Customer surveys: How to create, templates & more

Customer satisfaction is critical in a competitive marketplace. If your customers are not pleased with your service or product, they are more likely to walk away than to give a complaint. Besides, an unhappy consumer costs a business more than one buyer, as that consumer spreads the word. On average, one dissatisfied customer talks about their negative experience to 9-15 people. 

Following this, we have written a step-by-step guide on how to create a customer survey without coding. Before closing, we have written eight expert tips to take away and concluded the blog. Let’s start!

How to create a customer survey for free on forms.app

Creating a customer survey does not need to be time-consuming or expensive. Using the appropriate tools, anyone can create, edit, and distribute surveys without writing a single line of code. Check the steps to create a survey with customer service feedback examples for free.

1. Login or create a new account

Open your forms.app account

As a first step, you can create a free account in seconds if you don't have one. You can go directly to the platform if you already have an account. Apart from these, you can also log in via Google and Apple accounts.

2. Use our free survey templates

Choose a way to start

By visiting our free customer survey examples, you can select a related survey sample and complete your surveys by making only the necessary edits.

Generate a survey with AI

Moreover, you can generate your survey with AI in seconds by typing a proper prompt for your needs. 

3. Add your questions and answers

Add questions to your survey

You can also restrict some questions to ensure the experience is enjoyable for the individuals answering. For instance, if a customer selects “Not Satisfactory,” an additional question to determine the reason can be included. If a participant does not select that negative option, proceed to the next question.

Use star rating questions

In my personal experience, star rating questions are ideal for collecting feedback quickly because they are easy to answer immediately.

4. Embed your survey into a website or share it on social media

Share or embed your survey

After customizing your survey design, you can share it across all digital platforms with your target audience and embed it into your website. Within the settings, you have the option to configure privacy levels, such as public, restricted, or private. 

Generate a QR code for your survey

Additionally, you can customize how the survey is displayed on your website when you share the link. Lastly, you can make a QR code to place on store packaging. 

5. View and analyze results

Check your survey results

In the final stage, it’s time to analyze the feedback you’ve collected. To ensure maximum efficiency, it’s highly recommended that you review and assess the feedback thoroughly. Your online survey creator forms.app offers an excellent tool for in-depth analysis of the responses. Do not forget to check the “Results” section to examine the data you collected.

Customer survey types

The purpose of customer surveys is to enable companies to determine customer sentiment, identify areas for improvement, and make informed decisions based on real facts to enhance the product. Businesses can transform their product, service, and customer relationships by obtaining direct feedback from consumers.

These surveys are typically administered through a firm's website, emails, social media, or specific survey tools. They are typically presented as single questions, inserted within confirmation emails following a purchase, or used within customer service calls. Online surveys are convenient to use and can be administered to lots of individuals cost-effectively compared to calling them or conducting an interview. 

The most common customer survey types are: 

20 Questions to ask in a customer survey

Asking the correct CSAT questions or any questions related to the customer experience surveys will enable you to gain the most accurate information. The ideal survey will indicate to you what the customer requires. If you need more specific questions, please don’t forget to check out our other blogs for free questions and templates, which we will mention further. 

1. How satisfied are you with the overall customer service experience you received?

2. How would you rate the speed of our customer service team to your questions and queries?

3. To what extent does our product meet your needs?  

4. What are the three features you value most?

5. What three aspects do you think we currently lack?

6. If you could change one aspect of our product or service, what would it be?  

7. What problem do you hope our product will resolve for you?

8. How would you assess the product's value for money?  

9. How easy is it to navigate our website?  

10. Could you find the information you need on our website?  

11. How much personal effort did you put into fulfilling your request?  

12. How do you evaluate the accessibility of our customer service team during your preferred contact hours?

13. How would you rate the overall ease of resolving your issue/query?

14. Compared to our competitors, is the quality of our product better, worse, or comparable?  

15. What made you choose our product over a competitor’s?  

16. Which other alternatives did you consider before selecting our product?  

17. On a scale of 0 to 10, how likely are you to recommend our company to a friend or colleague?  

18. How likely are you to make another purchase from us?  

19. What do you think is the best thing about our company?

20. If you could add one new feature or service to our offering, what would it be?

7 Benefits of customer surveys

Advantages of customer surveys

All types of customer surveys provide significant advantages for businesses. Organizations utilize them to uncover customer desires, enhance offerings, and guarantee satisfaction. In this section, we will examine seven primary benefits of conducting customer surveys. This part will also help you gain more insights into best practices for measuring customer satisfaction.

1. Understanding customers' preferences

Every business wants to assist customers, but often lacks certainty about their needs, which can lead to missed opportunities to provide help. Surveys provide honest feedback about what customers desire, what they need, and the issues that they are experiencing. If businesses frame good questions, they can discover customers’ preferences and understand why and how they make purchases.

Customers' needs shift due to market trends, the economy, or lifestyle. While surveys are conducted regularly to determine these shifts, businesses can create a setting for a better user experience for customers.

2. Making the customers happy

If customers are happy, they're likely to make a purchase, visit, and refer other individuals to the brand. Making customers happy is crucial to a business. Surveys help determine what customers like about something and what issues they are having. Customers may encounter issues such as waiting a long time, receiving low-quality products, or experiencing poor service. Surveys indicate matters that will make customers dissatisfied.

When businesses receive this feedback, they can make changes such as training staff, product fixes, or website updates. If customers are made to understand that the company truly values input, they will be made to feel important to the brand.

3. Increasing customer loyalty and support

Customer loyalty does not necessarily indicate that the customer enjoys the product. Customer loyalty demonstrates that the customer continues to buy from the same firm. Surveys such as the Net Promoter Score determine if a customer will refer a brand.

4. Finding means to improve your brand

Even the best operations can be improved, and customer feedback provides valuable insights on how to do so.

The areas that need to be improved can be:

5. Making the product or service improved

It takes the companies a lot of time and capital to introduce products. Nevertheless, they will be unsuccessful if the products fail to meet individual expectations. Customers' opinions are valuable and have been collected through surveys, providing crucial information that aids in product design and enables companies to produce items.

Surveys can tell you what products people would like best. Surveys can reveal what products or services people prefer. Surveys can tell you why a customer might buy your competitor instead. Surveys can provide you with your audience before you go live.

6. Reducing customer loss

It is expensive to get new customers. So it is crucial to reduce customer churn (the number of customers that stop using the company). Therefore, a company can modify its operations to address common issues and retain customers.

It can make them happy by making them feel good about us. It can provide loyalty discounts to habitual consumers or resolve chronic complaints about the products. Addressing the concerns of complaining consumers and resolving their issues can make them happy.

7. Gaining a competitive advantage

In competitive markets, customer-focused firms tend to prosper. Such firms can be vulnerable to getting outrun by firms that can readily adapt to catch up with market demand. Customer questionnaires are good sources of information regarding what individuals prefer and dislike about other firms. 

These questionnaires reveal emerging trends that most likely influence how individuals shop and identify certain brand characteristics. Companies accustomed to listening to consumer feedback and acting on it can readily adjust to what consumers demand.

8 Expert tips to create better customer surveys

To make customer surveys valuable, simply asking customers isn't enough. You must also design the surveys, distribute them, and read the responses. If you need to capture more feedback through your customer surveys, these recommendations will encourage more to reply, gather valuable information, and help you find an answer to “Why are surveys important in research?”. 

Tips for creating better customer surveys

1. Set your customer survey goal

Select your optimal survey type before you start creating your survey. Consider what you aim to achieve with your customer survey, such as gathering valuable insights on a new product or identifying the most effective way to deliver your services. Use this objective to craft your most effective questions and determine the survey's length.

2. Write clear and simple customer survey questions

Unclear questions can annoy people and lead to less effective responses and criticism. Customer questionnaires need to be straightforward and straightforward. If there are any unclear questions, spend some time clarifying them. Attempt to avoid complicated words and ambiguous phrases.

Don't make assumptions. If you can simplify a question to make it easier to read and understand, do it. Consider what you're asking before you ask. If you can simplify a question, it’s best to do that. Avoid using unnecessary or biased language in key questions to make it easy for customers to answer. If you are uncertain about what you ask, it’s wise to reword it!

3. Reach your customers where they are active the most

Reach your consumers where they're most active. Use the methods of communication they are familiar with and enable them to provide their opinions. If you already have them using your products or services, consider including a survey or displaying a question while they are using it.

Post good questions on your site to discover what your customers think. Reach out to 

them by emailing them and asking them what they think. You can use messaging platforms like SMS, DMs, and WhatsApp to ask your questions. 

4. Keep your query short

To gather a large number of answers, questionnaires for your customers should be concise and easy to read. Keep them quick to complete! It is best to let people know how long it is going to take by including this on top of your questionnaire or invitation. Displaying a progress bar is a fantastic way for people to know how much you have left.

5. Give rewards

Rewards are an excellent means of encouraging people to complete questionnaires. Gift cards and coupons are typical awards, and you can consider offering gifts such as mugs or notebooks. Some organizations make donations to charities based on what they learn. Contributing to causes that are important to individuals or offering awards will certainly engage more individuals.

6. Incorporate a variety of question types

Using multiple question types can be valuable to discover what people know. One question type can become monotonous to some. Open-ended questions provide people with detailed responses and insights based on opinions. Yes/no questions, multiple choice, and rating scales provide quick and easy responses.

With more closed-type questions, you enable your customers to complete questionnaires in a short time. One or two open-type questions allow them to provide more elaborate information. The right mix provides you with quality feedback and valuable insights.

7. Provide options to your customers

It makes your customers feel special when you allow them to voice their opinions through questionnaires. Allowing them to opt out of a question makes it possible to get higher-quality input since they do not have to reply to each question. Providing multiple choices for them to select and add additional comments is also useful.

By providing choices such as gender-neutral pronouns, you can ensure that everyone is respected. Keep in mind that some questions will require specific kinds of responses, but in general, it is essential to ensure that every individual is heard and respected!

8. Always check and send a thank-you letter

Surveys can be time-consuming to complete, often leading to them being forgotten or delayed by people. Companies can do more than just wait for client surveys to be completed. Companies can build reminder software that reminds clients to complete their surveys and expresses appreciation.

Lastly, you can follow through by writing a letter of thanks. When you let them know what you did with what they said, you build trust and make them look forward to participating in future surveys.

In short

Customer surveys are so much more than just forms to fill out; they’re key tools for growth and improvement. We use them to gather insights about new products, evaluate service quality, and spot market trends contributing to our business's success. By leveraging professional guidance, free resources to craft the surveys, and thoughtfully chosen questions, you can ensure these surveys lead to excellent outcomes for our organization.