Surveys are an important tool for businesses to gather insights and feedback from their customers. However, the success of a survey depends on its completion rate. If respondents don’t finish the survey, the data can be incomplete or biased. 

What is a Survey Completion Rate?

Survey completion rate is the percentage of participants who finish a survey out of those who started it. Completion rate can  evaluate the effectiveness and quality of your survey process. Low completion rates can indicate several issues, such as poor incentivization, irrelevant questions, and lengthy or complex surveys.

For instance, if your survey is lengthy or contains confusing questions, participants may lose interest and drop out. This causes lower completion rate. To improve your completion rates and ensure data quality, create surveys that are engaging.

How is survey completion rate different from survey response rate?

Understanding the difference between survey completion rate and response rate is key to improving survey participation and data quality.

Survey Completion Rate vs. Survey Response Rate

• Survey Completion Rate: Percentage of participants who finished the survey after starting it.
• Survey Response Rate: Percentage of people who responded to the survey out of the total invited or targeted.

Importance of Both Metrics:

• Completion rate highlights participant engagement and interest in the survey content.
• Response rate reflects the effectiveness of outreach and recruitment strategies.
• Monitoring both helps assess survey effectiveness and audience behavior.

Analyze these rates to identify improvement areas like reducing survey length, refining question format, offering apt survey incentives. 

Impact on Survey Sample Size and Data Quality

• High completion rates ensure better data quality and reduce drop-off towards the end of the survey.
• High response rates speed up achieving the desired sample size and reduce sample bias.
• Low rates in either can lead to unreliable or unrepresentative survey results.

Factors that Affect Survey Completion Rates

Here are three primary factors that can alter survey completion rates depending on the questionnaire design. 

1. Length and complexity of the survey

Number of questions have a direct bearing on completion rates. Long and complex surveys can lead to survey fatigue  and may discourage them from completing the survey. To prevent this keep surveys short with clear and concise questions. 

Use skip logic to tailor the survey to the individual respondent’s answers. The flow makes the questionnaire more personalized and less tedious. Using a lot of open-ended  questions will improve completion rates. 

2. Survey design and question types

Simplifying your survey questions can avoid confusing phrases or jargons. Simplicity is the key. To increases the chances of having a high completion rate, you can do the following: 

• Use simple language even when translating a questionnaire. Double check to avoid technical terms or find a way to explain the terms.
• Use popular rating 1-5 rating scales and 1-10 rating scales. Add an open ended question. This will encourage people to share expressions in their own words. 
• Add survey rewards and incentives that enable people to complete the feedback. Make sure that the feedback is appropriate according to the target respondents. 
• Choose interactive platforms such as WhatsApp, Facebook messenger and chatbots. These platforms are interactive and solicit more responses over traditional platforms.  

3. Timing and targeting of the survey

Timing the survey right can get you more response. For example target a survey right after a purchase will give you in-the-moment responses. Conducting surveys during peak business hours or holidays may result in lower response rates. Proper audience segmentation will ensure that the survey is sent only to relevant groups who are more likely to respond. Personalization based on demographics and past behavior can also increase engagement and completion rates.

What is a Good Survey Completion Rate?  

When it comes to survey completion rates, there is no one-size-fits-all answer. A “good” completion rate can vary greatly depending on factors such as industry, audience demographics, and survey length. Generally speaking, completion rates for online surveys range from 20-30%, although some industries may see higher or lower rates.

High completion rates can indicate engaged and satisfied customers. Low completion rates may signal issues with survey design or a lack of interest from respondents. Understanding what constitutes a good completion rate for your specific audience and industry is an essential first step in improving your results.

How can I improve my survey completion rate?

A good survey design can help improve completion rates. Shorter, conversational and engaging surveys enjoy higher completion rates. So do surveys that are highly targeted and relevant to the respondent. Here are a seven ways you can do to improve your survey completion rates

1. Keep it short and simple

People are constantly bombarded with information making their attention span shorter . To capture respondents’ attention keep surveys short and straightforward. Lengthy surveys can be overwhelming and will definitely cause survey fatigue. Focus on 2-3 critical questions that fulfill the goal of the survey. Additionally you can add a progress indicator to keep respondents engaged and motivated to finish the survey.

2. Keep it conversational

Conversational surveys have a higher response rate. It feels like a natural interaction between a brand and a customer. Respondents are more likely to complete a survey when they feel like they are having a conversation. Use language that is easy to understand and avoid using jargon or technical terms. You can also add interactive elements like images, videos, or sliders to make the survey more visually appealing and interesting.

3. Make it relevant

The relevance of the survey questions will determine response rates. If respondents do not see the value of answering a question or believe it does not apply to them, they are more likely to drop out of the survey. Tailor the survey to the recipient’s interests or demographics. This customization can increase their engagement and decrease their likelihood of abandoning the survey.

4. Offer survey incentives

Providing incentives can be a game-changer when it comes to improving your survey completion rate. People are more likely to participate in surveys if they feel they will receive something valuable in return. The incentive can be as simple as a discount code or as substantial as cash rewards, but it should be relevant and appealing to the participant. Being transparent about the incentive’s structure and ensuring that participants understand how to receive it can also help boost response rates. Testing various types of incentives can help determine which ones work best for your target audience.

5. Customize the survey experience

When designing a survey, consider the respondent’s experience. This can be achieved through various methods like using a branded survey design, tailoring questions to specific interests or demographics with clear instructions and incentives. Respondents are more likely to provide meaningful responses and complete the survey. Test and optimize the approach to improve completion rates over time.

6. Choose the right survey channels

Omnichannel survey platforms get more responses from people who actively use that platform. WhatsApp has 100 million users in the USA. Facebook messenger and chatbots are another interactive platforms that offer a very high engagement rate. Merren makes it easy for CX leaders to create interactive messenger survey without any technical hassle. 

7. Reduce friction involved in responding

Reducing friction involved in responding to a survey can also improve completion rates. If your customer is in an offline setting (like a physical store or bank branch), sending them an email survey invitation might not work. However, using messaging apps like WhatsApp might be lower friction because they carry their mobile phone with them.

Language and comprehension can be another point of friction. Using simple and clear language can help respondents understand the questions better and increase the likelihood of completing the survey. Using multilingual surveys also helps reduce language barriers and improve response rates and quality of survey responses among non-native speakers.

Creating a good survey that is optimized for high response  rate can be intimidating. Use readymade survey templates on the Merren platforms or our AI survey builder to create surveys.

Conclusion

Be it market research or customer experience, survey completion rates are crucial for gathering accurate and reliable data. They help us understand our audience, make informed decisions, and improve our products or services. To supercharge your market research, sign up for a 14 day free trial with Merren today.

You can also now create WhatsApp surveys and Facebook messenger surveys with Merren. All in less than 5 minutes.