4-Step Guide to Creating User Experience Surveys

Have you ever wondered why some websites and apps feel like a warm hug while others leave you scratching your head in frustration?

Well, it's all about user experience (UX), my friend.

And behind every great UX is a treasure trove of customer feedback and surveys that measure customer satisfaction.

In fact, studies show that 70% of businesses with a focus on UX report increased customer satisfaction.

So, how to get a hold of this customer feedback by asking questions?

UX surveys come in handy and offer a structured approach to gathering feedback directly from users.

UserGuiding’s UX Survey Templates

💡 This customer feedback is invaluable in identifying areas for improvement, validating design decisions, and prioritizing great overall experience.

This is why this guide will walk you through the process today, from setting objectives to taking action based on feedback.

TL;DR

1. Set Objectives and Identify Your Audience: Define survey goals and understand your target audience.
2. Design Your Survey: Brainstorm and refine questions that align with your objectives.
3. Launch Your Survey: Choose distribution channels, communicate with your audience, and send out invitations.
4. Harvest User Insights and Take Action: Monitor responses, analyze data, and implement User Experience improvements based on findings. With these steps, you can unlock valuable insights and enhance the overall experience of your users.

What is a User Experience Survey?

A user experience (UX) survey is a qualitative research tool used to gather feedback from users about their interactions with a product, service, or system.

It typically consists of questions designed to assess users' satisfaction, and preferences, and analyze pain points.

The goal of a UX survey is to gather user insights that can inform improvements to the user journey and customer loyalty, ultimately leading to higher user satisfaction and better product usability.

Bonus 📣

UserGuiding now provides advanced (but super easy-to-create) in-app survey capabilities.

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You can try UserGuiding as your new survey tool, store and filter your data in-app, and publish an in-app survey in minutes, making the surveying process easier than ever.

Schedule a demo with one of our experts or give it a try yourself.

Setting the Stage for Success

Step 1: Define Objectives and Identify Your Audience

⏰ Timeline Estimate: 1-2 weeks

What you need

• Clarity on survey goals and objectives.
• Understanding of target audience demographics. Demographic questions are game-changers.

👉🏼 Before diving into survey creation, it's essential to have a clear understanding of what you hope to achieve.

He’s just Ken

👉🏼 Whether it's improving website usability, gauging satisfaction with a new product or a specific feature, or identifying pain points in a mobile app, defining specific objectives will guide the entire survey process.

👉🏼 Knowing your relevant audience is key to crafting relevant UX survey questions and ensuring actionable insights.

👉🏼 Conduct UX research or leverage existing user data to identify small groups and demographics such as age, gender, location, and interests.

Substeps

1. Gather stakeholders to define UX survey question objectives and goals.
2. Conduct market research to identify target audience demographics and customer behavior.

Crafting the Perfect Survey Design

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Creating a survey with UserGuiding, without coding

Step 2: Design Your User Experience Survey Questions

⏰ Timeline Estimate: 2-3 weeks

What you need

• A clear understanding of the information needed.
• Knowledge of effective UX survey design.

Creating surveys in your UserGuiding dashboard and previewing it real time

👉🏼 Whether it's gathering feedback on user satisfaction, usability, or preferences, having a clear understanding of the information you need will inform the design and context of your user experience survey questions.

👉🏼 Crafting well-designed UX survey questions is essential for eliciting accurate and meaningful responses.

👉🏼 Avoid leading or biased questions, use clear and concise language, and consider the order and structure of your questions to ensure a smooth survey flow.

Substeps

1. Brainstorm user experience survey questions aligned with objectives.
2. Refine questions for clarity, relevance, and bias.
3. Pilot-test the survey with a small group for quantitative insight.

Launching Your Survey Into the Wild

Step 3- Distribute Your Survey

⏰ Timeline Estimate: 1-2 weeks

What you need

• Selection of appropriate distribution channels.
• Clear communication with your target audience to maximize response rates.

👉🏼 Choosing the right channels to distribute your survey is crucial for a high response rate and reaching your target audience effectively.

👉🏼 Consider factors such as the demographics of your audience, their preferred communication channels, and the accessibility of the survey platform.

👉🏼 When launching your survey, it's essential to communicate clearly with your target audience about the purpose, importance, and confidentiality of the survey.

👉🏼 Provide clear instructions on how to access and complete the survey, and be transparent about how the data will be used in the product development process.

Substeps

1. Choose distribution channels such as email, social media, or website.
2. Set up survey distribution tools or platforms.
3. Send out invitations and reminders to maximize response rates and perform the survey!

Harvesting Insights and Taking Action

Step 4: Collect, Analyze, and Implement

⏰ Timeline Estimate: 2-4 weeks

What you need

• Diligence in monitoring survey responses.
• Ability to distill insights into actionable recommendations.

👉🏼 Monitoring user survey responses in real-time allows you to track participation rates, identify any technical issues, and ensure data integrity.

👉🏼Regular monitoring also enables you to adapt your survey distribution strategy or address any concerns participants raise.

👉🏼 Once you've collected survey responses, the real work begins. Analyze the data to identify patterns, trends, and valuable insights.

👉🏼 From there, translate these insights into actionable recommendations for improving the user experience, whether it's through design iterations, feature enhancements, or process improvements.

Substeps

1. Monitor survey responses regularly.
2. Analyze data using statistical analysis tools and qualitative coding techniques.
3. Identify patterns, trends, and actionable insights.
4. Collaborate with stakeholders to implement UX improvements based on survey findings.

🛎️ Bonus

Exploring Question Types in User Surveys

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An example of a survey question

When crafting a user survey, choosing the right types of questions (multiple-choice questions and more) is essential to gather meaningful insights from your users.

Here are some common question types that are easy to answer:

Multiple-Choice Questions:

✍🏼 Multiple-choice questions provide users with predefined options to choose from, allowing for easy data collection and analysis after the previous response.

Example: "On a scale of 1 to 5, how satisfied are you with the ease of navigation on our website?"

Open-Ended Questions:

✍🏼 Encourage users to provide detailed, qualitative feedback in their own words, offering insights into their thoughts and experiences.

Make them short and simple.

Example: "What features or improvements would you like to see implemented on our mobile app?"

or:

''How would you describe our product or design?''

another favorite as a follow-up question would be:

''Would you recommend our product? Why/Why not?''

Likert Scale Questions:

✍🏼 Measure the intensity of agreement or disagreement with a statement, allowing for nuanced responses.

Example: "Please rate your experience with our customer support service: Very Dissatisfied, Dissatisfied, Neutral, Satisfied, Very Satisfied."

Ranking Questions:

✍🏼 Ask users to prioritize items or features based on their preferences, helping to identify key areas of importance.

There is no need to make them unnecessarily complex. Make them simple!

Example: "Please rank the following website features in order of importance to you: (1) Fast Loading Times, (2) Intuitive Navigation, (3) Rich Content, (4) Personalized Recommendations."

Semantic Differential Questions:

✍🏼 Assess users' perceptions of a concept or product by asking them to rate it on opposite adjectives anchored by a scale.

Example: "Please rate the usability of our mobile app on the following scale: Difficult – Easy, Frustrating – Intuitive, Inefficient – Efficient."

Final Word

In conclusion, prioritizing UX research and leveraging a good survey as a tool for customer insight collection can be transformative for businesses in today's digital landscape.

By understanding the needs, preferences, and pain points of users, businesses can craft more intuitive and satisfying experiences, leading to increased overall satisfaction and loyalty.