Survey tools are used to collect feedback from a select group of respondents. Companies use survey tools to collect comments from their clients, buyers, and employees. They employ this data to analyze things such as customer satisfaction, employee morale, etc. This software can be used to evaluate employee and client satisfaction, enhance customer loyalty, and gather feedback on products and services. Show moreCompanies can apply survey software through email, embedded widgets, mobile and social networks and more. Survey software is similar to enterprise feedback software which is used by businesses to gather information for high-level evaluation. However, survey software is less expensive and easier to use compared to enterprise feedback software which offers greater customization and reporting features. Start by checking our leader Birdeye, and other recommended solutions in this category.Show less
To come up with this list of best Survey Tools we have evaluated 401 different apps currently present on the market, contrasting their features, how easy are they are to learn, customer support, offered integrations as well as mobile support using our unique SmartScoreTM rating algorithm. This ranking has been created by Nestor Gilbert, our B2B authority responsible for the Survey Tools category.
CloudRank™ system is a unique algorithm that our research team uses to evaluate Survey Tools solutions in a detailed and accurate way. The Summer 2022 edition of the ranking was prepared by Jenny Chang, our leading expert in the field of Survey Tools, who has authored 1380+ product reviews in this category. The goal of CloudRank™ is to present an unbiased, multi-layered perspective on Survey Tools, considering a wide range of metrics and factors, and educating potentiala customers about both opportunities and challenges associated with each piece of software.
In order to achieve full objectivity the position in our CloudRank™ is based on:
We’ve calculated a score for each product based on the average experience shared by our users in their product reviews and arranged the list in three tiers. You can see the methodology below on how the calculations were made.
Regardless of their tier, all products included in our CloudRank™ are popular, quality products considered top-performers by our team of experts. Make sure you read a more detailed review of each solution to find one that will work best for your specific needs and budget.
Show lessMARKET POSITION
A score between 1 and 10 based on popularity and market reach of each product.
TOTAL score
A score between 1 and 10 based on the average of our Expert Score and User Score.
Market Position
A score between 1 and 10 based on popularity and market reach of each product.
Total Score
A score between 1 and 10 based on the average of our Expert Score and User Score.
CloudRank™ tier
Based on product's total score.
Rising Star
Contender
Front Runners
Here is a list of all 25 Survey Tools solutions evaluated with our CloudRank™ analysis. We have compared their features, user satisfaction, market presence and other key factors in an in-depth analysis you can find below:
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Our report covered 25 most popular products from the Survey Tools category. We’ve analyzed their features, performance, integration, customer support, pricing, and several other key buying factors and combined it with feedback from user reviews to come up with the current list of best solutions:
MailChimp leads the list of Survey Software CloudRank 2022. The platform is best known for its marketing automation and email marketing service, MailChimp booked a spot on our list for its built-in survey module. The survey tools are easy to use and integrated with all MailChimp tools. Quickly build a survey with MailChimp in just five minutes and generate insights to better understand your customer.
This feature-packed platform offers innovative templates and helpful guides for survey creation. Options for customization and branding are also available. Surveys are sent out via email list, a feature that MailChimp excels at. Publishing surveys can also be automated with MailChimp’s automation feature toolset. Survey results can be segmented based on demographics to further derive and refine data into actionable insights.
MailChimp scores are high with both experts and end-users painting a robust and intuitive feature set that needs no high learning curve. Its mobile apps are also highly rated allowing marketers to get the job done wherever they are. There are three-tiered subscription plans that start at $11 per month but a freemium plan is also available. Ideal for startups and freelancers, the free plan includes most of the features and a monthly email limit of 10,000 emails.
Most users of Survey Tools solutions confirm that in most cases these tools allow them to reach the following business goals:
The Summer 2022 version of the report includes a total of 25 Survey Tools products that were compared and analyzed by our team. We selected them based on the following factors:
On the business front, video content is becoming increasingly popular. It has found its space in marketing, training, product demonstrations, and now, video is creeping into surveys. Already, video consumption has hit stellar levels over the past few years, and video marketing statistics show that it will form 80% of global internet traffic by 2021.
According to Stephen Scheeler, former Facebook CEO for Australia, video technology is the next big thing in market research. Besides, a study by Fuel Cycle revealed that 70% of market researchers believe video analysis technology will be very important in the coming years. And to be on the safe side, 22% of these researchers are already using some form of video analysis technology.
Source: Research and Markets & Business Wire
The end goal of every survey is to gather efficient results and unearth valuable insights to effect accurate decision-making. To achieve this goal, however, one thing must happen—you must gather honest data on people’s emotions, opinions, and expectations. Machine learning technology helps get the process rolling by unlocking audience segmentation.
It provides complementary perspectives through prediction, discovery, and optimization. In doing so, it augments survey operations, allowing you to get rid of the bias and preconceptions that hinder proper segmentation. The use of machine learning in segmentations is on an upward trend, and for good reason. Recent studies show that AI can boost profitability by 38% for many businesses.
More likely to complete the survey if the questions items are short and concise
94.1%More likely to open email with subjects clearly indicating the nature of research content.
87.4%More likely to fill out survey if the email invitation link looked professional
85.1%Less likely to finish the survey if it include open-ended questions
57%More likely to fill out the survey if the email invitation includes their name
41.1%Source: Journal Of MultiDisciplinary Evaluation (2017)
Designed byThe fickle nature of the modern respondents has had—and continues to have—a profound impact on the way brands conduct online research. Amidst the information overload, the attention span of modern consumers is on the downhill trend. As a result, many don’t have the time to take long surveys. Actually, 91% of survey respondents never consider a survey that takes over 15 minutes.
Modern consumers expect researchers to deliver short surveys. If a survey doesn’t heed this simple preference, respondents will either speed through the questions or outrightly refuse to give their opinion. Fortunately, the best modern online survey software tools are transforming rapidly, adding features such as survey logic and piping options to help deliver short surveys.
Survey tools are typically used to collect comments, opinions or feedback from people and data gathered with its help, which can then be used to measure factors, such as customer satisfaction or employee morale. You will be able to find dozens of reliable survey programs so it may be challenging to do knowledgeable comparisons to decide which one will work best for your needs. In this buyer’s guide, we’ll try to help you with that dilemma by sharing some key advice on what features are actually important and what other factors (such as support or integrations) you should pay attention to when doing your research for a solid survey tool.
We recommend you sign up for the free trials offered by the best survey tools. This will give you the opportunity to check out their main features and benefits at no cost and also make a comparison. You can then select the system that most suits your needs. Start by checking whether the following leading survey platforms offer a free trial or demo: Qualtrics, SurveyGizmo, SurveyMonkey, GetFeedback, and AskNicely. We recommend them as these tools have received impressive rankings in our survey tools reviews.
There are many different types of survey tools available. The most common methods to conduct surveys are in person, via snail mail, telephone, and Web pages.
If you wish to perform telephone surveys, tools are available that offer managed lists of telephone numbers, provide them to interviewers, and record the results of each call. You can use an appropriate tool if you plan to use a telephone call center or conduct interviewers working from home. Some software apps support both methods.
For in-person interviews, you can use web survey tools if there is an internet connection available. If no connection is available, you’ll need a system that can work offline. Applications that work offline are also available, which allows you to send the survey results to a Web server when there is a connection.
Cloud-based survey tools programs provide advantages such as anytime, anywhere access from multiple devices. Desktop applications are also good as you don’t need a live connection and these are more responsive and faster to use.
Most survey tools offer only basic reports, such as simple charts and crosstabs. You can analyze the results using Excel or a general-purpose statistical solution. Advanced survey programs offer sophisticated reporting features, including text analytics and complex tables. These apps can save you time as they automatically format your reports and you don’t have to import and export data and re-enter your labels.
Pricing: best survey tools offer a range of pricing packages that include different levels of features and customization as the fee increases. Smaller companies can use basic packages while large enterprises can afford to pay for the extensive and complex capabilities offered by the expensive plans. You need to select a software package that fits your purpose whether it is research or business strategy.
Data Management: Survey tools are used mainly to gather data from respondents, and then analyze the same to get accurate insights from the responses. You should select a tool that is able to process the amount of data and feedback that is needed for the volume of your customer base. The software should also offer easy reporting features that allow you to view and present the results in a simple and clear manner to promote analytics.
Distribution and Formatting: Survey tools offer different types of formats, styles, and questions that allow you to customize surveys easily. Large enterprises need software that provides a wide range of survey formats to enable effective data collection from a diverse segment of customers. This type of advanced software uses branching logic and various question types to create surveys that target a specific demographic or customer segment. Select a product that offers the required amount of variety for your targeted respondents and budgets.
Ease of Use: Different brands of survey tools offer varying types of control and features. So, you need to consider the capability and size of your company’s users while selecting a suitable solution. Choose a package that does not need coding to save yourself administrative hassles. Ensure the software is easy to use and simple to navigate so that your employees can use it properly to make your survey techniques effective.
Survey Builder: Survey tools often provide WYSIWYG drag-and-drop builders to help you build your surveys. These may come with widgets, templates, and ready-to-use designs that you can use to create the front-end look of your surveys. With these, not only can you layout your questions in a more logical manner but also design it however you want without the need for extensive coding experience.
User-Friendly Features: Leading survey toolss are easy to understand and easy to use even for lay users. You can create both basic and detailed surveys using a step by step guide. The software helps you to conduct effective surveys using simple organization and with the help of fewer staff members compared to paper surveys.
Versatile Branding and Appearance: You can personalize and customize online software to meet the unique needs of your company. The software offers a vast range of options for layouts, colors, and themes, and you can upload your own images and logos into the questionnaire design. You can use these interactive features to create surveys that promote your company’s brand.
Sophisticated Analysis: Analysis is an important part of surveys, and survey tools offer a vast range of automated features to help you analyze your data accurately and easily. The solution can present your data in the form of tables and graphs, as well as raw data so that you can process it yourself. It can filter and break down info to give you a detailed analysis of the results. Since all data is uploaded immediately, you can perform analysis throughout the duration of the research project.
Accurate Results: Respondents enter the data directly into the system which minimizes errors, unlike paper surveys. Vendors offer reliable service and security, which ensures the data is accurate and secure.
Simple Email Uploads: Many survey systems enable you to upload your contact list and email your survey to all the members on the list, along with a customized introduction email from your organization. The software tracks all the emails and you can get to know if they are forwarded and whether they are partly or fully filled out.
Responsive Experience: Another advantage over paper questionnaires is that online surveys can adapt to each specific respondent by skipping non-related questions based on previous answers. This provides a more personalized experience to participants and enables them to complete the survey in less time.
The following evolving trends have been noticed in the growth of survey tools:
Real-time Results: Online surveys are being improved to offer real-time results that you can analyze any time. You can respond quickly, create reports and graphs, export data for further evaluation, and share your results with all concerned parties.
Easier to Use: Online survey tools are preferred by people over paper questionnaires for many reasons. Respondents can choose to select the time they are free to answer the questions so that they have enough time to complete the survey. Vendors are developing a skip logic feature that ensures irrelevant questions for a particular respondent are skipped automatically.
Easier to Use for Researchers: Online survey tools are being developed to make it easier for researchers to use, save time, and enhance productivity. The software offers instant data that can be easily exported to spreadsheets or statistical packages so that more detailed analysis can be carried out.
Limited Respondent Availability and Sampling: Your respondent sample is restricted to only those who have internet access. It is also more difficult to draw probability samples from website visits or email addresses.
Cooperation Issues: Online surveys attract response rates that are as good as those for traditional modes. However, internet users get plenty of spam messages every day and they may delete your email survey by mistake.
Lack of an Interviewer: You cannot use the services of a trained interviewer who can probe and get clarifications from respondents to get more accurate data. This means online surveys may provide less reliable data compared to in-person surveys using trained interviewers.
Data analytics is hardly useful without the proper acquisition of data to analyze and act upon. Survey tools can be helpful in this regard. After all, enterprises that can identify the features to add or improve are more likely to offer greater satisfaction to their customers.
Through information gathered from surveys, you might also identify which customers are at risk of churning and can formulate a plan to prevent it. Better conversion rates can be achieved through the power of these survey solutions by learning which deals are most wanted and which ones aren’t clicking.
Companies can even conduct surveys inside their organization to get the pulse of their workforce. Information in any form is such a big asset to different types of businesses, which makes survey tools a worthy investment to consider.
Organizations typically don’t go out of their way to gather data just for the sake of collecting them. They are usually used to improve their business in one way or another. To accomplish that, survey solutions are more likely to be integrated with other systems that can make the most use of those data. While it’s true that there are already many survey tools that can analyze data by themselves, they are still mostly capable of seamlessly connecting with external applications. Some of the most common platforms that survey tools integrate with include:
CRM Software. Survey software’s marketing research capabilities can be combined with CRM’s automated features to create more focused sales and marketing strategies. You can gather customer feedback throughout the entire customer lifecycle, learn more about your client base’s demographic, find out which of your leads are the hottest, and many more.
HR Systems. Employee surveys are pretty common among businesses with more than 50 staff. By integrating survey tools with HR solutions, the responses could enter directly the profiles of employees, unless of course, it’s mean to be anonymous. This eliminates manual data entry and feedbacks can be easily quantified as well if needed.
BI Tools. It’s quite common to pair survey tools with business intelligence solutions since polls, questionnaires, and the likes are good sources of data for analytics. Feedback gathered through surveys will be analyzed by BI software to make sense of the information and provide reports and insights related to them.
Communications Platforms. Organization-wide communication platforms are also a good fit for survey integration. From lunchtime and company getaway polls to a long-time running marketing survey, getting feedback and gathering them is made simpler with this pairing.
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Selecting a an apt SaaS program from the scores of good quality apps out there can be a hard task. To help you, we have prepared this quick briefing. Find out if the SaaS vendor offers the following advantages:
Reduced Cost: Most SaaS apps are pay as you go, and you don’t need to worry about additional expenses for system maintenance or IT resources, upfront licensing fees, or in-house IT employees.
Fast Set-up Time and Minimized Risk: You should be able to implement the SaaS system quickly and easily. Make use of the free trial to understand if the system fits your needs. If you choose a wrong system, you can bail out easily with minimum losses.
Customization and Integration: Select a provider that offers a wide choice of software packages and modules. You should be able to pay only for the functionality you use to meet the current needs of your organization.
Security and Control: The system should offer robust security. Pick a vendor whose databanks are more secure than those in your office to maximize the advantages.
The Infrastructure: The provider should offer the needed infrastructure so that you need not host anything in-house or need the support of internal IT resources.
Web Access: Your employees should be able to access data anywhere, anytime. To help them be productive on the go, choose a vendor that offers mobile apps that are compatible with leading operating systems.
Consider all the six important factors mentioned above to select the perfect solution for your requirements.
The best survey tool is Qualtrics Research Core, an intelligent platform equipped with advanced features, such as Qualtrics IQ and AI-driven analytics tools. Through its artificial intelligence and machine learning features, it makes complex research simpler and the prediction of market trends more accurate.
The great thing about this software is that it’s flexible enough to be used in any kind of qualitative research. These include marketing, branding, strategy and planning, product research, R&D, and more. Its survey builder uses a drag-and-drop interface so no coding is needed and anyone can easily create forms. Even then, it also features a series of ready-made templates that you can immediately use. 100+ pre-made question types at your disposal were prepared by professionals such as survey scientists.
Getting vital insights is easier as well with Qualtrics Research Core’s capability to create, modify, and test surveys in an instant. With this, results can be derived immediately even if there are changes in the middle of the process. Additionally, the platform will take care of automatically analyzing the results based on set parameters.
The use of survey tools delivers a myriad of benefits. If you still cannot make up your mind whether it’s worth getting one or not, the list below may help. These are some of the advantages you can get from using a survey solution:
Time and money savings. Compared to paper-and-pencil surveys, online surveys do not require printing, form distribution, and data collection. So you don’t need to spend money on paper, ink, and other materials as well as for labor. You can also complete the surveys quickly.
Broader audience reach. Some survey tools allow you to get feedback from millions of individuals around the globe.
More accurate results. By entering data directly into a survey system, errors are minimized. And since online surveys promote privacy, people are more likely to be open to their real feelings or thoughts.
Researcher-friendly features. Leading survey tools come with intuitive interface and tools that allow even the least tech-savvy individuals to easily understand how to use the platform.
In-depth analysis. Survey tools usually offers a wide array of data analysis tools to help you understand the result of the research.
Flexible. Some solutions allow their users to modify their questionnaire or repurpose their existing questions to target a new set of respondents.
Systematic data collection. Results of a survey will be stored in one database, lowering the risk of getting the raw result tampered with or lost.
Each survey tool has its own set of unique features that sets them apart from the competition. But they still share some functionalities that serve their purpose. Below are some features you will more likely find in each survey tool in the market.
Survey templates. Most survey tools offer built-in templates to users to get started quickly. You could customize them to fit your requirements.
Data analysis tools. You can find standard and advance analytics. The sophistication usually varies depending on what plan you purchase.
Scoring. When scoring is automated, the process of collecting feedback and generating insights become faster and less arduous.
Multi-language. Some systems allow users to translate their surveys into a number of languages. This feature is ideal for researchers in need of feedback from people located in different parts of the world. It also helps users widen their survey reach.
Survey builder. A drag-and-drop interface makes it easier for users to create the front-end look as well as the function of the survey.
Integration. Some survey tools integrate with email solutions, CRM, website, and more. Integration extends the functionality of the solution and allows you to do more.
The easiest survey tool to use are those that simplify the creation, responses, dissemination, and management of surveys. Examples of these include:
Retently. An NPS survey software that helps get you accurate results by allowing users to easily craft targeted surveys. There is a wide selection of pre-made templates that can be further customized to fit your audience and research type as well as make the design reflect the company’s brand.
SurveyGizmo. An easy-to-use online survey platform that allows users to create and conduct all manners of questionnaires, polls, and quizzes. It has a customizable interface that makes it easy to create an interactive survey experience for the target audience.
SoGoSurvey. This survey solution is ideal for a variety of industries, such as financial services and government organizations. It’s able to provide a sophisticated survey experience to users while still making the process easy with its CX tools, drag-and-drop interface, pre-built templates, and more.
Free survey tools are a much-needed tool for those who need to conduct surveys but don’t necessarily have the funds to do so like students, upstarts, and small players. It’s also a good testing unit for companies that want to see how efficient a product is before fully investing in one.
Qualtrics Research Core. It offers free accounts that don’t expire and are equipped with robust capabilities, such as unlimited questions, online reporting, summary reports, and filtering. It can also hold up to eight question types, 100 responses, and 10 outgoing emails.
SurveyAnyPlace. Its basic plan is free and allows you to enjoy unlimited surveys and devices, 20 monthly responses, and design capabilities. You can also get reports from the responses gathered and then export them in several formats.
Zoho Survey. Its free plan does not impose any limitation on the number of surveys you can create. Each survey, however, is limited to 15 questions and 150 responses. Still pretty good for small scale researches.
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