Email Survey Secrets: Five Ways To Get Responses To Your Questions

Email Survey Secrets: Five Ways To Get Responses To Your Questions

Surveying customers by email is cheaper and faster than using snail mail or telephone. But the challenge itself is twofold: You not only need customers to open your email, but take the time out of their busy day to fill out your survey.



To grab the attention of email recipients and entice them into taking your survey, you have to truly think ahead. If you use these time-tested tips when you decide to send your survey, you're bound to get better response results.

=95 Make it prominent If you've folded your customer survey into your scheduled weekly or monthly email campaign, make your survey link prominent and put it at the top. Think "above the fold". Many customers won't bother scrolling down to the bottom of your email, so think about this when you plan your layout.

=95 Offer incentives Taking a survey takes time and effort, which is why you should reward your customers for participation. If possible, offer them a significant discount, a free gift, or the chance to win something valuable. Once you've decided what your gift will be, make sure your subject line reflects your offer. Here are two good ones: "Get 50% off fall fashions: take our survey" or "Take our survey and get 50% off fall fashions". If you dangle a prize in your subject line, there's a great chance your customers will bite.

=95 Keep it short Ask small, easily answered groups of questions at a time. If you have a laundry list of questions you'd like answered, send no more than four or five survey questions in each shot. Try spacing things out in multiple emails. If you absolutely must get your answers in one fell swoop, offer an ultra-attractive incentive that makes it worth your customer time.

=95 Say "thanks" for participating Give a hearty thanks to your customers for taking your survey, and place this thank you underneath your survey link. This expression of gratitude makes the assumption that customers have already answered the survey, or plan to do so. Simply stated, heartfelt appreciation, even in an email, works. Show your customers that you're eternally grateful for their time and you'll get even better answer rates.

=95 Tell recipients why you need answers Use a sentence to explain why you need answers. Tell your customers you want to give them better service. There are probably a million reasons why you want customers to answer a survey, but overall, you must make the experience about them. When customers see that you're doing this for their benefit, they're far more likely to answer your questions.