In today’s fast paced world, we all like to get things done quickly. People prefer means of transport that help reach their destination faster, fast food that they can munch on the way, softwares that helps accelerate performance and so on. In the midst of this, don’t you think when someone opens a long, unending survey, they will feel discouraged to complete it? Let alone completing, in some cases, people wouldn’t even care about opening the survey. They just don’t have the time. Enter Micro Surveys, the solution to this problem.
What are Micro Surveys?
As the name suggests, microsurveys are short length surveys mostly consisting of a maximum of three questions aimed at extracting very specific information from the audience with minimal efforts. They are very context specific and are usually activated after certain triggers through survey software like the purchase of a product, leaving the website, deleting an account etc. They can be inserted as pop ups or as in app messages etc.
Drawbacks of Traditional Surveys
Traditional Surveys have one major drawback – they are very elaborate. Even if the surveyor tries to keep it short, the audience always has the perception that filling them up will be a painstaking task. Even if people complete the surveys, there is also the problem of unreliable responses. The concern that the user is looking for may not be present in the survey or may be present after a certain point where the user may not reach.
Types of Micro Surveys
Micro Surveys can be classified into four major categories:
NPS Micro Surveys
These are usually two question surveys to identify the perception of your brand among the customers.
The first involves asking customers how likely it is that they would recommend the brand to others followed by the reason for their recommendation/ non recommendation.
Feedback Surveys
These are generally one or two question surveys to obtain feedback on a particular product, service or even a webpage. They can be useful in gathering impactful insights to make changes if required.
Information Collection Surveys
These are surveys to collect general information from the audience. For example if you are an online shopping portal, you would ask people visiting your website their preferred method of payment, their triggers for purchase etc.
Exit Microsurveys
These are short surveys that pop up if you’re exiting a web page in a very short period of time or deleting an account on a particular website etc. Their aim is to gather information about what didn’t work and reasons for unsubscribing to the product or service.
Advantages of Micro Surveys
Quicker and More Data Collection
Since these surveys are short, they have quick complete rates which makes data collection faster as opposed to traditional surveys. At the same time, a 12 question long survey is equivalent to 4-5 short surveys which makes getting more data easier.
Highly Targeted and Specific
Unlike long surveys, since the respondents just need to answer a couple or three questions, it gives you the freedom to scrap the general questions and ask only the ones that you need data on. For example, a product company needs feedback on a certain function, they can frame questions regarding only that function.
Reliable Data
Since these surveys are highly specific and focused on use cases, it makes the data gathered from them highly reliable as the respondents have experienced the product or service first hand and are in the right position to describe their customer experience.
Making the most of Microsurveys
Although micro surveys have that edge over traditional ones, there are certain factors that need to be taken into consideration to ensure maximum benefit.
Time
The most important factor is time. It is necessary to launch them at the right time. For example, NPS surveys need to be launched after a certain period, giving the customer time to experience the product or service.
Length
They should do justice to their name. It cannot be called a Micro survey if you’re asking 10 questions. Use the right customer experience tool to get the appropriate type of questions. Keep the questions limited, crisp and to the point to get impactful insights.
Right Audience
Target the right people. Keep in mind the goal of the survey and choose the audience that best fits the bill to get perfect results.
Act
Finally, act on the insights received from the surveys and make changes accordingly to deliver the best experience to your customers.
