What Is An Online Questionnaire?

An online questionnaire often appears on web pages whilst people are surfing the internet. Nowadays, people are very used to being asked to fill in a questionnaire while they are online, browsing for products or services. It’s generally quick and easy to fill in contact details whilst you are online so that you can be sent relevant material related to what you were searching for. Let’s face it, sending useful information to engaged, targeted customers is a technique that modern day marketers should not miss!

So, you’re online and have just been asked to fill in a questionnaire. This will usually involve completing a registration form and filling in a few responses to specific questions. There can be several areas and subjects covered and can comprise of topics ranging from customer survey questionnaires to brand awareness campaigns.

The purpose of online questionnaires

Reasons for collecting relevant data from customers can include:

• Collating information from customers/participants
• Ascertaining levels of satisfaction with products and services
• Documenting opinions, demands and needs
• Finding out preferences, likes and dislikes
• Analysing customer data to obtain greater insight
• Developing a general picture about products and services which need improvement

Three sections of online questionnaire design

It is easy to design a questionnaire that will provide you with useful data, as is distributing it via various channels and analysing the results. Read our tips on questionnaire design to make your survey the most effective it can be.

Section #1 – Is designed to get personal information, such as age, occupation, income, etc.

Section #2 – Collects generic information, such as lifestyle, needs and expectations.

Section #3 – The final part is devoted to the relevant information, and hence it is the most important part of the questionnaire for the specific company interested in learning the opinions of its customers. The questions in this section are concentrated on the subject of the questionnaire, a specific product, service, etc.

The question types in the third section can be a variety of different kinds. There can be multiple choice questions, open ended questions, close ended questions or statements. Here participants should provide their opinion on the subject matter of the online questionnaire, as well as their suggestions and recommendations.

If you are looking for a questionnaire template to get started, take a look at one of our pre-built questionnaires and sample surveys so you can be up and running really quickly.

Benefits of an online questionnaire

Benefits can apply to both customers and companies. Nowadays, customers are simply not content with buying and using products or services. They also wish to give feedback and suggestions on how things can be improved to suit consumers. The internet provides an excellent opportunity for gathering feedback, and an online questionnaire is perhaps the most suitable way to garner such comment.

Companies also benefit immensely from online questionnaires. By asking customers to fill them in, they can learn first-hand the opinion of different users on their products or services. They can also see the products or services from another viewpoint, to ascertain possible flaws which should be remedied to achieve greater quality and higher customer satisfaction.

An online questionnaire offers a company excellent opportunities to find out where it is following the right policies and where changes need to be made. Not only opinions on products, but also suggestions and recommendations with regard to prices or even packaging can be obtained thanks to online questionnaire software.

Online questionnaires, when asking relevant questions to the right people, can be a very valuable tool for forward-thinking marketers who want to achieve a higher rate of customer satisfaction.

Editor’s note: This post was originally published in May 2012 and has been revamped and updated for accuracy and comprehensiveness.