{"id":28200,"date":"2023-06-06T15:50:35","date_gmt":"2023-06-06T19:50:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.forsta.com\/resources\/blog\/8-key-strategies-to-increase-survey-response-rate\/"},"modified":"2026-06-25T13:16:05","modified_gmt":"2026-06-25T17:16:05","slug":"8-key-strategies-to-increase-survey-response-rate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.forsta.com\/resources\/blog\/8-key-strategies-to-increase-survey-response-rate\/","title":{"rendered":"8 key strategies to increase survey response rate"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

There\u2019s nothing quite as disheartening as rolling out a big important survey, only to find that none of your customers have the least intention of filling it out.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Surveys are crucial for giving companies key information about everything from customer satisfaction levels to what consumers are looking for from the next big thing; they\u2019re also incredibly cost-effective, and can allow you to reach a huge amount of people. But if you\u2019re going to rely on surveys for key intel, you need to know what tactics to employ to bag a healthy response rate. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this blog, we\u2019ll explain survey response rates, explore the benefits of high survey response rates, talk you through the factors that can influence survey response rates, and share strategies for increasing survey response rates.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is a survey response rate?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Surveys are just dandy for gathering information on your target customers and plugging any gaping gaps in your data \u2013 but only if you get enough people to respond.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A survey response rate refers to the number of people from your sample group who fill out and return your survey. This is how you work it out: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Response rate = Number of people who completed the survey \/ total number of people you sent it to x 100 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following this handy little formula will give you your response rate as a percentage \u2013 allowing you to monitor the impact of different strategies, and the effectiveness of your engagement when it comes to distributing surveys among your target segments. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s important to note that your response rate isn\u2019t the same as your completion rate. While your response rate relates to the number of people who completed your survey once it was sent to them, your completion rate is the percentage of people who finish your survey once they\u2019ve started it. Confused? Don\u2019t be. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can calculate your completion rate with the following formula: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Completion rate = Number of completed surveys divided by the number of survey respondents. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Survey data can come from open-access portals such as suggestion boxes. You didn\u2019t send your survey to them, but they\u2019re still giving you intel. A high completion rate suggests your surveys are hitting the mark. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Factors that can influence survey response rate <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Any number of factors can impact people\u2019s willingness (or ability) to fill out your survey. If it\u2019s difficult for them to complete, overly time-consuming, or provides a generally poor experience, people are unlikely to invest their precious time into giving you feedback.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A poor survey experience could come from dissatisfaction with your choice of topic, badly worded questions, repetitive questions, complicated questions, too many questions, a lack of cohesion in the areas you\u2019re investigating, a confusing lay-out, unclear instructions, or glitches with technology. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The type of survey itself can also affect results: people may be less willing to fill out a paper survey than an online one. Sensitive topics \u2013 or particularly niche ones \u2013 may return fewer results, as can surveys that don\u2019t feel personal to your sample group. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are also factors outside of your control, such as the interest level and motivation of people in your sample group, your previous relationship with them, demographic factors \u2013 such as lifestyle and education \u2013 and whether there\u2019s anything in it for them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you want to ensure high response rates for every survey you send out into the world, you\u2019re going to need to address any pain points or hurdles to provide a positive survey experience. It also helps if there are incentives for completion, reminders and follow-ups, and assurances of anonymity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to increase survey response rate: Our 8 key strategies  <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Now that you understand the myriad benefits of boosting your survey response rate, let\u2019s look at eight of the most effective strategies for encouraging customers to answer your call.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. Make it worth their while<\/strong>With so many demands on people\u2019s time, it\u2019s not surprising that surveys often get left unanswered. Why \u2013 in somebody\u2019s incredibly busy day \u2013 would they sit down to answer a whole heap of questions? There are some good eggs who do it out of love for your brand, but others will need a gentle nudge. Besides, you don\u2019t work for free, so why should customers give their time without a little incentive? Offering rewards and incentives can increase the likelihood of people filling out your survey. You can enter all respondents into one big prize draw, but offering small incentives to every person who completes your survey gets better results. You might give them money off their next purchase or send them a gift as a thank you. You could even offer larger incentives for the first 50-100 people who return your survey, as this will add an air of urgency and increase the speed of responses. <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Create your own survey panel <\/strong>An effective way to increase your survey response rate is to create a group of pre-selected volunteers as your research panel. This saves you having to spend time looking for the right respondents, and if they\u2019ve already volunteered to be on your panel, chances are they\u2019re going to fill out your survey \u2013 as and when you need it. It\u2019s important to make sure that your research panel is diverse and contains an adequate number of representatives from every customer segment that you need to be targeting, and whose opinions you need to consider. Panels are particularly useful if you don\u2019t have a captive customer base to send your surveys to. <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Employ psychological theory <\/strong>Have you ever heard of cognitive dissonance? Don\u2019t worry: it\u2019s not as intimidating as it sounds. Dissonance refers to a lack of harmony; cognitive dissonance follows the theory that by reducing dissonance in your surveys, you can influence a person\u2019s decision to respond. Clever, eh? Put simply, if you create a survey and cover letter that aligns with a person\u2019s value system, they\u2019re more likely to respond \u2013 especially if you indicate that failing to respond goes against their self-beliefs. If you appeal to a person\u2019s helpful nature for example, not completing your survey creates a feeling of dissonance. They\u2019ll then try to alleviate that dissonance by, you guessed it, filling out your survey.  You can also help your case by clearly explaining how you\u2019ll use and act on their feedback and make them feel important by stressing just how valuable and transformative their input could be. <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. Get your timings right<\/strong>If you\u2019re planning to send out surveys to your customers after making a purchase, don\u2019t delay. Research suggests that response rates significantly increase if you ask for feedback as soon as your product or service has been delivered or used. The feedback that you collect straight away is also more accurate than opinions garnered even a day or two later. If you\u2019ve sent out your survey in good time but are still waiting for responses, give your customers a gentle nudge by following up with a reminder. Using new language with every communication, you can send up to three follow-ups without becoming annoying.  Another great tactic is to close the loop by communicating outcomes or feedback on survey results. This level of follow-up will make your customers more likely to complete any future surveys, as they already know you\u2019ll put their opinions to good use. <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  5. Choose the right medium<\/strong>There are lots of different ways that you can gather feedback and roll out your surveys. The trick is to choose the right channel for your business, its customers, and the insights you\u2019re attempting to gather. Email surveys can return better results than SMS (text message) surveys \u2013 but however you format your survey, it must be easy to respond. Optimize SMS surveys for mobile, or if you\u2019re going down the email route, consider embedding questions into the body of the email itself for ease of access.  <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  6. Avoid over-complicating things <\/strong>Surveys should be short and sweet; well-focused and to the point. If you introduce too many questions, or your questions are too wordy, confusing or complicated, people are going to get bored and quickly give up \u2013 leading to low survey response rates. If your survey absolutely needs to be longer than is comfortable for most people, be sure to offer a good incentive!  <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  7. Make your expectations clear <\/strong>People like to know what they\u2019re getting themselves into, and offering feedback is no different. It\u2019s a good idea to tell people at the start of the survey how long completing it is likely to take. If they need to head out the door in five minutes, and your survey takes seven minutes to fill out, they know not to start it right now.  Add in a few friendly cues to encourage completion \u2013 such as \u2018almost done\u2019, or \u2018nearly there\u2019 \u2013 to increase the chances of people making it to the very end. <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  8. Personalize your surveysAs with anything in market research or customer experience, personalization gets results. If you communicate why you chose this particular customer to complete your survey, they\u2019ll feel valued \u2013 and more than just another number. Include key info that you already have on them and talk to them in a human way. For example: \u201cHi John, we hope you\u2019re having great fun with your new cocktail shaker. Would you mind if we interrupted the party to ask you a few quick questions about your experience?\u201d <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    How can Forsta help?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Forsta\u2019s online survey software can help you to truly understand your customers, increase survey engagement, and access the insights that\u2019ll transform your business.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Sample Marketplace, our fully automated system, lets you acquire a sample up to 80% faster, while our Microsoft Word uploader and ready-to-use survey templates means that creating surveys has never been faster.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    With multiple collection points (online, CATI, CAWI, CAPI, mobile and more) and device detection capabilities, we create a better survey experience to get you a better survey response rate. And with the highest standards of security and compliance, that\u2019s another thing off your mind. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Whether\u00a0you\u2019re\u00a0a first-timer or seasoned pro, our software has you covered.\u00a0Download our data sheet<\/a>\u00a0to find out more.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Ready to launch your next customer survey? <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Survey response rates typically vary between 20-30%, with a 50% response rate considered pleasingly high, and 10% viewed as concerningly low. If you\u2019re currently at the low end, don\u2019t worry. Follow the tips and techniques in this blog, and you\u2019ll be raising your rates in no time at all. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    And if you want a helping hand from the market research pros, don\u2019t hesitate to give us a call. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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