Find out the best types of survey questions to use on your site. Easy tips to create surveys that get good answers and help you know your visitors better.
Approximate read time: 6.5 minutes
Choosing the right survey question types is an art and science.
Depending on your survey goals, different types of questions will get better answers. With so many choices, it is difficult to know which to use.
But that's why we created this guide to help clarify things for you. We'll cover the different types of survey questions you can use and give you examples so you know which one to use (and when) to get the best answers.
So, let's dive in.
The importance of using the right types of survey questions
Online surveys can help businesses collect customer information about their experiences and opinions. You can write surveys to gain valuable reactions to your products and services.
Plus, survey data can improve customer satisfaction and retention:
What's more, you can also use customer surveys to learn more about your competitors. With this information, you can stay ahead of the curve when offering new products and services.
However, it is important to ask the right questions when creating your surveys. Using the wrong ones can influence the amount of feedback you receive.
Common survey question types include multiple-answer questions, close-ended questions, rating scale questions, and single-answer questions. The best questions to use will depend on your survey goals.
For example, you should consider the information you're looking to collect. Then, you can decide which good survey questions will be most efficient for your users.
Regarding customer surveys, it's important to consider the information you hope to gain from your customers. You'll want to consider the type of data you need and how to gather it. Then, you can use customer surveys to improve your business and increase customer satisfaction.
10 types of survey questions to ask
1. Open-ended questions
Open-ended survey questions are the best way to get people's opinions in their own words.
Instead of answering with a set answer you created, they get to tell you exactly how they feel. And that's valuable information for your business.
You can use this to influence your offers or any products you release. You can also contact people to gather even more information.
The downside is that customers are less likely to fill these out. And analyzing survey results and qualitative data can also be a headache. You'll need to read each answer instead of collecting numerical information.
2. Multiple-choice questions
Multiple-choice survey questions are closed-ended.
They give customers a fixed set of answers to choose from.
Various survey questions use multiple-choice options. These questions can be helpful for quick data collection, and they're faster and easier for customers to answer than open-ended questions.
Also, your analysis is simpler because all respondents answered the question similarly.
However, this format removes the chance for personalized feedback. Customers can't share detailed thoughts. So, you might like to use multiple-choice and open-ended questions together. This maximizes what you get from your survey question!
3. Likert scale questions
Likert scales are incredibly popular types of questions for surveys.
And you recognize them the moment you see them based on the response options:
- Strongly Agree
- Agree or Disagree
- Strongly Disagree
These questions measure respondents' opinions, attitudes, or feelings toward something.
Likert and rating scale questions are often used to get a net promoter score (NPS). NPS surveys determine how satisfied a customer is with a product or service. Respondents will click on the bubble or star that matches their response.
4. Dichotomous questions
Dichotomous questions are a fancy way of saying questions that only have two possible answers.
These can be true/false, yes/no, or similar. The benefits of using these are that they can be answered quickly, are easy to measure, and help if you filter through data.
The primary downside is that they may be too simple and not provide much detail, so use these sparingly.
5. Matrix questions
Matrix questions bring together several related questions requiring the same answer options.
Customers who quickly answer similar questions are more likely to complete the survey, which increases the conversion rate.
However, you shouldn't overdo it with these, as they can overwhelm customers, which could decrease your conversion rate.
6. Ranking questions
Ranking questions help you quickly look into what your customer values most.
They give your customers options and then ask them to rank them, in order of importance, value, or other options you choose.
These questions are great for product development, marketing, and customer service decisions.
7. Demographic survey questions
Demographic questions help you get a direct insight into who your audience is.
Where they live, their age, and their education level. This information allows you to tailor your marketing and advertising directly to your audience.
The key here is to be specific about what information you're asking for, but you should also be sensitive to your customers' privacy.
8. Image choice questions
What's the saying, "A picture is worth a thousand words."?
That's even more true in a survey. Pictures convey more information, and survey takers' eyes are naturally drawn to them. And that means they'll likely answer the question!
Plus, if younger age groups take the survey, it makes it easier for them to understand. Overall, they have a huge impact on engagement.
If you use this survey question type, limit your image choices. Overwhelming survey takers with too many options will only lead to form abandonment.
9. Dropdown questions
Dropdown questions are excellent for saving space.
Instead of giving people a huge list that takes forever to scroll through (especially on a mobile device), they get one field. When they click on it, the list of options appears, then go away when they pick one.
It's clean, it's less overwhelming, and people prefer it. You can even add a search bar to make it faster for survey takers.
The main downside is that it doesn't reveal much about customers' opinions or thoughts. So, you should use these for demographics, categories, or similar choices.
10. Slider survey questions
Slider survey questions are fantastic for number-related questions.
Whether asking where different portions of their monthly salary go or other financial questions, survey takers can set up their answers quickly, too.
But it doesn't have to be financial only. You can also ask about satisfaction rates, levels of importance, and more!
Plus, let's be honest, this is a bit more fun (for a survey) than simply checking boxes.
Which types of survey questions will you use?
There are tons of survey question types and ways to use them.
Hopefully, this article has helped clear that up for you! Now that you have a breakdown of all the survey question types, we want to turn it over to you:
Which types will be most beneficial for your surveys? Let us know in the comments.
If you're looking for a way to create surveys, check out Formidable Forms for all your survey needs. All the examples in this article were created using Formidable Forms! And we have an entire library of survey templates for WordPress to get you started even faster!
So, grab our form maker now to take advantage of all the survey and survey report features!
Also, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube for more survey tips and tricks!
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