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In the expansive landscape of research and decision-making, the cornerstone often lies in the meticulous process of “Survey Data Collection”. From traditional paper surveys to modern online platforms, the methods employed in survey data collection play a very critical role in getting the correct information.
Want to avoid spending money on bad marketing? How about ensuring new products and strategies are consistently winning successes? What about wishing your business grew steadily and didn’t experience any unforeseen downturns?
If all that sounds tremendous (and it should), there’s a single tool to achieve all these benefits and more: surveys.
Getting to know your customers through surveys is the single most valuable activity for your business. You’ll learn what audiences want and don’t want and how to optimize your strategies. You’ll also discover market opportunities, potential risks, and more.
Regardless of this tremendous value, some businesses shy away from audience feedback. People assume survey data collection and analysis is too tedious to be worthwhile. Thanks to tools like Google Forms, this is no longer the case.
This discussion will explore survey data collection methods and how to save time and money in the process.
Definition: Survey data collection is one of the early stages of acquiring valuable audience feedback. Depending on what survey data collection example model you’re using, it may be the second or third step after setting a goal and choosing a feedback collection method.
Survey data collection is the physical act of gathering audience responses.
Traditionally, survey data collection also involved organizing the results and beginning to tabulate the responses. This step is largely automated today thanks to online survey data collection methods, such as Google Forms.
With modern online survey tool examples, survey data collection is almost effortless. It’s simple to send your questionnaires to a specific email list or share a link with the target audience.
The data is then collected automatically and stored as digital data for you to analyze. In short, online survey data collection has fixed the most tedious steps of gathering audience insights!
Data collection surveys are essential because they enable informed decision-making by providing reliable and actionable data. They help organizations understand their target audiences, including their needs, preferences, and behaviors, which is critical for creating tailored strategies.
Surveys also ensure accurate data insights by eliminating guesswork through systematic and precise collection methods. Additionally, they play a key role in measuring performance, allowing businesses to track progress and evaluate the effectiveness of initiatives. Furthermore, surveys are a cost-effective research method, making it easier to gather large volumes of information efficiently and affordably.
Surveys are best used to collect data in the following scenarios:
The collection stage may also include choosing the type of survey data collection method you wish to use. There are several options you can pick from.
The approach you decide on will impact the time and money required. It will also affect the type of data you acquire.
Let’s look at some of the survey data collection methods to consider when strategizing about gathering audience feedback.
This is the most effective survey data collection method. Online survey tools enable you to reach enormous audiences at no cost.
Many online survey data collection tools also organize and display the results automatically. This is a huge time saver compared to manually tabulating every response.
Online surveys also have higher response rates. They are less intrusive than phone or face-to-face surveys and participants can answer the questionnaire on their own time.
Overall, they are more convenient for you and the survey’s participants!
Some businesses rely on paper surveys rather than online ones. These data collection questionnaires are physical sheets of paper that participants fill out.
They have many of the same benefits as online surveys, with one glaring drawback. You have to manually tally the results from each form, making them highly inefficient for time. And they are prone to error.
If you have 1,000 participants, which is 1,000 sheets of paper you need to examine and tabulate.
Engaging customers one-on-one is a more personal method of collecting survey data. You can approach them directly at your business.
The benefit of a one-on-one survey data collection example is you receive more candid responses. Audiences may open up more in this more personal, conversational setting.
However, face-to-face surveys aren’t practical from a time standpoint. You can only have so many one-on-one conversations. Thus, your survey results end up capturing the views of only a handful of people. It doesn’t represent the views of the collective audience.
This survey data collection method is increasingly one of the least effective. We’re in an age where many people prefer texting over calling. This means many customers won’t answer the phone, especially if they don’t recognize the caller.
This approach can also be accidentally disruptive. You don’t have any sense of what the person on the other end of the phone is doing. They may be in the middle of dinner or attending an important meeting.
The only advantage of telephone surveys is that they share some of the benefits of face-to-face surveys but with a higher reach. Again, that’s if you can get an agreeable person on the other end.
Regarding online surveys, the best tool you can use is Google Forms. It makes survey data collection and analysis incredibly easy from beginning to end.
All you need to use Google Forms is a Google account (like a Gmail email account). It’s 100% free, just like Forms. There are no paywalls or premium subscriptions necessary.
To open Forms, go to any Google page (even just google.com) and click the icon for apps in the upper right corner. This will open a dropdown menu with every Google tool you can use. Scroll through the list until you see the purple icon for Google Forms.
This will open the Forms app. You may be asked if you’re using the tool for business or school. This option only influences which templates the tool suggests. You’ll still have access to every survey template regardless of what you select.
On the topic of templates, this is your next step to create surveys in Google Forms. You can choose between templates such as the Customer Feedback or Event Feedback options. Or, you can decide to start fresh with a blank data collection questionnaire.
Google Forms has a lot of features to make your data collection questionnaires more engaging to participants. Here are just some of the benefits of using Google Forms:
Another time-saving advantage to this online survey tool is how it responds to your question entries.
Let’s say you enter a question with the intent to use a rating scale like the 5-Point Performance Rating Scale. Google Forms adjusts the question type accordingly. It’s a small feature to make your life easier.
Sending your survey data collection example form to the target audience is also incredibly easy with Google Forms. Click the purple “Send” button at the top to get started.
The “Send” button opens a menu where you can choose how to send your surveys. The options include direct links, email, or sharing on social media pages.
The moment you hit send, the online survey data collection process begins.
Google Forms free tool offers a basic overview of your response data. However, you may want to export the results to Google Sheets or Excel for deeper analysis.
Thankfully, the Google Forms free online survey tool makes it very easy to do this. Under the Responses tab, you can click the “Link to Sheets” link.
You’ll be able to create a new spreadsheet for the data or select an existing one.
For Excel users, the process is a little longer, but still very easy. Instead of clicking “Link to Sheets,” you’ll choose the three vertical dots next to it.
This creates a dropdown menu with the option to download your responses as a .csv file.
Choose the location on your device for the file download to go. Then, open up Excel, import the .csv file, and presto! Your Google Forms data is now in Excel!
Begin by clarifying what you want to learn from the survey. A clear objective shapes your questions and audience.
Choose who should take the survey based on your goals. A focused audience increases the accuracy of your data.
Decide how you’ll collect responses—online, face-to-face, phone, or paper. Choose the method most accessible to your audience.
Write clear and relevant questions that align with your objective. Avoid bias and keep the survey easy to understand.
Run a small trial with a sample audience to spot issues. Use feedback to improve clarity and flow.
Launch your survey through appropriate channels like email or social media. Monitor responses and send reminders if needed.
Clean the data, then use analysis tools to extract insights. Compare results to your goals and prepare a report for action.
The more survey responses you receive, the harder spreadsheet analysis becomes. A few rows quickly grow to hundreds. It’s all too much stuff to take in and understand.
This is known as data overload, where it becomes paralyzing to look at your spreadsheets. Data visualization provides a solution for this tiresome wall of numbers.
Data visualization means taking data and visually depicting it with charts, diagrams, dashboards, etc.
There’s some powerful science to back up the effectiveness of charts. For instance, your brain processes visual information 60,000 times faster than raw text or numbers.
It’s the classic saying, “A picture is worth a thousand words.” Charts display thousands of numbers in a visual format. With the right survey chart, you can see what’s happening behind your data instantly.
Plus, charts help communicate the results of your Google Forms free online surveys to others. It’s a much better way to share audience insights between departments or with clients and stakeholders.
Once your survey data is in Excel, it’s very easy to turn it into a visualization. If you’re starting with a survey template in Excel, you can seamlessly organize your responses and create clear charts. For the best survey charts, we recommend downloading ChartExpo, an add-in for Excel from the Microsoft AppSource.
ChartExpo enhances charting in Excel in two major ways. First, it adds several new chart types not previously found in Excel. This includes options like the Likert Scale Chart or CSAT Score Survey Chart.
How to Install ChartExpo in Microsoft Excel?
ChartExpo charts are available both in Google Sheets and Microsoft Excel. Please use the following CTA’s to install the tool of your choice and create beautiful visualizations in a few clicks in your favorite tool.
Let’s examine the collected survey data on the following questions.
Below are the responses (feedback) that are associated with each question:
Finally prepared the data table as shown below:
| Responses | How important is the operating system for you while purchasing a phone? | How important is the screen size for you while purchasing a phone? | To what extent does camera quality factor into your decision? | To what extent does the color of the phone factor into your decision? |
| Response 1 | Unimportant | Extremely Unimportant | Extremely Important | Not Sure |
| Response 2 | Extremely Unimportant | Not Sure | Important | Extremely Unimportant |
The above table is just sample data. In actual scenarios, you will have a lot of responses and more questions as well.
Overall view, 65% of respondents think the different features are important for them. But 24% said phone features are unimportant to them. 11% of consumers said they are not sure which means sometimes features are important for them and sometimes they overlook features of the phone.
Survey data helps you learn about key audiences and how they relate to your business.
The primary audience to research is your customers. These are the individuals you’re tirelessly trying to engage and convert. So, their thoughts and feedback matter a ton!
That said, don’t neglect other forms of survey research. For instance, you gain equally valuable feedback from your employees. They may supply suggestions for improving the company and the quality of the workforce.
The more you learn about these key audiences, the easier it becomes to develop winning strategies. In other words, survey research takes the guesswork out of the equation.
You’re never left wondering, “Is this the right move?” Thanks to your survey research, you know each decision is correct.
Should audience attitudes change, your ongoing longitudinal survey research will alert you to these shifts. This gives you ample time to react accordingly and continue delivering remarkable experiences.
Start with a clear purpose to guide your survey design. Clearly outline what insights you aim to achieve to ensure the data collected is relevant and actionable.
Avoid overwhelming respondents with lengthy surveys. Focus on concise and targeted questions that are easy to understand, ensuring higher completion rates and quality responses.
Combine open-ended questionnaires and close-ended questions strategically. This allows you to collect both detailed qualitative insights and measurable quantitative data, offering a comprehensive understanding.
Conduct a pilot test with a small group to identify any issues with wording, flow, or technical functionality. Testing helps refine the survey to ensure clarity and a smooth experience for respondents.
Reassure participants that their responses will remain private and confidential. This encourages honest and accurate answers, especially for sensitive topics.
Developing feedback forms and questionnaires are two examples of survey research tools. The objective of these strategies is to acquire actionable insights from the audience.
For example, a restaurant may conduct survey research by asking customers to complete a questionnaire about their favorite dining options. These responses help the kitchen staff innovate new dishes.
Survey data collection is an important step in getting to know your audience. It’s the process of asking and acquiring feedback from customers, employees, focus groups, etc.
These insights lead to positive changes in your organization. You find out what products, experiences, marketing campaigns, features, services, etc. work. You also learn which ones don’t entice your target customers.
Google Forms makes survey data collection incredibly easy. Not only does this online survey tool make creating questionnaires and feedback forms incredibly easy, it also makes managing the data equally simplistic.
The online survey data collection begins as soon as the first person completes your questionnaire. The data appears automatically, including a simple chart showing the scoring summary of each survey item.
You can migrate your survey results to either Google Sheets or Excel with a few more clicks of the mouse.
Then, ChartExpo’s data visualization tool completes the process with its library of survey charts. It’s the perfect follow-up to your online survey data collection.
There’s no reason to dread survey data collection any longer! Thanks to tools like ChartExpo, Google Forms, Excel, and Google Sheets, you have everything you need to actively listen to customers.
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