feedback format. Most short surveys are one to two questions long. The first question will contain either a rating scale, or a multiple choice answer. The second question will seek an open ended response.
- Post purchase surveys: post purchase feedback is taken right after a purchase or a financial transaction. This can occur in-app or after the checkout page. A common type of a post purchase survey is a CSAT score or a simple rating scale on customer experience.
- Customer support interactions: Launch customer satisfaction surveys such as CSAT scores, CES scores (customer effort scores) to understand if a support agent could resolve certain issues.
- Product or a software usage feedback: These are quick pop up questions to test the experience of a user. It collects initial reactions to a product or a prototype from their beta testers. It is also used to capture usage metrics, how it has solved the user’s pain points and need gaps for continuous improvements. For example, the net promoter score survey can segregate detractors from promoters.
- Social media feedback: Applications such as YouTube often share short surveys to assess relevance of ads to different users. Social media feedback is also used to measure brand perception to avoid online reputation damage. It can gauge public opinions on marketing campaigns, products, services or current trends.
Use ready made survey templates for your research
- Brand awareness templates for automobile industries
- Customer satisfaction survey for F&B industries
- Product development templates for SaaS industry
- View more templates here
6 Factors To Consider Before Choosing The Right Survey
Analyze the factors between the two types of questionnaire format before curating a market research protocol. Consider specific business objective and the following factors when determining the most suitable survey length for your study:
Research objectives:
Clearly define your research objectives. If you need a detailed understanding of a topic, opt for a longer survey design. For focused and specific research goals, a short survey could be the optimal choice. For example, for instant customer feedback,gauge the retail experience with a quick post purchase feedback.
Participant demographics:
Who are your target audiences? What are their preferences? Consider factors such as the age group, profession, and interests of your participants. Younger demographics may prefer shorter social media or in-app surveys. On the other hand, professionals in certain fields might be more inclined to engage with longer, in-depth questionnaires.
Time sensitivity:
Assess the urgency of your research. If time is of the essence, a shorter question format can provide quick insights. Long formats may be suitable for projects with a more extended timeline where a thorough examination of the subject is paramount.
Use of online survey tools:
Leverage online survey software tools and the best survey websites to streamline your CX needs. These tools offer features such as pre-created question templates, various survey distribution platforms, real time respondent data, higher response rates and AI analytics.
Avoiding survey fatigue:
Regardless of questionnaire length, take steps to mitigate survey fatigue. Design survey questions that are engaging and have a clear objective. Organize them logically and avoid double barreled questions. Include both qualitative and quantitative feedback to encourage open expressions of their experiences. Offer survey rewards and incentives to encourage participation.
Survey platforms:
Consider the various feedback platforms before deciding on the length of a questionnaire. Some platforms are not suitable for a lengthy questionnaire. Platforms such as social media apps, Facebook messenger, WhatsApp messenger, chat bots can bring a high response rate. For longer surveys, consider a more effort-oriented medium such as face-to-face interviews (census type interviews), emails, phone calls (CATI approach).
Conclusion
If you are looking to share long and short surveys across platforms, Merren has got you covered. Opt for a 14 day free trial with no credit card commitments. View your results on the Merren CX dashboard and collect all your customer data in one place. If you want to create a hassle free questionnaire, use our instant AI survey builder here.