By Mike Lee
Here are some of the top benefits of using an online survey program. Among them are flexibility, convenience, and accuracy. Hopefully, these benefits will convince you to use an online survey program. Read on to learn about these benefits and how to make the most of an online survey program. And remember, convenience is the first benefit!
Convenience
One of the best aspects of online surveys is allowing respondents to pace themselves, think things through, and share their thoughts. One of the most common problems with survey handouts is that participants cannot remember which survey link they had already completed and may end up missing it altogether. Online survey programs eliminate this problem by utilizing a first-come-first-served policy. These advantages make online surveys more attractive to consumers.
Aside from convenience, online survey programs allow for a higher response rate because of their flexibility. Respondents can easily access surveys from any location, including their mobile phones, PCs, and tablets. Because surveys are quick and easy to complete, they will also result in higher customer satisfaction. Additionally, companies can use feedback to resolve customer problems. Finally, by providing individualized answers, online surveys can help brands win back lost customers.
Another benefit of online surveys is their convenience. Respondents can complete surveys at their leisure. Because respondents do not have to worry about completing the survey, it increases response rates. Online surveys can also be sent via email or set to automatically remind respondents to complete the survey at a later time. Furthermore, they can be accessed from any device, reducing the burden on respondents. So, online surveys can be a smart investment for research teams.
Flexibility
When you’re choosing an online survey program, flexibility is an important consideration. The more flexible it is, the better. This is especially true if you are designing a survey to gain insight into donors’ priorities. In other words, if your nonprofit is trying to discover donors’ priorities, you’ll need to ask different questions. But online survey tools are flexible enough to accommodate these changes. Moreover, many of them offer trial versions to compare features and design flexibility.
The benefits of flexibility are numerous. A recent survey conducted by Qualtrics asked 1,000 full-time employees what they valued most in a job. Some of the topics covered were mental health, increased pay, working one day less each week, and working in amusement parks. Those who said these benefits would be very helpful to their careers ranked workplace flexibility as a top benefit. In fact, a third of respondents said that having more work-life balance was important for their well-being.
Accuracy
Using an online survey program can increase the accuracy of your results. While it is difficult to control the response rate, there are a few ways to improve the accuracy of your survey questions. For example, you can remove wording from questions that lead respondents to guess or answer incorrectly. You can also minimize clipping or reshuffling by centering the response scale. Another way to improve accuracy is to provide a “Don’t Know/Not Applicable” response option. Finally, your survey participants shouldn’t be too prominent. You can also use a lockout feature so that participants cannot respond more than once, or you can set up your survey to automatically resize the screen so that the response area is as large as possible.
Once your survey is programmed, you should proofread it thoroughly. Ensure the text is readable and all questions and answers are grammatically correct. Market research teams often have a standard survey format, but you can adjust that to meet your survey’s needs. For example, check the font size, bolding, colors, buttons, progress bars, and background images. If you need to make any adjustments, it’s important to do so.
