We value your opinions

We value your opinions.

Those that want your money, those that want your vote. Those employers who want to better understand your needs.

Trouble is… there’s no value in distributing a survey. It’s TOO easy, TOO cheap. And so, rarely is much value placed in designing a survey. (HT @ballantine70 for this point).

Over and over, I see examples where the options limit your answer, stop you expressing your true opinion, or where the design forces you to quit … or tick a meaningless box. Or they just bore you to submission.

If the design is rubbish, you can be damn sure the output is rubbish.

Fewer people take part, those that do will drop out more. Those that persist give more rote, unconsidered, even absurd answers.

It’s got to be worth their time to take part, and to do so fully.

You might offer an incentive, or the promise of feedback and action.

But what if you can’t?

Then, your survey must sing.

It must be engagingly written, it must offer variety, ideally wit, it must pose intriguing, accessible questions.

Want people to give up five minutes of their time? Five! Know how many Tik Toks they can get through in that time? It simply has to offer them more – and in return you’ll get far better data, and far better insight.

(And, a great platform to explore more)