We live in an age where information is power.
But we also live in an age where misinformation and unverified assumptions have never been easier to spread. When making important business decisions, it’s vital to base them on verified information and not your own or someone else’s beliefs.
So, what’s the easiest and most effective way to collect verifiable information?
Do a survey.
Online surveys are quick, simple and efficient way of getting to know your target audience and obtaining feedback about your customers, products, and services.
Still, you need to make sure you’re focusing on the right survey topics. To make things easier, we’re going to share some survey ideas you can use to gather relevant data.
Important note: We won’t just be sharing some random stuff I read online. Here at LeadQuizzes, we’ve helped our users collect over 4.7M emails and gather 73.9M answers using surveys and quizzes, so we’ll share with you some of the things we learned in the process – including survey templates.
But first – what makes a good survey?
Before we dive into survey ideas, let’s clear the air with some base rules. Survey won’t do you much good if it’s not bringing is results – in this case, it’s clear, actionable feedback.
So, ask yourself – how do I intend to use results of the survey? Do I want to learn something new about my potential customers? Do I want to get their feedback on my product or service? So what’s the recipe for
- Sticking to one goal – being ambitious is great, but with surveys, keeping thing simple goes a long way. Don’t try to find out everything all at once – a single survey goes for a single goal. Anything more than that will end up in survey results that will be impossible to analyze and turn into actionable info.
- Good survey questions – depending on whether you’re trying to create customer satisfaction survey, calculate your net promoter score (NPS), or conduct market research, you will outline the right questions. They should be simple, clear, and unambiguous, allowing you to seamlessly quantify results. The basic survey question types include close-ended and open-ended questions, with close-ended questions being the preferred type. More on that in this chapter.
- Keeping it short and sweet – if you want a high response rate keep in mind that respondents have limited time and patience. Top-performing surveys have no more than 8-10 questions, while survey questions should also be short with one or two lines of text.
Top 10 Survey Topics and Ideas for Brands and Companies
Now that we laid the groundwork, let’s get into details. Basic rules are great, but maybe you still aren’t sure which type of survey to use, what topics to explore or what type of survey questions to ask?
Here are the 10 most common broad survey topics that can help you learn more about your business and target audience.
1. Demographic Survey
Demographic surveys are used whenever you need to obtain some general information about your audience. They have found its application in statistics, politics, business, marketing, etc.
The most common demographic questions ask about age, gender, ethnicity, education, employment, location, marital status, and more. If you’re looking for specific question examples, check out these 100 sample demographic questions you can ask in your surveys.
Or click on the button below to preview and use our demographic survey template.
*To use this survey template, just create an account (or login), and then select the template from our builder.
2. Market Research Survey
Most successful businesses base their decisions on thorough market research.
Using a market research survey is an excellent way for companies to better understand their prospects and their individual needs, attitudes, preferences, and purchase behavior. That way, you can more confidently identify your target market, learn more about your potential customers, or discover trends in a particular niche.
Click on the button below to preview and use our market research survey template.
*To use this survey template, just create an account (or login), and then select the template from our builder.
3. Net Promoter Survey
NPS (Net Promoter Score) survey is one of the most popular ways of determining customer satisfaction and loyalty. It shows how likely your existing customers or users are to refer your company to their friends, colleagues, and family.
Why is NPS so important? And one of the most common survey topics for successful businesses? Well, it is seen as a very strong indicator of future business growth based on current customer satisfaction.
Click on the button below to preview and use our NPS survey template.
*To use this survey template, just create an account (or login), and then select the template from our builder.
4. Customer Satisfaction Surveys
Another common survey topic is customer satisfaction. Whether you’re a doctor, a lawyer, a restaurant owner, a marketing agency, or a SaaS business, customer satisfaction has to be one of your major concerns if you’re looking to achieve long-term success.
One of the easiest and most effective ways to check the pulse of your customers is a customer satisfaction survey. Here, I’ll present you with a couple of examples of customer satisfaction surveys. You can use the template as it is or customize it to fit your specific needs and goals.
Universal customer satisfaction survey template
*To use this survey template, just create an account (or login), and then select the template from our builder.
Patient Satisfaction Survey
*To use this survey template, just create an account (or login), and then select the template from our builder.
5. Employee Satisfaction Surveys
It is a common saying that a company is only as good as it’s employees. I would add that employee satisfaction should be seen as a pretty accurate indicator of a company’s success.
Why exactly is it important to evaluate employee satisfaction and engagement?
First and foremost, it allows you to learn what you’re doing well and what areas need improvement. Then you can address the issues and make sure your company remains a great place for your employees and customers. It’s the only way your business can grow.
Here are a couple of survey templates you can use.
Employee Feedback Survey
*To use this survey template, just create an account (or login), and then select the template from our builder.
Job Satisfaction Survey
*To use this survey template, just create an account (or login), and then select the template from our builder.
Exit Survey
*To use this survey template, just create an account (or login), and then select the template from our builder.
6. Product Feedback Surveys
Believe it or not, one of the easiest ways to acquire new customers (and keep your existing ones) is to learn what they really think about your products and services. That’s why feedback surveys are one of the most widely used types of survey topics.
To grab a hold of what consumers think about your product, start using the template below.
*To use this survey template, just create an account (or login), and then select the template from our builder.
7. Brand Awareness Survey
Branding and brand awareness are vital to any long-term business success. At the same time, they are often downplayed on account of other marketing concepts that can provide faster and more easily measurable results.
Anyway, before you start any serious work on branding, the best practice is to first determine how popular your brand is among your target audience right now. It’s one thing that can make all your next branding efforts much more effective and easier to monitor.
The best way to learn more about your brand’s popularity is to do a brand awareness survey. Feel free to use the template below.
*To use this survey template, just create an account (or login), and then select the template from our builder.
8. Post-Event Survey
After hosting a seminar, fundraiser, corporate party, or any other event, naturally, you’d like to find out how it went. The best way to do so is by running a post-event survey. It’s one of the most relevant survey topics for event organizers.
Check out these 21 post-event survey questions or click on the template below to use it right away.
*To use this survey template, just create an account (or login), and then select the template from our builder.
9. Website Feedback Survey
Want something more specific? Nowadays, your social media and website are the first thing customers and clients see when they are introduced to your business. Making sure your website is providing an impeccable user experience should be a top priority. One way to achieve that is simply creating a website feedback survey that allows you to understand your website’s strong and weak spots and fine tune them accordingly.
*To use this survey template, just create an account (or login), and then select the template from our builder.
10. Likert Scale Survey
Even if the name may sound unfamiliar, chances are you’ve bumped into this type of survey many times. You know those surveys where you “neither agree nor disagree’ or ‘completely agree/disagree’? Well, that was a Likert scale survey.
This is one of the most popular survey types that allows you to really put a number on perceptions, attitudes, and opinions, without jeopardizing nuance thanks to a plethora of answer options to choose from.
*To use this survey template, just create an account (or login), and then select the template from our builder.
How to Create a Perfect Survey
1. Use LeadQuizzes Survey Template
In the chapter with survey topics and ideas we offered pre-made survey templates that are fully customizable. You can change names, images and design, or add survey questions that are relevant to your survey goal.
2. Create a Popping Landing Page
If you are opting for creating a fresh new survey, click here to register and access the LeadQuizzes dashboard. We offer a 14-day free trial so you can really test our survey tool and see if it is working for you and your business.
Keep the landing page simple – add a short survey name, state the purpose of the survey and keep it straightforward, one sentence should suffice.
3. Ask the Right Survey Questions
After that, you can move on to creating survey questions. If you want to dig a bit deeper into this we suggest you check out this super-detailed guide with dozens of survey question examples.
Here we’ll just check out the digest version. As we mentioned earlier, larger portion of your questionnaire should consist of closed-ended questions. They will provide the bulk of quantifiable data you’re looking for. Open-ended questions, on the other hand, require extra effort from survey takers – so use them sparingly, to add context and depth to the numbers.
Closed-Ended Questions
Closed-ended questions have limited and predefined response options to choose from. The answers can range from yes/no to specific number or piece of information. These are some of the most common types of survey questions:
- Dichotomous (‘Yes/No’) questions
- Multiple-choice questions – these survey questions allow three or more predetermined answers with option for single or multiple answers.
- Checkbox questions -this is type of survey question that adds the flexibility of choosing multiple options.
- Rating Scale Questions – with this question, respondents have the opportunity to order answer choices based on the level of their preference.
- Likert Scale Questions – as we already mentioned, Likert scale measures answers on a scale that goes from complete disagreement to total agreement. The two most common are the 5-point and 7-point Likert scales.
With the right survey software, multiple-choice questions offer a lot of extra flexibility and creativity in design deparment – save for simple text questions, you can enrich your survey with image and video questions.
Open-Ended Questions
Open-ended survey questions offer respondents a blank text box to share their attitudes, opinions and explanations in their own words. Open-ended questions, if dosed properly, can be a great source of valuable qualitative data.
Bonus tip
Success of your great survey idea largely relies on asking the right questions. You should avoid ambiguous and leading questions, especially the double-barreled questions. These are the questions that attempt to stick two topics into one question but allow only a single answer. For example: Should the government regulate crypto-industry and create more jobs?
4. Collect answers and analyze data
With LeadQuizzes, your survey can be seamlessly embedded on your website, added to a pop-up window or posted on social media. Thanks to integrations with Facebook Pixel and Google Ads, as well as well-organized report dashboard, you can also keep up with survey response rate and critical drop-off points, enabling you to fine-tune your survey if needed.
There is also the option to export your survey answers and data as a CSV to analyze it using Excel or Google Sheets.
Conclusion
If you’re a small company or brand looking to grow your business, learning more about your existing and potential customers can be vital. As already mentioned, one of the best ways to do so is by conducting a survey.
Above, we’ve shared some of the most common and most relevant survey ideas and topics to cover, alongside pre-made templates we’ve tried and tested. LeadQuizzes also doubles as a quiz maker – with more than 20.000 users and more than 9.5 million leads generated, quizzes could be an untapped resource to shake-up your marketing strategy and engage with your customers on a completely different level!
Start your free 14-day LeadQuizzes trial now!
