6 steps how to create a survey

You create an online survey in six steps: write down what you want to find out and what you will use it for, prepare the questions, test them on a colleague, build the survey, try out all its features and send it to a small sample of respondents first. In this article you will also find all 22 question types that Quanda offers, each with a clickable example from the templates in the Questionnaire library and advice on when to use it.

In a nutshell

1. Goal first, questions second. Without a clear brief you end up with questions whose answers you will never use.
2. Fewer questions mean more completed surveys. Ask only what you need for the decision.
3. Test the questions twice: first on a colleague, then on a small sample of real respondents.
4. Choose the right question type. Quanda offers 22 of them, from short text to NPS and tables.
5. Closed questions evaluate themselves, use open questions sparingly.
6. Send the survey with an e-mail campaign from Quanda, you will know who answered and can remind those who did not.

In brief: what, for whom, how long and what you get

• What you need: a clearly written survey goal, a list of questions on paper and a Quanda account where you build and send the survey.
• Who this is for: anyone who wants to get answers from customers, employees or prospects that they can use in marketing and sales.
• How long it takes: preparing and testing the questions takes the most time, building the survey from a template in Quanda is a matter of tens of minutes.
• What you get: a survey that people read to the end and complete, and answers you can turn straight into campaigns, website copy and offers.

What has changed since this article was published: The article was published in 2016. Since then, surveys in Quanda have gone through a major overhaul: satisfaction and agreement scales, star and smiley ratings, a percentage scale, an attitude scale, tables, a create contact question and a clearer analysis of answers have been added. We have therefore rewritten the overview of question types according to the current offer and added a clickable example from the Questionnaire library templates to every type.

What a survey is and why to create one

A survey is a set of questions that you send to a selected group of people to get answers for a specific decision. An online survey has the added advantage that closed questions evaluate themselves and you see the results immediately, even while the survey is still running.

We usually make the most common and most widespread mistake: we think we know what customers think, and we let ourselves be influenced by the "wise ones" who say that running surveys is pointless work, wasted money and time. Why that is not true is explained in the article Online questionnaires or online survey: yes or no?, and what an online survey brings compared with phone or street interviewers is summed up in 7 benefits of online surveys.

How hard would it be to prepare a campaign to boost sales of your products or services if you knew exactly:

• Why do people buy your products?
• What main problem do your products help them solve?
• What main benefit does using your products bring them?
• What do they base their purchase decision on, and who or what influences that decision?
• What do they consider important about your products and what irrelevant?
• How do they decide where and from whom to buy these products?
• What are they worried about in connection with the purchase?
• What emotional reasons lead them to buy and how do they justify the purchase logically?
• Where do they look for products and information about them, do they use e-mail and social media, and do they search on Google or ask AI assistants?

If you had the answers to these questions, writing copy, headlines and e-mail subject lines, as well as choosing where to advertise, would be easy. In the age of online surveys, getting them is quick and cheap. All you have to do is decide and go through the six steps below.

Step 1: Write down what you want to find out and how you will use it

Before you start creating the survey, write down exactly what you need to find out and how you will use what you learn. This helps you ask the right questions and avoid questions that are nice to have but whose answers you cannot put to practical use.

Examples of a brief:

• "I need to find out how satisfied my customers are with product XY and what we should do so that they buy it more often. What I learn should help me write the copy for an e-mail campaign to boost sales."
• "I need to find out what we should improve on product AB so that it sells better. We will use what we learn to build a campaign about the new features of product AB."
• "I need to find out why my customers stopped buying service XY so that we can prepare specific changes that will help us sell service XY again."
• "I need to find out how to present the new book I have written so that people are interested and want to buy it. I want to use what I learn for a new leaflet."

And what if you do not know? Answer the question: "What problem do I need to solve?" or "In which area am I missing information?" or "What do I not know?"

Step 2: Prepare your questions

Before you start preparing the questions themselves, go through these few tips:

• Be brief and do not create overly complicated questions.
• Do not use words that the people completing the survey will not understand.
• Do not use too many open questions. An open question is one where the respondent, that is the person completing the survey, answers by writing their opinion. Evaluating open questions takes the most work.
• Less is more. Ask only as many questions as you really need for the purpose of your survey. You will significantly increase your chances that people actually answer.
• If needed, use survey branching based on how the respondent answers. That way you only ask the right questions and learn what you need.
• Do not ask questions that suggest answers, for example "When you go for an evening bike ride, do you prefer the forest or the lake?" If the respondent does not ride a bike, they cannot answer such a question and will close the survey.

If you cannot think of any questions of your own, start from the questions at the beginning of this article and adapt them to your needs. Choose the ones you think will bring you the answers that are most interesting to you right now.

Tip: You will find ready-made questions for the most common situations in the Questionnaire library. You can go through templates such as the Customer satisfaction survey or the Lead qualification survey question by question and copy them into your account in Quanda. If you are just starting out and do not know how, write to us at support@onquanda.com.

Step 3: Test the questions on a colleague (test no. 1)

First write the questions down on paper and read them to a colleague in the office. If you "stumble" while reading and find it hard to read a question comfortably, rephrase or simplify it and try the whole thing again.

Also check that your colleague knows what you are asking them. Have them explain it to you and ask them to actually answer the questions. If everything is fine, get started on creating the survey itself.

Step 4: Build the survey in Quanda

In Quanda, choose "Create new survey" in the top menu under Surveys. Name the survey and pick a template from the library or start with a blank survey. The steps and the survey settings, for example the language of the control buttons, the logo in the header and question numbering, are described in the guide Creating and setting up an online survey.

On the intro page, write a short text that welcomes the respondent and assures them that the survey is short and will not take much of their time. Remind them how important their opinion is and ideally add what the respondent gains by answering. It can be a valuable incentive or simply the fact that they will get products or services from you on better terms.

Now click the "Add new question" button and create the questions from your written preparation one by one. For each one, choose the question type, write the wording, optionally an additional note that appears in italics below the question, and the answer options. You will find an overview of all 22 types with clickable examples and advice on when to use each below in the section Which question types Quanda offers.

Think about how the respondent will move through the survey

If you are creating a simple survey with a few questions, you can skip this step. But if you have more questions and want to dig deeper depending on what the respondent answers, pay extra attention to this part.

Survey branching means that the next question depends on the previous answer. In Quanda you set it on a question in the Logic tab: based on the chosen answer you redirect the respondent to another page of the survey or end the survey. For example, when you ask whether the respondent understands the offer on your website, those who understand can continue, and those who do not are asked in the next question to comment on what you should change or add. Then you "return" them to the standard path through the survey.

Remember that every new branch has to be on a separate page of the survey so that the respondent can be sent to that page. You add pages with the "Insert new page" button. Split a longer survey into pages even without branching, the progress bar tells the respondent how much is left.

Step 5: Test the survey and all its features

Before you send the survey to respondents, check in the preview that everything works: required questions, branching based on answers, paging, the final text and the redirect. Complete it on a computer and on a phone. It is very unpleasant when respondents decide to complete the survey and then find out that it does not work or is not available.

What to check before sending

• The survey is in the "Ready to use" state, otherwise the link does not work.
• Every branch is on a separate page and the logic leads where it should.
• Only the questions you cannot do without are required.
• The intro text says how long it takes and the final text says thank you.
• The survey can be completed comfortably on a phone.

Step 6: Test the questions on a small sample and send the survey (test no. 2)

Once you are happy with the questions, they read well and your colleagues know what you are asking them, move on to a test with real respondents. Send the survey to a smaller sample first. Their answers will show you how they understood the questions and how they answer. If their answers are too general or unusable for your further communication, rephrase the questions and repeat the whole process.

In these situations it helps to add words such as "most important", "first" or "the two most important" to the question. For example: "What is the first thing that comes to mind when you hear…", "What do you think is the most important feature of…" or "What do you think are the two most common reasons…". Sometimes you can also use the question to rule out answers that have little value for further use: "Apart from price, what matters most to you when choosing a supplier?" or "What criteria other than price and quality do you use when choosing…?"

At this point your survey is ready and you can send it. The fastest way is an e-mail campaign straight from Quanda: in the Distribution step you switch the survey to the "Ready to use" state, insert the generated link into the e-mail as a link or a button and send the campaign. Quanda then knows which contact opened the invitation, clicked and completed the survey, and with a logic campaign you can remind those who have not answered yet. You can also share the link on social media or place it on your website. The steps are in the guide Distribution.

Follow the answers in the Analysis of answers section: for every question you see how many people answered and how, and you can filter the answers by other questions or by contact data. Text answers and attached files are in the completed surveys, and you prepare a summary for your colleagues as a final report.

Which question types Quanda offers and when to use each

The question type determines how the respondent answers and how the answers are evaluated. Quanda offers 22 question types in four groups: text and number, choice from options, scales and ratings, tables and special questions. Which one to pick depends on what you want to find out:

You can try every type below. The examples come from the ready-made templates in the Questionnaire library, the answers are not sent anywhere.

Short text

The answer is a single line of text. Use it when you expect a brief answer, for example the name of a place or a person. Text answers are not evaluated automatically, you read them in the list of completed surveys and sort them into categories.

Long text

Entered the same way as short text, but the respondent gets more space. It suits open questions where you want a detailed comment in their own words. Put only a few open questions into a survey, evaluating them takes the most work.

Text (multiple lines)

A text answer that brings you several separate items in one question. Each line is one answer, so you do not have to separate them out of a single paragraph when evaluating.

Date

The respondent picks a date in a calendar, so you get answers in a uniform format. Quanda merges identical dates when evaluating and you can sort the answers by day or by period.

Date (multiple lines)

The same question with several date fields. Use it when you need more than one date from the respondent, for example alternative days when they are available.

Number

Looks similar to short text, but the field itself checks that the answer is a number. In the question settings you set the number of decimal places and can check the minimum and maximum value. Quanda calculates the average from numeric answers.

Number (multiple lines)

Several numeric fields in one question, each with its own label. It suits questions where you ask how one value is split across several items.

Single answer

A list of radio buttons is one of the most used question types. The respondent picks exactly one of the options you prepare. The answers are evaluated automatically and you see the results in a chart right away, even while the survey is running. In the settings you can add an "Other" field and lay the options out in two or three columns.

Multiple answers

A list of checkboxes lets respondents choose one or more answers at the same time. It is evaluated automatically and in the settings you can limit the maximum number of ticked answers, for example "choose up to three".

Dropdown menu

Works the same way as single answer, but the options appear in a dropdown list. Use it for long lists, for example choosing a region or an industry, so that the survey does not get unnecessarily long.

Satisfaction scale

A five point scale from very dissatisfied to very satisfied. Compared with a plain single answer it has the advantage that Quanda calculates the average from the answers, so you can compare satisfaction with different things with a single number. In the question settings you can turn on the option “Show as multi-row rating”: one scale then rates several items below each other and you do not need a separate question for each of them, so the survey is shorter.

Agreement scale

The same structure as the satisfaction scale, but the respondent expresses how much they agree with a statement. Phrase the question as a statement or as a question that can be answered from "definitely yes" to "definitely not". The agreement scale can be multi-row too (the option “Show as multi-row rating” in the question settings), so one question covers agreement with several statements at once.

% scale

A slider from 0 to 100 %. It suits estimates and probabilities, for example how likely it is that a customer will continue the cooperation. A respondent who does not want to rate can skip the question.

Star rating

A rating of one to five stars that people know from e-shops and apps. They complete it quickly even on a phone and Quanda calculates the average. In one question you can also rate several items with stars, one below the other.

Smiley rating

Five smileys from the worst to the best. The fastest way to get an overall impression, which is why it suits the first question of a survey or short surveys after a purchase.

Attitude scale

A slider between two opposites, for example unimportant and important or cheap and expensive, with a midpoint in the middle. It is used where you measure perception or attitude, not satisfaction.

NPS (Net Promoter Score)

NPS is a question about the willingness to recommend you on a scale from 0 to 10. The resulting value equals the share of promoters (9 and 10) minus the share of detractors (0 to 6), passive respondents (7 and 8) are left out. Quanda calculates the result itself. Put one NPS question into the survey, usually after the questions about specific things.

Table (single answer)

A table combines several simple questions with the same scale: the rated items are in the rows, the answer options in the columns. It saves space and reduces the number of questions, which leads to more completed surveys. The respondent picks one answer in each row.

Table (multiple answers)

Works like the previous table, but the respondent can tick several answers in each row at the same time. It suits questions about which combinations apply, for example which days and parts of the day suit them.

Create contact

A question for collecting personal details. The respondent fills in their name, e-mail and optionally phone or company, and Quanda creates a contact in your account straight from the answer. Thanks to this you can share the survey with a public link and still know who answered and follow up by e-mail.

Upload file

Lets respondents attach a file, for example a photo, a contract or a CV. You then download the files with the completed surveys. Quanda blocks disallowed file types, for example executable programs, and the size of one file is limited to 5 MB.

Upload file (multiple files)

The same question, but the respondent can attach several files at once. The 5 MB limit applies to each file separately.

Advanced settings of questions and the survey

You will find the question settings in the window for adding and editing questions, in the tabs General, Settings, Logic, Image and Tags. An overview of all question types with previews from the app is in the guide Building a survey: question types.

Help text. Every question can have a help text shown below its wording that makes answering easier for respondents, for example “Choose one option” or an explanation of the scale.

Required question. This option determines whether the question has to be answered. A required question shows a red cross and the survey cannot be submitted without answering it.

Order of answers. You can display the answers in the order they were entered, in alphabetical order or in random order. Random order removes the effect of people choosing the first option more often.

Other. This setting adds an "Other" option to the list of answers together with a field for a custom answer. It can be used with both single answer and multiple answers questions.

Layout in columns. If you have many answers, for example 15, you can display them in two or three columns. The question takes up less space and the survey looks shorter.

Logic. In the Logic tab you set a redirect to another page or the end of the survey based on the answer. This is the basis of the branching described in step 4.

Tags. In the Tags tab of a question you can assign a tag to the contact based on how they answered. This works when you send the survey as an invitation from Quanda, that is the contact is stored in Quanda and the respondent is recognised. This way you can, for example, tag the detractors from the NPS question and follow up with a separate campaign.

Image. In the Image tab you can attach a JPG or PNG file to the question, for example a photo of the product the respondent is rating.

Personalised intro text. This is a great feature that I really love. Imagine receiving a survey with your name in its intro text. Because Quanda connects e-mail campaigns with surveys, you can personalise both the intro and the final text and get more completed surveys.

Final text and redirect to a website. On the final page, thank the respondent for the time they spent completing the survey. You can set a custom button text and the web address the respondent is redirected to after submitting. Most often we recommend a page that follows up on the survey or a page with your products or services.

Tip: After the survey is completed, Quanda can automatically add a tag to the respondent, send them an e-mail or send you a notification. You set this up in the Automation section, see the guide Automation in a survey.

In conclusion

A good survey starts with a clear goal and ends with answers you can use. If you build it following the six steps above and choose the right question types, you get data you can turn straight into campaigns and offers. How to turn answers into business opportunities is shown in the article How surveys turn B2B marketing from guesswork into certainty.

You can go through the whole process from questions to evaluation in the free online course Working with questionnaires and collecting feedback. And if you are not sure how to approach your first survey, get in touch. We will help you choose the questions, prepare the survey and set up what Quanda should do with the answers.

I wish you the best of luck and lots of fun creating surveys.