Survey distribution is a crucial step as it determines your data collection method, response rate percentage and captures insights from your customers right where they are.  In this blog, we will cover everything you need to know about survey distribution methods. From understanding response rates to exploring different types of distribution methods. We will also highlight the pros of each method and best practices to follow for maximum engagement.

What is Survey Distribution?

Survey distribution involves sending a survey to a specific group of people through channels like interactive email, social media, or messenger based mediums. The key to success is reaching the right audience for valuable feedback. Proper distribution leads to higher response rates and better quality data.

One should also take note that while distributing feedback surveys, it is important to opt for platforms where your customers are going to be present. That depends on the target audience, what mediums they personally use and the type of touchpoints they use to interact with the brand. Distribution channel will determine how quickly you can attend to grieved customers, how you capture insights and how quickly you can analyze data.

Types of Survey Distribution Channels

There are two types of survey sharing channels. They are segregated into traditional mediums and in-moment modern mediums. Here is a list of multiple distribution channels, segregated as per their functionality, advantages and how you can use them at their full potential.

Dynamic Email Survey Distribution

Emails have been used for collecting customer feedback for a long time. It is one of the most effective ways to get insights, share new product launch information with your audience via newsletters and launch email surveys. However, many emails continue to use browser based methods where the respondent is shifted out of context to another browser. In this method, the respondent is now forced to answer the survey on a different platform. To avoid this, interactive and dynamic email platforms are a saviour.

Advantages of interactive email surveys

Email surveys are a great way of survey distribution as they offer many benefits. They are cost-effective and have the potential to reach a large audience who are avid email users. They can also be easily customized and personalized to suit your specific customer experience. Email surveys allow you to track responses and analyze data in real-time.

AMP (accelerated mobile platform) is a facility offered by Google for interactive emails. This dynamic platform makes for a good survey distribution channel since respondents can reply over emails without going to another browser based webpage. You can use interactive elements and capture fast feedback.

Best practices for email surveys

• Keep your branding consistent across emails including the correct email address, subject line and curated content for the target audience. The email body also should contain apt branding elements including correct salutation and the right feedback collection metric.
• Including AMP in your marketing strategy should be on top of the list. This will bring real time feedback for better decision making strategies.
• Demo test interactive emails such that it is compatible across smartphones and desktop.
• Deploy email surveys at the right moment of interaction such that the customer can share their feedback promptly after the experience.
• Personalization is the key to catering to every respondent as per their query or complaint. Opting for a dynamic facility for email distribution to gather data will be a good idea.

Whatsapp Survey Distribution

Whatsapp has billions of users across the world while they exchange millions of messages on a daily basis. Whatsapp is the most interactive platform when it comes to offering conversational surveys. Here are some important points to note while using messenger based survey channels.

Advantages of Whatsapp survey

Whatsapp surveys are instantaneous with regards to its features. Marketers can create customized survey questions via Merren and launch them on the messenger platform. Whatsapp brings a very high survey response rate. Usually, a survey link can be sent to the respondent and they can instantly open the link and share their feedback with a click of a button. It is a superfast way to capture the audience’s opinions and insights.

Organisations can offer the facility of sharing feedback in multimedia formats. This includes seeking responses via audio, video format, photos and texts. The Merren dashboard collects all survey response rates, real time along with multimedia results.

Best practices for Whatsapp survey

• Merren offers customized templates that you can use before deploying the feedback form to your potential respondents. Since this is a real time platform, a short survey will avert survey fatigue and you will witness a higher number of responses.
• Your customer base is multidimensional in nature. Offer the opportunity for your audience to share feedback via video, audio and other multimedia based response types.
• Demo test your feedback form before launching it. Make sure it is compatible across platforms. To keep the technical issues out of the equation, you can switch to Merren’s messenger based survey channels (including Facebook messenger) to gather superfast data.
• Keep questions short and to the point. Additionally seek permission from the respondents prior to collecting their data. This ensures and assures them that the data you collect will be to understand their needs and preferences.

In-app feedback

In-app is one of the standard survey channels where the application launches a survey after a customer has used its feature or a virtual facility. This is one of the best ways to get instant response from the user base. At the end of the day, survey responses depend upon the interactivity of the channels.

Advantages of in-app feedback

In app feedback forms are faster, in-moment in nature and can collect relevant data from the buyer. Since it occurs immediately post purchase, you can get instant feedback. In-app surveys are customized to the specific purchase made. Since it is an inbuilt facility that comes along with the branded application, it is easier to have conversations with the users without going out of platform. This is one of the great ways to collect customer data.

Best practices for in-app survey channels

• Include qualitative data along with quantitative data. While sharing rating scales or NPS, keep an option to collect open-ended feedback. This allows for a more genuine response from the users.
• Keep the question very short and relevant to the recent purchase. This real time facility is an advantage  that gathers swift reactions, emotions from buyers.
• If possible, keep it interactive in nature. A plain survey can do the work but if the brand language permits, keep it interactive in nature. Display emojis or use visually appealing elements.
• Offer a thank you note after the entire survey has been completed. This lends a personal touch for every interaction.

Chatbot Surveys

Chatbots are bot type feedback surveys deployed either on applications or websites. They are customized for  particular interactions and can provide 24/7 interaction across touchpoints.

Advantages of chatbot surveys

One major advantage is that chatbots can offer a personalized experience by asking relevant questions based on the user’s previous responses. They can also be available all round the clock without any manual intervention. They can also be automated to provide responses immediately.  In addition, chatbot surveys are cost-efficient and can save valuable time for both businesses and customers.

Best practices for chatbot surveys

• When considering different survey distribution channels, chatbot makes for a very efficient platform to gather customer feedback. Customize questions as per touchpoints for every interaction.
• Keep questions very short and direct since the chatbots are meant for instant responses.
• Develop an interactive chatbot that can grasp customers and offer various solutions on the spot.
• Automate chat bots in every touchpoint and integrate it with tools that can collect real time insights.
• Opt for questions and interactions that are conversational in nature. You can also include interesting elements such as pop-up facts or a well designed, interactive bot. 
• Include facilities for users to upload multimedia such as photos or documents to support their feedback. This brings rich media data for analysis.

Conclusion

In conclusion, survey distribution is an essential part of conducting successful surveys. Choosing a dynamic and an interactive platform is a good way to garner higher response rate and capture audience feedback exactly at the platforms they are present. While considering your survey distribution channels, opt for mediums that are real time and dynamic in nature. They are a better option over traditional methods so that you can also capture in-moment trends.

Merren gathers and analyzes insights at super fast speed. View every real time data on the robust dashboard.  If you want to explore instant survey distribution channels, sign up with Merren for a 14 day free trial here. Supercharge your business today!