12 Tips to Write Good Survey Questions for Customers

If you’re looking to get feedback from your customers, one of the best ways to do so is through a survey. But in order for your survey to be effective, you need to make sure you’re asking the right questions.

Here are 12 tips to write good survey questions for customers:

Keep questions short, sweet, and to the point

When it comes to writing survey questions for customers, the best approach is to keep things short, sweet, and to the point. This will ensure that your respondents are able to answer the questions without feeling overwhelmed or bogged down by too much information. Additionally, keeping your questions focused will help you to get the most useful feedback possible from your customers.

Some tips for writing effective survey questions include:

  • Avoid long, convoluted questions - instead, opt for shorter, simpler ones that can be easily answered.
  • Make sure that each question is clearly focused on a specific topic - this will help you to get more targeted feedback.
  • Avoid loaded questions that could lead respondents in a particular direction. Instead, stick to neutral language that allows them to freely express their opinions.

By following these tips, you can write survey questions that are both customer-friendly and informative. So go ahead and give it a try - your feedback will thank you for it!

Make sure questions are relevant to your survey’s purpose

When creating survey questions, it is important to make sure that the questions are relevant to the survey’s purpose. This means that the questions should be about the topic of the survey and not about something else entirely.

Additionally, the questions should be clear and concise so that respondents can easily understand them and provide accurate answers.

Finally, the questions should be unbiased and not leading in order to prevent respondents from feeling like they are being manipulated.

Avoid loaded questions

A loaded question is a question that suggests or implies the answer that the person asking the question wants. For example, “Have you stopped beating your wife?” This question implies that you have done so in the past, and is therefore loaded. Another example might be, “Do you support gun control?” This question is loaded because it presumes that you know what gun control is, and it also presumes that you either support it or oppose it.

To avoid loaded questions, survey questions should be clear and concise. They should not make assumptions about the respondent’s knowledge or opinions. Furthermore, they should not be leading in nature; that is, they should not suggest an answer to the respondent. Finally, they should not be ambiguous; that is, they should have only one meaning and should not be open to interpretation.

Use simple, direct language

It is important to use simple, direct language when writing survey questions for customers. This will ensure that the customer understands the question and can provide a clear and concise answer. Additionally, using simple language will help to reduce the chance of misinterpretation or confusion on the part of the customer.

Avoid jargon

When writing survey questions for customers, it is important to avoid using jargon. Jargon is industry-specific language that can be difficult for customers to understand. By avoiding jargon, you will ensure that your survey questions are clear and easy for customers to answer.

There are a few ways to avoid using jargon in your survey questions. First, you can use simple, everyday language. Second, you can explain the terms you do use in plain English. Finally, you can provide examples of what you are asking about. By following these tips, you will be able to write survey questions that are clear and easy for customers to understand.

Be clear about what you’re asking

When writing survey questions for customers, it is important to be clear about what you are asking. This means avoiding ambiguity and making sure that the question can be understood in the way you intend. It also means being specific and to the point. For example, instead of asking “How satisfied are you with our product?”, it would be better to ask “How likely are you to recommend our product to a friend or family member?”.

This question is more specific and therefore easier for the respondent to answer. Additionally, avoid leading questions that bias the response, such as “Our product is the best on the market, isn’t it?”. Finally, make sure that your questions are relevant to your research goals and that they will help you obtain the information you need.

Avoid double-barreled questions

When creating survey questions for customers, avoid double-barreled questions. A double-barreled question is a question that asks about two things at the same time.

For example, a double-barreled question might ask, “Do you like the taste and smell of our new product?” This type of question is confusing for respondents and makes it difficult to understand what they are being asked. It is also difficult to analyze the data from double-barreled questions.

If you need to ask about multiple things in a single question, break the question into separate parts. For example, you could ask two separate questions: “Do you like the taste of our new product?” and “Do you like the smell of our new product?” Asking separate questions will make it easier for respondents to answer and will make your data more reliable.

Avoid leading questions

Leading questions are those that prompt respondents to answer in a particular way. They can be useful if you want to get a specific type of response from your survey participants, but they can also lead to inaccurate results if you’re not careful. Here are some tips for avoiding leading questions in your surveys:

  1. Be clear about what you want to know. Leading questions often arise when the survey creator is unclear about what they want to learn from the survey. If you’re not sure what you want to know, take some time to think about it before writing your questions.

  2. Avoid loaded language. Words like “always,” “never,” and “should” can make your questions leading. For example, instead of asking “Do you always read the fine print?” try “Do you usually read the fine print?”

  3. Be specific in your wording. Vague or general questions are more likely to be leading than specific ones. For example, instead of asking “What do you think of our product?” try “What did you think of the flavor of our new product?”

  4. Don’t make assumptions in your questions. Asking a question like “You didn’t find our products very helpful, did you?” assumes that the person didn’t find them helpful and is likely to lead them to say no even if they did find them helpful. A better question would be “How helpful did you find our products?”

  5. Avoid yes/no questions if possible. Yes/no questions can be leading because they force respondents to choose between two options when there may be other options that would better fit their answer. For example, instead of asking “Do you like our product?” try “What do you think of our product?” This allows respondents to choose from a range of answers, such as liking it, disliking it, or feeling neutral about it, which will give you more accurate results.

Ask one question at a time

It is important to ask only one question at a time when surveying customers. This allows the customer to focus on answering the question and provides clear data that can be analyzed. When asking multiple questions at once, it is difficult to determine which answers are associated with which questions, making the data less useful.

Additionally, customers may feel overwhelmed by multiple questions and either skip some or provide inaccurate responses. Asking one question at a time also allows the surveyor to probe for more information if the initial answer is unclear or incomplete. Finally, asking one question at a time avoids confusion and ensures that the customer understands what is being asked.

Make sure questions are asked in the right order

When crafting survey questions for customers, it is important to make sure that the questions are asked in the right order. This will ensure that the customer is able to provide the most accurate and helpful responses possible.

The first step is to determine what information you hope to gain from the survey. Once you know this, you can begin to craft your questions. It is important to make sure that your questions are clear and concise, as well as relevant to the topic at hand. Additionally, you will want to avoid asking leading or loaded questions.

Once you have your list of questions finalized, it is time to determine the order in which they should be asked. In general, it is best to start with more general questions and then move on to more specific ones. This will help ensure that the customer feels comfortable answering all of your questions. Additionally, it is important to avoid asking multiple question types in a row (i.e., only ask closed-ended questions followed by open-ended ones).

Asking survey questions can be a great way to gather feedback from customers about your business or product. By following these tips, you can ensure that your survey provides valuable insights that can help improve your business.

Make sure your questions are compatible with your answer options

When creating survey questions, it is important to make sure that the questions are compatible with the answer options. For example, if you are asking a question about customer satisfaction, you would not want to ask a question that can only be answered with “yes” or “no.”

Instead, you would want to ask a question that allows respondents to rate their satisfaction on a scale of 1 to 5. Additionally, it is important to make sure that the questions are clear and concise. If a question is too long or confusing, respondents may not understand what is being asked and may provide inaccurate information.

Test your questions before you launch your survey

It’s important to test your survey questions before you launch your survey to ensure that you’re getting the information that you need from your customers. There are a few things to keep in mind when testing your questions:

  1. Make sure the questions are clear and concise. Customers should be able to understand what you’re asking them without difficulty.

  2. Avoid leading questions. Leading questions can bias the responses you receive, so it’s important to avoid them when possible.

  3. Try different question types. Some customers may respond better to multiple choice questions while others may prefer open-ended questions. Try out different question types to see which ones work best for your survey.

  4. Pay attention to the order of your questions. The order of your questions can impact the responses you receive, so it’s important to consider this when crafting your survey.

  5. Test, test, test! It’s important to test your survey before launching it to make sure everything is working as intended. Send a test version of the survey to a few friends or family members and see how they respond before sending it out to all of your customers


About the Author
Hi there, I'm James, founder of Melbado. I have over 20 years of experience as a leader and entrepreneur. Recently, I turned to leadership coaching and writing to pass on my knowledge to the next generation. If you have any questions or comments, please contact me via our contact page.

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