Beginning And Ending Surveys On High

As I settled in my favorite corner of a restaurant, I could not help myself and overheard the conversation happening at the nearby table. There were 2 people discussing seriously on a topic. By the look and conversation, I found they were seasoned entrepreneurs.

One asked the other, ‘I have this brilliant and innovative business idea. How do I know if this business idea will work in real-world scenarios?’. It reminded me of my journey a few years back. I had been in their shoes, with innovative ideas but unsure about their reception in the real world.

I recalled launching my first survey. Even though the survey I created was well-intentioned, the feedback I sought was buried under half-hearted responses and drop-offs. It was a hard lesson on the significance of starting and ending a survey on high.

In this blog, I will embark on a journey to help you design engaging openings and genuine endings for your surveys. The following insights will help you equip you to turn surveys into powerful instruments of discovery and innovation.

So, shall we begin the journey?

1. Engaging Opening

An engaging opening is a golden key to unlock reader’s attention

First Impression is the best impression. An engaging opening appeals great to the respondent. It instills a sense of belonging to the respondent. It helps you improve survey completion rates and sets clear expectations.

I will discuss a few ways of making the start of your survey more engaging.

1.1. Hook

A good hook is when you start your survey with an engaging question or statement.

The hook can be centered around a scenario that is relatable to the respondent. It can be a thought-provoking statistic. It can also simply be a query about the respondent’s feelings.

1.2. Purpose

The next most used way of engaging is conveying the purpose behind the survey.

This answers the question, “Why should respondents take the survey?”. Getting clarity in purpose makes respondent voice their opinion with more confidence and trust.

1.3. Progress bar

The end is in sight when you show a progress bar at the start of the survey.

The progress bar indicates how much of the survey remains to be completed. When you show progress, it reduces the frustration and uncertainty that leads to survey drop-off. It shows the time and effort required and thus leads to more thoughtful answers.

1.4. Mention Incentives

The welcome screen is a great place to mention incentives.

Mentioning incentives at the survey's start significantly creates immediate interest.

Early disclosure of survey incentives keeps respondents informed. This leads to higher engagement and completion rates. It improves trust and appreciation, encouraging more honest responses.

Now that we've explored an engaging opening, you might wonder, what about the survey ending?

Let’s dive in.

2. Genuine Ending

A genuine ending is like a beautifully played final chord in a symphony

There are certain ways to say the final goodbye in a survey. This genuine ending instills a sense of trust and increases Overall Respondent Satisfaction. It can be expressing gratitude, sharing the next steps, receiving feedback, or reaffirming anonymity.

Let’s look into each of these ways in detail.

2.1. Express Gratitude

It is very essential to acknowledge your respondents’ critical contribution to the survey.

One way of acknowledging this is through a genuine Thank you Screen. Genuinely expressing gratitude improves trust and confidence.

BlockSurvey has the option to set and customize the thank you screen.

2.2. Share Next Steps

Once respondents have completed the survey, they may wonder what happens next.

• Will there be follow-ups?
• When and how will results be shared?

Addressing the above questions can provide closure and ensure participants feel their contribution has been valued.

2.3. Feedback

A simple open-ended question like ‘Do you have any feedback on the survey?’ is sufficient to get humane feedback in the respondents’ own words.

This feedback will help to improve the quality of future surveys. It can also provide insights into the survey itself.

2.4. Reiterate Anonymity

If your survey collects sensitive or personal information, the 'Thank You' screen can serve as a reminder to say that responses are anonymous or confidential. This reiteration can build trust and reassure respondents.

I want to take this moment to say that BlockSurvey is a secure, end-to-end encrypted survey platform that takes privacy, anonymity, and confidentiality very seriously.

I have covered how to start and end on a high note. But the start and end are only part of the story. Up next, we'll discuss how to keep momentum in the middle of the survey.

3. Keeping Momentum in the middle

So, here are a few points that discuss how to keep the momentum in the middle of the survey.

• Plan to present easier questions first and the tougher questions later.
• Don’t overburden respondents by asking difficult questions one after the other.
• Use Skip logic to remove irrelevant questions for certain respondents. This avoids fatigue.
• Avoid Jargon and technical terms, and practice using simple language.
• Let all your questions flow in a logical order from the start to the end of the survey.
• Use images and pictures to improve the visual appeal of your survey.

Let’s now turn our attention to BlockSurvey’s Welcome and Thank You screens.

4. BlockSurvey Welcome Screen

BlockSurvey Welcome Screen settings provide you with the option for customization. It helps you to start your survey on a high note. Below is the screenshot of BlockSurvey’s Welcome Screen settings.

Heading: You have a text area to enter the heading for the welcome screen. ‘BlockSurvey Academy’ is the heading written in the above screenshot.

Description: You can write your description below the heading on the welcome screen. The description is displayed in a smaller font size below the heading.

Button: The text written on the button is editable.

Screen layout: The screen layout has 3 options (Left, Center, Right). This helps align the content of the welcome screen to the left, center, or right.

Timer: The timer option lets you set a pre-determined time for the completion of the survey. When the timer runs out, the survey is auto-submitted.

Time to complete: The time to complete option helps you display the approximate time required to complete the survey. The text on the Time Completion label can be edited as per your requirements.

Thus BlockSurvey provides a good number of options to customize your welcome screen.

Having mastered the welcome screen, let’s turn our attention to the thank you screen.

5. BlockSurvey Thank You Screen

BlockSurvey provides exhaustive features to customize your Thank You Screen, truly leaving you to end with style.

Below is the screenshot of the ‘Options’ tab of the Thank you screen.

You have the option to customize the heading and description in the thank you screen.

There is an option to provide a call to action along with a hyperlink.

Just like the welcome screen, there is an option here for text alignment.

There is a facility to include social sharing icons and social follow icons.

You can use the ‘Retake’ option to retake surveys.

It also provides an option to download your response.

Below is the screenshot of the ‘Brand’ tab of the Thank You screen.

BlockSurvey provides the facility to upload your logo.

It also provides the option to remove the powered by BlockSurvey logo.

Below is the screenshot of the ‘Display Logic’ tab of the Thank You screen. Different messages can be displayed on the Thank you screen based on the resulting output or score.

Test your knowledge on Beginning And Ending Surveys

Now, I am moving on to the final thoughts.

Final Thoughts

Surveys are more than just tools; Surveys are interactions between organizations and individuals. Beginning and Ending surveys on a high note is highly essential for the success of the survey. It enhances data quality and fosters positive relationships with the respondents.

Hope this blog successfully embarked you on the journey to help you design engaging openings and genuine endings for your survey. The above-discussed topics should equip you to turn surveys into powerful tools of discovery and innovation.

I would like to end this article with a poem.

‘In the world of surveys where insights lie,
Begin with a spark, let curiosity fly.
End on a peak, with clarity nigh,
In the art of surveys, aim ever high.’

Start using BlockSurvey.