Different Survey Types and When to Use Them

“Latest survey shows that 3 out of 4 people make up 75% of the world’s population.” ~ Stephen Hawking

And well some surveys might be pointing out the obvious; surveys are wonderful tools to understand your users. It gives you direct insight into their pain points, needs, desires, and values.

As a result, you can make sure your app continuously adapts to user needs, that increases user retention and loyalty.

However, not every survey will give you the same result. Understanding which different survey types will help you reach your goals will improve your survey completion rate and customer experience.

Here are the different surveys you should familiarize yourself with:

Churn survey
Welcome Survey
NPS survey
Product rating survey
CSAT survey

Now, let’s dive into each one in detail, depending on your company’s needs.

Churn survey: Discover why users abandon your product

A churn survey is a survey designed to measure customer loyalty and satisfaction.

It is typically conducted with customers who have recently canceled their service with a company, or who have recently stopped using their product.

The survey is used to assess the reasons why customers are leaving and how the company can improve its products and services to retain or attract new customers.

Here’s an example of how Hootsuite uses churn surveys for users canceling their subscriptions.

Screenshot of a product platform that is a survey asking users why they abandon app

( Image source: Hootsuite)

When to use churn surveys

A churn survey should be used when you want to collect feedback from customers who are no longer using your product or service.

It can help you identify the reasons why customers are leaving and provide insights into how you can improve customer retention.

Benefits of churn surveys

Sending out churn surveys to past users is helpful for several reasons. Especially since they are familiar with your product. Here are a few reasons why:

1. Identify why customers are leaving: Churn surveys help understand what is driving users away from your business. This can help you identify areas of improvement and take action to prevent further customers from leaving.

2. Improve customer service: By understanding customer concerns and feedback, you can provide better customer service and ensure customers are satisfied.

3. Improve customer retention: By understanding the reasons why customers are leaving, you can improve their pain points, and take steps to improve customer retention and reduce churn.

4. Create more personalized experiences: By understanding customer needs and preferences, you can create personalized experiences that will make customers feel valued and increase their satisfaction with your service.

Welcome Survey: Improve the onboarding experience of users

A welcome survey is a type of survey that gathers initial information about a customer or potential customer.

This type of survey is typically used to get to know the customer and their preferences better, to better tailor a product or service to their needs.

Welcome surveys often include questions about the customer’s interests, needs, and preferences. This allows for their onboarding experience to be tailored to their needs and product goals.

Here’s an example of how Duolingo uses a welcome survey to understand how to onboard new users:

Screenshot of a Duolingo onboarding section. Showing to option for how a user should carry on learning

(Image source: Duolingo)

When to use welcome surveys

A welcome survey should be used when a new customer, employee, or member joins an organization.

This survey should be used to collect important information from the new individual, such as their contact information, preferences, and any other relevant information.

The goal of a welcome survey is to help the organization better understand the new person and provide them with an optimal experience.

Benefits of welcome surveys

Welcome surveys are the first impression you give to new users. It’s the chance to start on the right foot, and it shows users that you care about their preferences.

Welcome surveys can:

1. Improve customer service: A welcome survey can provide important insights into customer needs and preferences, allowing businesses to provide more tailored and personalized customer service.

2. Increase customer satisfaction: A welcome survey can help businesses understand what customers are looking for, and how they can make improvements to provide a better customer experience.

4. Increased sales: By understanding customer needs and preferences, businesses can create targeted promotions and offers that will appeal to customers and increase sales.

5. Improved customer retention: Welcome surveys can help businesses identify areas where customers may have experienced dissatisfaction, allowing them to take action and increase customer retention.

NPS Survey: Keep an eye on customer loyalty

NPS (Net Promoter Score) survey is a customer loyalty metric used to measure customer satisfaction and loyalty. It is a simple survey that asks customers to rate their experience on a scale from 0-10, with 0 being the least satisfied and 10 being the most satisfied.

Customers who rate their experience a 9 or 10 are known as “promoters”, while customers who rate their experience 0-6 are known as “detractors”. The NPS score is calculated by subtracting the percentage of detractors from the percentage of promoters.

The higher the NPS score, the more loyal customers are and the higher likelihood to be product advocates.

When to use NPS surveys

NPS surveys are best used when you want to measure customer loyalty and satisfaction, as well as identify areas for improvement.

Therefore, they should be deployed when users have a strong understanding of the product and the value it can provide.

They can also be used to measure customer sentiment and track customer trends over time.

Additionally, NPS surveys can be used to measure the effectiveness of customer service initiatives and inform decisions on product and service development.

👀 Take a peek : 7 Helpful NPS Sureys to capture responses

Benefits of NPS surveys

Word of mouth is the most special and effective form of product promotion. So it’s important to understand how likely your users are to promote your product.

With NPS surveys, you can:

1. Gather valuable customer feedback: Allow businesses to collect valuable customer feedback that can be used to improve products and services.

2. Track customer satisfaction: Track customer satisfaction over time, so they can identify areas where they can make improvements.

3. Identify customer needs: Identify customer needs and preferences, which allows them to tailor their products and services accordingly.

4. Improve customer loyalty: Help businesses improve customer loyalty by showing customers that their opinions are valued and appreciated.

Product Rating Survey: Discover the value of your product

A product rating survey is a type of survey that asks customers to rate a product on its quality, features, and overall satisfaction.

The survey can be used to gain valuable customer insights and feedback to help companies improve their products. It can also be used to gain a better understanding of customer preferences and to benchmark products against others in the same market.

Here’s an example of how a product rating survey looks like from the app Airalo:

Screenshot of Airalo web app askign suer to rate the app out of five stars

( Image source: Airalo)

When to use product rating surveys

Product rating surveys are best used when you want to know what customers think of a particular product or service.

This type of survey can help you identify areas of improvement, track customer satisfaction, and gain valuable insights into how your product or service is performing.

Product rating surveys can also be used to understand customer preferences and preferences for future product development.

Benefits of product rating surveys

Happy customers are those that continuously find value in your product. As a result, keeping tabs on their opinions matters quite a lot.

By gathering product ratings you:

1. Gather valuable customer feedback: Surveys collect valuable customer feedback that can be used to improve products and services.

2. Track customer satisfaction: Surveys track customer satisfaction over time, so they can identify areas where they can make improvements.

3. Identify customer needs: Product rating surveys can help businesses identify customer needs and preferences. This allows teams to tailor their products and services accordingly.

4. Increase sales: They help businesses increase sales by highlighting the features and benefits of their products and services. That way, your sales team can put a special emphasis on those on their next call.

5. Improve customer loyalty: Improve customer loyalty by showing customers that their opinions are valued and appreciated.

6. Build trust: Help build trust with their customers by demonstrating that they are committed to providing quality products and services.

CSAT survey: Measure customer satisfaction

CSAT (Customer Satisfaction) survey is an assessment used to measure a customer’s overall satisfaction with a product, service, or experience.

The survey typically includes multiple-choice questions that ask customers to rate their satisfaction on a scale from highly satisfied to highly dissatisfied.

CSAT surveys are useful tools for measuring customer loyalty as well as collecting feedback on products or services.

Here’s an example of how Apple uses CSAT surveys to keep an eye on customer satisfaction:

Screenshot asking about customer satisfaction and looking for a rating

(Image source: Apple)

When to use CSAT surveys

CSAT surveys can be used to measure customer satisfaction after a customer interacts with your business. This type of survey is typically used after a customer has purchased a product or service, used a customer service representative, or participated in some other type of customer experience.

The survey is designed to measure how satisfied the customer is with their experience and can help you identify areas for improvement.

Benefits of CSAT surveys

1. Gather valuable customer feedback: Product rating surveys allow businesses to collect valuable customer feedback that can be used to improve products and services.

2. Track customer satisfaction: Product rating surveys can help businesses track customer satisfaction over time, so they can identify areas where they can make improvements.

3. Identify customer needs: Product rating surveys can help businesses identify customer needs and preferences, which allows them to tailor their products and services accordingly.

4. Increase sales: Product rating surveys can help businesses increase sales by highlighting the features and benefits of their products and services.

5. Improve customer loyalty: Product rating surveys can help businesses improve customer loyalty by showing customers that their opinions are valued and appreciated.

6. Build trust: Product rating surveys can help businesses build trust with their customers by demonstrating that they are committed to providing quality products and services.

No matter the survey, you need a platform that supports you

At the end of the day, you need surveys to make real changes that improve your users’ experience with your app.

Product Fruits supports your team. It acts as an invisible layer to add, customize, and deploy surveys that reach your users. No coding or support team is required. That means you save time in development, and immediately reap the insights from your users.

Not only that, but Product Fruits offers companies the ability to implement user survey branching. Which helps your team customize survey questions based on users’ needs and behaviors.

Try Product Fruits for free today, no card or commitment required.