1. Clearly Define Your Research Objectives:
• Determine what you aim to learn from the survey.
• Keep your objectives specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART).

2. Design an Engaging Survey:
• Craft clear and concise questions that are easy to understand.
• Avoid leading questions that may influence responses.
• Mix question types (e.g., multiple choice, open-ended, rating scales) to maintain interest.
• Keep the survey visually appealing and easy to navigate.

3. Select the Right Survey Platform:
• Choose a user-friendly survey platform that fits your needs.
• Consider features like drag-and-drop question creation, response analysis, and data export options.

4. Recruit a Representative Sample:
• Identify the target population you want to survey.
• Ensure your sample size is large enough to yield meaningful results.
• Recruit participants through various channels (e.g., email, social media, website pop-ups).

5. Offer Incentives (Optional):
• Consider providing incentives (e.g., raffles, discounts, or donations) to increase participation.

6. Conduct a Pilot Test:
• Conduct a pilot test with a small group of individuals to identify any issues in the survey design.
• Refine your survey based on feedback.

7. Promote Your Survey:
• Share the survey link on social media, email, and your website.
• Create engaging content to encourage participation.
• Run contests or giveaways to generate interest.

8. Monitor and Respond to Participants:
Keep track of survey progress and response rates.
Respond to participant questions or concerns promptly.

9. Analyze Survey Results:
• Use data analysis tools to identify trends, patterns, and insights.
• Generate reports and visualizations to present your findings clearly.

10. Implement Survey Feedback:
• Use the survey results to make informed decisions and take action.
• Develop strategies to address the issues or concerns raised by participants.

11. Maintain Ethical Standards:
• Obtain informed consent from participants.
• Ensure anonymity and confidentiality of responses.
• Respect your participants’ time and privacy.

12. Follow Up with Participants:
• Send thank-you messages to participants after they complete the survey.
• Keep participants informed of any actions taken based on the survey findings.
• Encourage ongoing participation in future surveys.

13. Document Your Survey Process:
• Keep detailed records of your survey design, implementation, and analysis.
• This documentation will be valuable for future reference and potential replication of the survey.

Need help with your online survey? Contact us at Crowdfaction to get started.

Surveying is important for organisations today because it is the “most reliable” source for feedback from your members. So, the goal is simple: ask the questions and hope for some helpful answers in return. But the solution to achieving this goal isn’t as simple as running a basic survey. Organisations commonly make the mistake of releasing under-developed surveys to their members. More often than not, these surveys go ignored by members or are answered inaccurately.

Today, membership and data professionals have more power to collect data than ever before, but for real success a true strategy must be followed.

By following these tips for effectively running a member survey, your organisation can produce a survey that is engaging and truly beneficial for getting the answers you need.

1. Provide an explanation

Explaining to your members why you are conducting a survey makes them understand the purpose behind it, as well as the purpose in them participating and getting involved and active in the campaign. Members want to feel like you care about them and their needs. By taking the time to explain the purpose behind the survey, you are establishing that you care about their opinions and don’t just want to waste their time. Otherwise, they will see the survey as just something tedious tossed their way.

2. Ask the right questions

There should be a purpose behind every question you ask. Having direct, effective questions will make the member survey process much easier for members. This ultimately encourages them to complete the entire survey, engage in follow up actions as well as surveys in the future. You should clearly explain how you want the question answered and offer a variety of answers. You should follow these practices in your survey as well. The point of what you’re asking your members should be clear. With a clear question, you should expect more accurate and helpful answers in return.

3. Make surveys interactive

Having a light, visual interactive survey is the best way to engage members. Interactive surveying has a 30% greater success rate than traditional surveying. Using interactive styles of surveying makes people overall more interested in the survey.  The more interest they have in the survey, the more likely they are to complete it accurately and in a timely fashion. There are numerous survey  web-based platforms for collecting and sharing information, developed a great example of interactive surveying. Their surveying technology allows you to personalize each question, as well as make questions interactive and visually appealing. This provides the surveyor with a much more engaging experience. And the more you capture your audience’s attention, the more likely they are to complete a survey.

4. Using survey timing to your advantage

The timing of when you push your survey out to members is another important aspect to consider. The trick to good survey timing is remembering who you are surveying. Be aware of your members working schedules. Whilst most professionals follow a 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday schedule this is not the case for many workers who shift work and weekend work means that weekends factored in when running your survey. Another aspect to consider is the time of day the survey is pushed so that it reaches the maximum amount of people at a convenient time for them.

5. Have varying channels of surveys

Having mixed-mode channels for running your survey is very important today. Typically, surveys are pushed through e-mail, sms or over the phone. Society is more digital than ever today, which provides potential for your survey to reach a much larger audience by using digital channels. These channels should include websites, social media, and mobile. And, if you are trying to reach your younger members with your survey, this means that a mobile survey is one of the best ways to reach a large audience.

6. Analyze and act on survey results

Analyzing your member survey results is an extremely important step of the surveying process that should not be neglected. By analyzing your results, you can better understand who you are surveying. This allows you to see things your members truly value and want through their membership in the organisation. With this knowledge, you are going to be much more successful in tending to their needs. Not only this, but by thoroughly analyzing your results you can get a good idea on what channels of surveying worked best. By having this data, you will understand what to do differently and therefore be better equipped to have more success on your next member survey as well as member engagement.

By following these tips for effectively running a survey, your organisation could see improvements in both the overall surveying experience as well as the outcome of the survey.

These surveying tips make the goal of better understanding your members more attainable. And, by better knowing what your members value and need from your organisation after your survey, you are going to ultimately be able to better engage them.