Avoid These Writing Pitfalls...

Our Persuadables team has developed thousands of successful online surveys, ranging in length from one to eighty questions. And with every new survey we continue to learn how to better craft questions that challenge and reward the respondent.

To help you earn a high response rate – and gather all the information needed – here are the top ten survey construction pitfalls we’ve learned to avoid:

1. Asking too many questions
As each respondent starts your survey, an internal clock is ticking inside his or her head, and a little voice is asking, “Is this survey worth my time?” Our rule of thumb is “Ask all the questions you need, and not one more!”

2. Asking the obvious
If a customer has been buying your product for ten years, you don’t need to ask him or her “if” they like it. The better question is “why” they like it. Don’t ask questions for which you already know the answers. Do so at the risk of testing the respondent’s patience.

3. Asking too many open-ended questions
Essays are a great way to probe for information, but keep in mind how your survey will be analyzed, reported, and most important, interpreted by your marketing team. If you ask more than a handful of open-ended questions, will your team have the time necessary to digest and discuss the response?

4. Failing to ask exactly what we need to know
With online surveys it is usually okay to ask directly what you need to know. There is no need to disguise your intentions. Respondents are eager to tell you exactly how they feel.

5. Leading the respondent
As in a poker game, the respondent is very aware of the cards on the table, and those left in the deck. You cannot ask a respondent to make a value judgment in one question, and then expect him or her to be a blank slate on the next. Respondents carry the cumulative knowledge they acquire from the survey from first question to last.

6. Redundancy
One of the worst things a survey can do is pose a question that has already been answered, regardless of how differently it is worded. Redundant questions raise suspicion. “Are these guys trying to trick me?” “Don’t they trust my veracity?”

7. Asking questions that have a very high probability of going unanswered.

Online surveys work because the great majority of respondents want to help you develop better products and services. They understand taking your survey is a win-win proposition. Asking esoteric questions only a fraction can address, however, is a big turnoff.

8. Forcing the respondent to guess
Questions should test the respondent’s knowledge, or measure his or her awareness and attitudes. To prevent guesswork, and the reliability of your survey results, provide a “Don’t know” or “Other, please specify” option whenever appropriate.

9. Asking too many self-serving questions
You may want to capture everything respondents think and feel about your products or services, but before most will give it all up, they need to be able to see how they might be bettered by the information they provide. Before you try to drill down to the minutia, ask your self why the respondent should care.

10. Redundancy
See, it really is distracting to cover the same ground twice.