SMS survey examples and best practices

SMS surveys offer a quick and convenient way for businesses to gather feedback from their customers and gain valuable insights.

According to recent studies, 90% of consumers prefer to communicate with businesses via text message, and open rates for SMS are nearly 98%.

This makes SMS surveys an ideal way to collect responses in a timely manner.

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In this blog post, we'll discuss types of SMS surveys and SMS survey best practices. We’ll also provide some examples of SMS surveys so you can start creating your own.

Types of SMS surveys (with examples)

SMS surveys are an effective way to gather feedback from customers, clients, and market research participants. They’re quick and easy to set up and send, and they allow you to receive immediate feedback. In this section, we’ll explore the different types of SMS surveys and see how different types of businesses can leverage them in day-to-day operations.

Customer satisfaction surveys

SMS customer satisfaction surveys help businesses gauge how customers feel about a product or service. By asking customers to rate their experience on a scale of 1–10 or provide a brief comment, businesses can quickly get feedback from their customers and make improvements in real time.

Brick-and-mortar retailers and e-commerce businesses can send out SMS customer satisfaction surveys after a customer has completed a purchase. These surveys can help these businesses:

• Determine how satisfied customers were with their purchase, checkout and delivery experience
• Find out if there were any issues that need to be addressed
• Evaluate how easy it was for customers to find what they were looking for

This feedback can be used to make improvements to the customer experience and ensure customers can find what they need quickly and easily.

Real estate companies can use SMS customer satisfaction surveys to measure how satisfied customers were with their experience when buying or selling a home. This feedback can be used to assess buyer satisfaction and strategize best practices amongst a team of realtors.

Financial organizations can use SMS customer satisfaction surveys to evaluate customer satisfaction with their banking or investment services. This feedback can be used to ensure customers are getting the best service possible and make organization-wide changes to processes if need be.

Ultimately, customer satisfaction surveys allow businesses to quickly identify issues and find areas to improve upon or determine what’s working well.

Product feedback surveys

Through product feedback surveys, companies can gain valuable insights into how customers rate their products, identify areas for improvement, and develop strategies for increasing customer loyalty.

Restaurants can use product feedback surveys to find out what customers think about their menu items and pricing.

Retail stores can use product feedback surveys to learn about customers’ shopping experiences and preferences, from product selection to checkout. They can gather information about any defects, assembly issues or how products hold up over time.

Online shopping sites can gather information about their product offerings through product feedback surveys. They can learn how satisfied customers were with the product they received compared to the way the product was described on their website.

Product feedback surveys are a powerful way for companies to gain insights into customer experiences and make improvements accordingly. By using surveys to gain feedback on their products and services, businesses can:

• Better understand their customers
• Develop strategies to iterate on their existing products
• Increase customer loyalty.

Event attendee surveys

Event attendee surveys allow businesses to gauge the success of their events. By sending out surveys via SMS, businesses can quickly and easily collect responses from their guests and make improvements to their events in the future.

Restaurants can send an event attendee survey after hosting an event, such as a wine tasting or live music performance. The survey might ask questions about the food, service, and beverage selection. This information can help the restaurant understand how their guests felt about the event and what changes they could make for future events.

Retail stores can use event attendee surveys to gain feedback from customers. After hosting a promotional event, such as a launch party or fashion show, the store can send out a survey to get feedback. The survey might ask questions about the customer experience, such as the quality of customer service, variety of merchandise, and overall atmosphere of the event.

Hospitality establishments such as hotels or resorts can use surveys to gauge the success of their events, receptions, and accommodations. The survey might ask questions about the food, service, ambiance, and amenities. This information can help the hotel understand how their guests felt about the event or stay and what changes they could make in the future.

Event attendee surveys are an invaluable tool for businesses across a variety of industries.

Market research surveys

As businesses across many industries strive to better understand their customer base and stay ahead of the competition, market research surveys are essential for gathering customer insights. SMS surveys help businesses collect large volumes of customer feedback with minimal effort. When it comes to market research surveys, there are a few key types of surveys businesses should consider.

Customer feedback surveys are similar to customer satisfaction surveys and product feedback surveys. They’re all used to gain insight into customer preferences and opinions. The questions in this type of survey should focus on what customers think about a product or service, what they like and don’t like about it, and what changes they’d like to see.

Market segmentation surveys are used to gather data on customer segments, such as income, age, gender, and location. The questions in this type of survey should focus on demographics and other characteristics that can be used to group customers into distinct segments.

Brand awareness surveys are used to measure a customer’s awareness of a brand and its products or services. The questions in this type of survey should focus on how familiar customers are with the brand, how likely they are to purchase from the brand, and what associations they have with the brand.

By using market research surveys, businesses can gain a better understanding of their customers, which can help them make informed decisions about their product or service offerings. With this data, businesses can plan for the future, as they can make decisions based on what their customers actually want.

SMS survey best practices

Creating an effective SMS survey can be beneficial for any business, but it's important to understand best practices for optimizing the survey experience. In this section, we'll discuss the key components of successful SMS surveys. By following these best practices, you can ensure that you get the most out of your SMS survey and receive the feedback you need.

Keep questions short

When it comes to SMS surveys, it's important to keep each question as short and concise as possible. Survey respondents can easily become overwhelmed or confused if the questions are too long or complex. Keeping questions short helps ensure respondents remain engaged and answer the survey accurately.

Here are a few examples of ways to keep questions short when crafting an SMS survey:

• Ask one question at a time: Avoid long questionnaires that require respondents to answer multiple questions in one response. Instead, break down the questions into a series of one-question surveys.
• Use direct language: Avoid using overly complex language or phrases that require respondents to think too much. Instead, use short, direct words and phrases that are easy to understand.
• Be specific: Be sure to provide specific instructions when asking questions. Specificity will help respondents answer the questions accurately and quickly.

Ensuring that your SMS survey questions are short and clear will help you receive the largest number of accurate answers from your survey respondents.

Personalize the message

Personalizing an SMS survey is one of the best ways to increase engagement and make sure your messages are read. By adding a personal touch to the message, you can ensure the recipient knows the message is for them and not just another automated message blast.

Below are some best practices for personalizing SMS survey messages.

• Adding the recipient's name to the message is a great way to make the message more personal and increase the likelihood that they will open it. For example, you might say something like, "Hi [Name], we'd love to get your feedback on our product!"
• Adding context—such as including a link to the service or product the user recently interacted with—helps the user recall what they experienced and contextualize the survey.

By personalizing the message, you can help ensure users are engaged with your SMS survey, making it more likely they’ll provide feedback.

Offer incentives

Offering incentives for completing SMS surveys is a great way to increase engagement and response rates. Incentives can include discounts, coupons, gift cards, or even entry into a prize draw.

When considering the type of incentive to offer, it’s important to ensure it’s relevant to the target audience and valuable in a way they would appreciate. For example, if your target audience is younger, a digital gift card to a popular video streaming or third-party meal delivery service could be a great incentive. If your target audience is older, a gift card to a store they frequent might be a better option.

Another best practice to consider when offering incentives is to ensure they’re attainable. If the incentive is too hard to obtain, respondents may give up and not complete the survey. For example, if you offer a $500 gift card to one randomly-chosen respondent as an incentive, respondents may feel it’s too difficult to achieve. In that case, they might not even bother with the survey. A smaller, more attainable incentive—like multiple $10 gift cards or a discount code for each individual—is still a great incentive and will likely motivate a respondent to actually complete your survey.

Below are a few examples of other types of incentives you can offer:

• Free product sample
• Complimentary subscription or membership
• Voucher for a free meal or drinks
• Access to exclusive content or exclusive offers
• Donation to a charity of the respondent’s choice

Finally, make sure to clearly communicate the incentive to the respondents. Include information about the incentive in the message you send, as well as any restrictions or conditions associated with the incentive. These details ensure respondents know exactly what they’ll get for completing the survey and will motivate them to do so.

Automate responses

When it comes to conducting SMS surveys, automating responses can be a huge time saver. It can also save you from forgetting to respond to customers. Automating responses helps ensure your customers feel heard and that their feedback is valuable.

One way to automate responses is to set up a system where customers receive automated messages based on their responses to your survey. For example, if a customer’s survey response indicates they had a positive experience with your product, you can set up an automated message that thanks them for their feedback. If a customer’s survey response indicates they had a negative experience, you can set up a message expressing regret for their experience and offering to learn more about what went wrong.

Another way to automate responses is to set up automated messages for customers who have not yet responded to your survey. This way, you can remind customers their feedback is valuable and encourage them to take the survey.

Need more information?

If you’re new to sending text messages to your customers, don’t worry—we’ve got your back. Below are some resources that can help you get started.

• We’ve put together a guide and checklist that includes real-world examples of how to write a compliant SMS message, as well as an article on CTIA messaging guidelines.
• As an organization, you can’t send messages with any old number. Learn more about the different types of SMS numbers you can use to send your surveys
• Before you can send a survey, it’s critical to craft an opt-in message. Learn how to help customers opt-in to communicate with your organization.

Ready to start using SMS to send out surveys? Contact our experts today to find out how you can begin leveraging our easy-to-use SMS API.