How to schedule your surveys for optimal results

Have you ever struggled with getting your surveys just right? It's a delicate balance, ensuring your surveys collect valuable insights while avoiding any off-putting elements that may deter participants from engaging in future surveys. After all, the accurate measure of a successful survey lies in the results it yields.

Here you will get some tips to make the most out of each survey and overcome any challenges. This article will explain why and how to schedule your surveys, the 10 best tips to follow, and more. 

Why do you need to schedule your surveys?

Scheduling your surveys has many pros for you, needless to say. First of all, scheduling will guarantee that you carry out your survey as effectively at the most suitable time. Timing has a great impact on the responses you collect even though you know how to write research questions.  So, scheduling surveys will increase response rates and help you to contact the right audience at the appropriate moment. 

How to schedule your surveys on forms.app

On forms.app, you can easily schedule your survey on the setting sections and decide on the publishing date and time. Similarly, you can decide on the unpublish date and time of the survey. Moreover, you can add your own message to the text box. 10 best tips to follow when scheduling your surveys. 

How to enable scheduling settings

Unlock the power of surveys: 10 tips to follow

Before going to the scheduling settings and adjusting the dates, you may do some research. For example, you should learn when is the best time, who you should send your survey and so on. Here we have gathered 10 essential tips to follow when scheduling your surveys.

10 tips for scheduling your surveys

1. Find a rhythm

The best time to send a survey isn't always the same for everyone. Your audience is made up of a variety of people with varying schedules, so it's crucial to find a time that will allow as many people as possible to take it at once. This might mean sending it during lunch hours on weekdays or mornings on weekends, depending on who you're trying to reach.

You can also time your surveys based on the seasons or specific times of the year. For example, you might send a survey about holiday shopping during the fall, when people are thinking about what to buy for friends and family. By timing your survey based on specific times of the year, you can increase your chance of being at the top of your customer’s minds. This is especially true if your business has an annual cycle or seasonality, like flowers that people buy more at certain times of the year.

2. Be strategic about the time of the day and the day of the week

When preparing survey questions, you should examine the question types you’ll use. For instance, sending a monthly survey is best if you’re making a product or service satisfaction survey. A quarterly survey is excellent if you want to know how frequently your customers use your product. 

An annual survey is most suitable if you’re looking for feedback on specific product changes or service offerings. The time that offers the highest likelihood of receiving the most number of responses with engaging and fun questions is the best opportunity to send your survey. To establish this, you must be very familiar with your target audience. 

To optimize your survey's response rates, it's essential to consider the day of the week and the time of the day when sending it out. Tailor your survey deployment to align with your target audience's habits and availability. 

3. Make the most of “peak” seasons

Sell beach-themed products in the summertime when people are thinking about going on vacation and are more open toward making purchases than at other times of the year.  If you're planning a special sale for Cyber Week, you might want to consider a Cyber Monday marketing campaign because people are more likely to be thinking about the juicy deals at that time of year. 

You want to take advantage of when your audience is most receptive to making purchases. The best way to do this is by leveraging the benefits of survey software that has analytics. You can find out what times of day people are most likely to buy your products and then market during those hours.

4. Send your survey as a reminder

One of the best ways to maximize your survey results is by sending a reminder. They help people who aren't completing your survey to respond, returning them to the path you've set out. They can also help get more responses from those who have already started and stopped.

Reminders are especially effective when they are sent in different ways. Email reminders are great for when someone has just left your site, while text message reminders will help you reach your target audience even when they aren't on their computers. 

When sending reminders, it's important to keep in mind that you don't want to appear overly pushy. While you want people to respond, you don't want them to feel like they're being forced into doing so.

5. Create urgency by setting a deadline

As with all of these tips in innovating quantitative research, be sure that the deadline you set is realistic and not too far in the future or too close to a current event like a holiday. If your survey is going to be lengthy, send a message after they've completed the first part and encourage them to keep going.

While you can set up multiple reminders, be careful not to overwhelm people with too many. You don't want them to feel like they're being bombarded with messages about your survey. Instead, send a reminder once every two weeks or so, so that you'll have a higher chance of getting meaningful results.

Think of setting deadlines for your survey. This can help boost audience participation and even elicit robust responses. Set a realistic turnaround time that allows your audience to answer all survey questions conveniently.

6. Set reminders for those who haven’t completed the survey yet

You can improve your survey response rates if you send reminders. However, you should only use these occasionally, using sampling methods. The key aspects that determine the best time to send reminders are the waiting time for responses and the survey length.

For long surveys, it’s best to send reminders three days after you send the survey. For short surveys, the best time is after one day. If your response rate is below 15%, it is also advisable to send reminders. This can help improve your response rate. However, don’t send too many reminders since it will negatively affect the response rate.

You should strategically send reminders to improve response rates. It should be well-timed and must consider factors like expected response time and survey length. Testing various numbers and meticulously tracking response rates will help you establish this.

7. Use invitation messages to obtain positive response rates

One of the best ways to optimize surveys is by using invitation messages. 

These messages are proven quite effective because invitations are the first thing they see when they join your survey. This is why they offer an excellent opportunity to customize your survey and gladly receive them in your group.

Here are some awesome ideas on how to create invitation messages: 

Invitation messages are known for their high response rates. If you genuinely personalize your invitation messages, you can make lasting first impressions to your customers. 

8. Make your survey sweet and brief

You must make your survey as concise and friendly as possible to maximize your survey. If it takes over a dozen minutes to complete, your customers will likely won’t accept it.

Only ask essential questions. Accurate and efficient surveys can only come if your survey is done correctly. Create questions that matter to you and are relevant to your customers. So you must carefully identify what you need to know and ensure that the customers you’ll reach out to are the right ones.

And don't forget to say thank you! Your respondents spend valuable time helping you with your research, so show your appreciation. This can be as simple as a personal email or text message after they take the survey.

9. Keep it looking good on mobile devices

Responsiveness means the survey will look good on any device, whether it be a desktop or a smartphone. Mobile optimization means you have taken the time to optimize your survey to work well on smartphones and tablets.

Adapting to your customer's preferences and needs is crucial to maximize response rates. Ensure your survey is responsive and mobile-optimized, guaranteeing a seamless experience across devices. 

Simplify the survey layout, enlarge the text for readability, and consider reducing the number of questions per page. By using clear language and providing simple instructions, you can transform the survey process into an enjoyable and user-friendly interaction. 

10. Avoid triggering spam filters

In the quest to ensure your survey reaches your customers' eager eyes, avoiding the menacing spam filters becomes a top priority. These cunning filters are the guardians of email providers, swiftly sieving out unwanted messages by sniffing out certain words or phrases. 

To pass their discerning gaze, steer clear of spam-triggering vocabulary like "cash prize" or "secret code." Also, keep your survey free from email addresses, phone numbers, or URLs that might rouse suspicion. But how can you be sure that your survey is unscathed through the treacherous waters? 

Unleash meaningful insights for winning marketing campaigns

The possibilities are boundless with the wealth of data gathered through surveys. You can readily customize your marketing campaigns and make them more efficient when you know who your prospects are and what they want. This information makes it easier to tailor your messages and methods that resonate with your target audience throughout their buying journey.

With this setup, surveys become an indispensable tool to attain marketing success. By crafting thought-provoking questions and attentively listening to the responses, you'll unlock valuable insights into your customers' behaviors, desires, and needs. 

As such, you must now capitalize on the vast potential that surveys offer. Take advantage of the art of knowing your audience, creating content that resonates, and applying data-driven methods that can elevate your brand to marketing success.

Last words

Everyone knows the importance and power of surveys, needless to say. However, deciding how to schedule your surveys for optimal results is also essential. Now that you have read here, you already know what to do for your company/brand/business. Let the power of surveys help elevate your business to new heights!