Brands commonly use rating scales to collect customer feedback on products or services. Rating scale questions are recognizable and intuitive—respondents often don’t even need to fully read the question. We see smiley ratings or star ratings and immediately understand how to respond.

In this blog, we'll explore the types of rating scales, their practical applications, and best practices for effectively gathering customer feedback.

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What is a Rating Scale?

Rating scales are closed-ended questions offering a set of categories as response options. They are among the most common survey question types used for surveys. Rating scales help gather information on qualitative and quantitative attributes.

Common examples include the Likert scale, star rating, and slider. For instance, when shopping online, you might rate your purchase experience using a rating scale. These scales are popular in market research, effectively capturing quantifiable insights into product performance, employee satisfaction, customer service, and more.

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Types of Rating Scales

There are six common types of Rating Scales:

1. Numeric rating scale or NRS

A numeric rating scale uses numbers to identify the items in the scale. In this scale, not all numbers need an attribute attached to them.

For instance, you can ask your survey respondents to rate a product from 1 to 5 on a scale. You can assign ‘1’ as totally dissatisfied and ‘5’ as totally satisfied.

2. Verbal rating scale or VRS:

Verbal scales are used for pain assessment. Also known as verbal pain scores and verbal descriptor scale compiles a number of statements describing pain intensity and duration.

For instance, when you go to a dentist, you are asked to rate the intensity of your tooth pain. At that time, you receive a scale with items like “none,” “mild,” “moderate,” “severe,” and “very severe.”

3. Visual analog scale or Slider scale:

The idea behind VAS is to let the audience select any value from the scale between two endpoints. In the scale, only the endpoints have attributes allotted to numbers, and the rest of the scale is empty.

Often just called a slider scale, the audience can rate whatever they want without being restricted to particular characteristics or rank.

For example, a scale rating ranges from extremely easy to extremely difficult, with no other value allotted.

4. Likert scale:

A Likert scale is a useful tool for effective market research to receive feedback on a wide range of psychometric attributes. The agree-disagree scale is particularly useful when your intention is to gather information on frequency, experience, quality, likelihood, etc.

For example, a Likert scale is a good tool for evaluating employee satisfaction with company policies.

5. Graphic rating scale:

Instead of numbers, imagine using pictures, such as stars or smiley faces to ask your customers and audience to rate. The stars and smiley faces can generate the same value as a number.

6. Descriptive scale:

In certain surveys or research, a numeric scale may not help much. A descriptive scale explains each option for the respondent. It contains a thorough explanation for the purpose of gathering information with deep insights.

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How to Create an Effective Rating Scale Survey

To ensure clarity and maximize insights:

1. Determine the appropriate scale: Align scale type and response options clearly with your research objectives.
2. Implement suitable scales: Choose among the six scale types based on your data needs. Conduct pilot tests if unsure.
3. Maintain consistency: Use uniform ordering of scales (e.g., 1=low, 5=high) throughout your survey.
4. Balance response options: Provide balanced positive and negative options to reduce bias.
5. One idea per question: Avoid mixing multiple ideas in one question to maintain clarity.

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Advantages of Using Rating Scales in Surveys

• Ease of Use: Rating scales are simple and easy to understand for both researchers and respondents.
• Time-Efficient: They require minimal time for respondents to complete.
• Variety of Options: Multiple types of rating scales enable engaging and interactive surveys.
• Effective for Analysis: They provide valuable data for evaluating products, services, and overall marketing strategy improvement.

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Disadvantages of Using Rating Scales in Surveys

• Limited Qualitative Insights: Rating scales do not capture the reasoning behind respondents' answers.
• Lack of Depth: They measure overall perceptions without explaining specific experiences.
• Potential Overestimation: Verbal Rating Scales (VRS) might overstate subjective experiences like pain. Additionally, respondents with limited vocabulary may find verbal 

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Examples of Rating Scale Survey Questions

Here are some examples of rating scale questions: 

1. Customer Satisfaction Rating Scale Questions

• How satisfied are you with the newly launched live customer support chat service on our app?
• How likely are you to refer our podcast app to others?

2. Product feedback Rating Scale Questions

• Rate the quality of our latest product. (1-poor, 5-excellent)
• How easy was it to use the new doc scanner app?

3. Event Experience Rating Scale Questions

• How would you rate the organization of our recent event? 
• How likely are you to attend our summer event in the future?

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High-Level Applications of Rating Scales

Beyond basic feedback collection, rating scales can significantly influence strategic decision-making and organizational improvements:

1. Strategic Decision-Making: Businesses use rating scales to evaluate customer satisfaction over time, providing data-driven insights for strategic decisions. For example, continuous rating-based customer satisfaction surveys can identify long-term trends, guiding investment decisions in product development or service enhancement.

2. Benchmarking and Competitive Analysis: Rating scales enable businesses to perform competitive analysis by collecting comparative data. Companies can benchmark their products or services against competitors, gaining strategic insights into market positioning and potential areas for improvement.

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Conclusion

Rating scales are effective and versatile tools for survey research, providing valuable, actionable data. Remember:

• Clearly label scale endpoints.
• Balance positive and negative options to reduce bias.
• Include neutral points when appropriate.

Choosing the right scale type depends on your survey’s objectives. With platforms like Voxco, diverse rating scale options can enhance your research, delivering impactful insights.

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