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Get better results from your surveys by using "skip logic"

by Caroline Shahar,  Constant Contact Small Business Marketing Expert

Survey length and frequency are two of the most common concerns for organizations seeking customer feedback. If a survey is too long, recipients might quit before answering all of your questions. Similarly, if surveys are sent too frequently, you might not get many takers. Half-completed surveys, or ones that aren't even attempted, are a waste of your customers' time and missed opportunities for your business.

One way to avoid audience fatigue is to use a tactic known as "skip logic." It has nothing to do with jumping rope, but this type of "skipping" is good for the health of your surveys -- and for customers with limited time to give you their feedback.

What Is Skip Logic?
Skip logic, or "branching," is really not as complicated as the name might suggest. It's a way to ask your survey audience to answer only the questions that apply to them. If the next question in a sequence doesn't apply to a respondent, you can automatically direct him or her to another question that does (or to the survey closing page, if that respondent's participation is no longer needed).

Skip logic is a powerful tactic if you're seeking information about a particular group or audience segment. For example, let's say you're seeking customer feedback but you've just introduced a new product aimed at females and don't want to bother the men on your list with questions about that. One of your questions could ask, "Are you male or female?" If the answer is female, the survey would continue with the next question. If the answer is male, the respondent would skip the next couple questions and resume the survey at a later, more relevant point that you choose. And it's seamless, so the respondent wouldn't know he is skipping any questions.

Other benefits to using skip logic include:

• You can get a better response rate by shortening the survey length for some participants
• You gain the ability to target audience segments with additional follow-up questions
• You can acquire more detailed, accurate, actionable data to inform your business decisions
• There is a greater likelihood of customers taking future surveys when you respect their time

When to Use Skip Logic Questions
Skip logic gives you the ability to learn more about a target group or why a respondent answered in a particular way, and they can be used in a variety of different survey types.

For example, here are three popular survey themes where skip logic questions can be used effectively:

• Products/Services: You ask people what products/services they use. Then you skip them over the questions that ask about the products/services they don't use.

• Online vs. Physical Stores: You want to know about the experience of purchasing from you, but if a customer only buys from your retail store, you won't bother to ask them questions that deal with the online buying process. Skip those audience members to a follow-up question to better understand why they haven't bought from you online.

• Customer Satisfaction/Dissatisfaction: If someone answers that they are extremely dissatisfied with some aspect of your business, follow up with question that asks them more details about why they're unhappy. Satisfied customers can skip past this question altogether.

Steps for a Survey with Skip Logic
So how do you actually write skip logic questions into your surveys? The first step is to build a path for the respondents based on the information you are looking to obtain:

1. Create all your survey questions and print them out so you have a visual roadmap to create your flow.
2. Decide which of your questions will be answered by all respondents and which will be answered only by selected respondents. For example, let's say you're looking for information on how people use your services. If someone answers that they only use Service B, then they don't need to answer questions 2 and 3, which are about Service A, so skip all Service B respondents down to question 4.
3. Now enter your questions into the Constant Contact online survey tool.
4. If you are introducing skip logic questions into your survey, be sure to make them required so your skip logic actually plays out. 
5. After you've entered the survey into the Constant Contact tool, test it before sending to any respondents. Does the skip logic work the way you intended? Will different groups skip to the correct questions? Is the survey easy to follow and complete?

Remember: Don't overuse skip logic. Only use it where it redirects respondents to a relevant question. The goal is to get as many survey takers to answer your survey as possible.

Shortening your survey by asking respondents only the most relevant questions will make customers more likely to complete your survey. Then you'll have better data so you can make more informed business decisions. Skip logic is a powerful tool that you shouldn't skip if you want the best online survey results.

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