7 survey templates to collect customer evidence

Multiple Choice (One) – We’ve all taken multiple choice tests. The only difference between multiple choice survey questions and multiple choice test questions is surveys have no wrong answers. 

These survey questions are popular because they’re easy for respondents to answer and easy for you, the asker, to analyze. They offer a predetermined list of answers, and when specified, require one choice. And they are best used for quantifying and comparing, rating, and nominal scales. They also help narrow down the answers you’re looking for.

Watch out for bias: Pre-selected choices can lead to biased answers. A way around this is to use “Other” as an option for the respondent to fill in their own answer. 

Multiple Choice (Many) – What’s better than one right choice? Several right choices! Plus, you get multiple customer data points showing correlations between different product features and respondent preferences.

Watch out for bias: Again, to avoid biased answers, add “Other” as an option. 

Testimonial – Open-ended questions are often referred to as “testimonial” questions because the respondent has full control over their answer. The respondent is not limited by predetermined choices – they are able to share information you might not think to ask. Then, you can take their feedback and use it for testimonials.

Watch out for too many open-ended questions: The more effort or time a respondent spends, the less likely they are to complete the survey. Too many open-ended questions can lead to abandonment. Cap these questions at 2-3. 

Slider – Looking for a more engaging survey experience? Throw in a sliding scale. Yes, this is an actual scale respondents can slide (with their cursor) to indicate their level of agreement, satisfaction, or other quantitative measures. Sliders help you measure continuous data in an interactive format and they’re more engaging than your average survey question.

Watch out for confusion: Include clear instructions on what they need to do to answer the question, such as “click on and drag the bar to select your answer.”

Likert scale – Want to measure whether your respondent agrees or disagrees? The Likert is your tool of choice. This question type provides a range of response options along a continuum, usually from “strongly agree” to “strongly disagree.” This question gauges attitudes and opinions, helping you capture customer sentiment.

Watch out for uneven positive vs. negative answer choices: You don’t want positive answer choices to outnumber negative answer choices because this can lead to biased responses and skewed data. 

Matrix – Now we’re getting fancy. A matrix provides a series of Likert or rating scale questions arranged in a grid (or matrix) format. Respondents answer questions about multiple features using the same set of response options. The benefit here is a lower abandonment rate and a standard scale for measuring responses.

Watch out for poor mobile device UI: Keep the matrix small or break it into smaller sections or alt formats for better mobile experience. 

Bonus: Watch out for lack of clarity: Always include specific instructions for each question so the respondents don’t get confused with what they are answering. 

Classifier – Who’s answering your survey? With classifier questions, you can identify respondents based on their involvement in the decision-making process and product usage, which is crucial for understanding perspectives and tailoring marketing strategies.

Watch out for narrowing the classifiers too much: If you offer options that are too specific, you run the risk of having a low response rate within each classification. This can lead to the customer data set being not statistically significant. For example, instead of “Marking Analyst I,” “Marketing Analyst II,” and “Marketing Analyst III,” consider going with “Marketing Analyst.”