Everything you Need to Know about Web Surveys

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The purpose of surveys is to assess what people have to say about their experience or their feelings about certain things. Whether you want to know people’s feedback about the latest product, their experience in a water park, or their opinion on a political party, the survey is the best way to collect the data. 

A web survey is one such method of data collection. Internet surveys help you reach and engage a large volume of audience. 

In this blog, we will discuss how to conduct surveys via multimedia channels, the best practices for creating surveys, and the advantages & disadvantages of internet surveys. 

What are Web Surveys?

Web surveys or online surveys can be defined as a method of data collection conducted through the internet. As simple as it sounds, you can create a survey using a survey maker online and send it to a large audience over the internet. 

An online survey is a cost-efficient method of research/survey in comparison to other data collection methods. Moreover, it also has a large magnitude making it a popular choice of data collection among researchers. 

Organizations have started implementing web surveys using online survey software to take advantage of the hyperconnected world and reach the population using the internet. Internet surveys enable you to collect data via multiple channels – social media, email, or website. 

Let’s explore the different types of surveys you can launch using the internet for your next research.

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What are the Types of Web Surveys?

Internet surveys are one of the three ways you can conduct surveys. The other two are telephone surveys and offline surveys.

 Here we have mentioned four different ways how to conduct surveys via the internet using online survey software. Each of these methods has an advantage over the other. 

Social Media Surveys

Social Media surveys involve the posting of surveys on social media platforms such as Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, etc. A social media survey is a popular choice because it allows researchers to reach an audience broader than their audience list. 

SMS Surveys

SMS surveys are often used when a large set of sample group elements are in one geographical area. Especially in areas where phone numbers can classify respondents by location. 

Email Surveys

Email surveys are one of the most commonly used methods of survey distribution as it is an effective way of collecting survey responses. Email surveys can be sent out as email blasts to existing customers, and to new potential customers and clients. 

Web Intercept Surveys

Website surveys, or web intercept surveys, usually pop up on a company’s website. There are many different types of web surveys, such as exit surveys, pop-up surveys, and on-page surveys. This type of survey tends to have a high response rate.

These are the most commonly used methods to conduct surveys via the internet. You can easily create surveys and quickly distribute them using any channel with online survey software. One of the best survey practices is to use a mix of all the internet survey methods to ensure you reach your target audience in their preferred channel. 

Now that we have learned about how to conduct surveys using multimedia channels, let’s check some of the surveys you can conduct.

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What are Examples of Web Surveys You can Conduct?

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A survey is used to gather data from the audience to learn and understand their pain points, concerns, preferences, needs, and more. Internet surveys also survey the same purpose. 

You can design your internet surveys using survey maker online and distribute them on any channel to survey specific populations – customers, employees, academics, etc. Following are some examples of use cases for which you can conduct web surveys. 

Marketing Surveys

A company that makes and sells makeup may post polls or a survey on their Instagram, asking their followers to state their preferences on certain lip products. 

This is an example of a marketing survey, wherein organizations try to collect feedback on products and offerings using social media surveys as their choice of web survey. 

Customer Experience Surveys

Customer experience is quantified using metrics such as CES (customer effort score), NPS® (Net Promoter Score®), and CSAT (customer satisfaction). 

An organization can use email surveys to send out NPS® or CSAT surveys after a customer makes a purchase, in order to collect feedback on customer satisfaction.

Employee Surveys

These surveys help understand the grievances and motivators of an organization’s workforce. Some of the most frequently used employee web surveys are manager evaluation surveys, onboarding experience, wellness, and exit interview surveys.

Academic Evaluation Surveys

Academic evaluation surveys are commonly used in schools, universities, and other academic institutions. They are used to evaluate courses, faculty performance, seminars, training, and more.

With so many survey types to conduct and so many channels at disposal, the next step is to learn how to conduct surveys using the internet.

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How to Conduct Web Surveys?

Every survey has a process you need to follow. You have to understand how to create a survey, who represents your target population, and what type of web survey to use. This will ultimately give you a clear structure of how to conduct surveys via multimedia channels.  

These are some of the best survey practices you can follow for a successful survey. 

1. Define the purpose: 

The purpose and objective of the study have to be clearly defined. A clear objective will help you understand how to create a survey and help you collect data that justify the objective of the survey. 

2. Chose the research design: 

Depending on the type of survey being sent out, a research design must be chosen. Cross-sectional, experimental, correlational, and longitudinal designs are among the most common.

For example, if you are planning to conduct a social media survey on Black Friday then you can use a cross-sectional research design. 

3. Select your sample: 

The sample of respondents must be clearly defined. Your sample represents the entire population and can skew the survey result if chosen poorly. 

4. Select data collection method: 

Along with your sample respondent you also have to determine which data collection method to use. While selecting the channel make sure that you know which channel is used mostly by your target audience. 

5. Analyze the collected data: 

The most important step in surveying is data analysis. The data must be analyzed well in order to extract useful insights, correlations, and patterns.

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What are the Advantages of Web Surveys?

Web surveys have seen increasing popularity among researchers in the last few years. The fact that it can reach a large number of respondents in seconds is one of the many benefits of internet surveys. 

Let’s see some of these benefits that contribute to its growing popularity.

Low Margin of Error

Unlike traditional survey methods, web surveys do not require any mediator. This means that respondents directly answer the surveys, enabling a much lower margin of error.

Quicker to conduct

These can reach their target audience much faster in comparison to other survey techniques as it is over the internet. It is the fastest method to acquire survey responses. Additionally, these are quicker to make and distribute and tend to save a lot of time for researchers.

Cost-effective

Web surveys require fewer resources than other survey methods, making it easier on the pocket. You simply need an integrated online survey software with a survey maker online, multiple distribution channels, and data analytics. 

You don’t have to dial any number or send surveys using the postal service. One click, and your survey will reach millions of people within seconds. 

Only shows relevant questions:

Internet surveys can be created using advanced online survey tools. You can use advanced logic to ensure that the respondents only see questions relevant to their experience. 

The questions shown depend on the answer a respondent shares. This makes the survey journey less taxing for the respondent and allows you to gather the right insight. 

Facilitates real-time analysis

A lot of online survey software, such as Voxco’s, facilitates the real-time analysis of survey responses as and when they come in. Voxco’s powerful dashboards provide users with charts and graphs created using collected data. 

Now that we have explored the many advantages it has, let’s check the flip side of the coin. 

What are the Disadvantages of Web Surveys?

Like any other data collection method, internet surveys also have some roadblocks. Here are some of the potential issues you may face while conducting surveys over the internet.

Potentially unreliable data

The absence of a mediator also comes with its drawbacks. As web surveys lack a mediator or interviewer, the feedback received may be questionable.

Lack of respondent cooperation

Respondents often receive a large volume of surveys and may choose to overlook your survey. This significantly lowers the response rate, creating the need for surveys to be sent to a much larger audience before receiving the target amount of responses.

Limited respondent availability

Certain parts of the population may not have access to the internet, limiting the respondent’s availability for web surveys.

Biased responses

Poorly chosen channels of distribution can lead to biased data, as well as low response rates.

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Let’s Wrap

This sums up everything about web surveys. Internet surveys have more advantages over traditional survey methods. It’s cost-efficient, quick, easy, and, best of all, it reaches a large audience. 

When you conduct your survey online, check the best practices we have shared above to ensure a successful survey. Use online survey tools to make the process of creating surveys seamless.

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