The world has been changing for quite some time, but Covid-19 has greatly accelerated digital advancements and the adoption of technology, especially when it comes to market research. With non-essential businesses either closed or reopened with significant operational changes (i.e., curbside pickup or online ordering only), previous ways of connecting with customers and employees aren’t going to cut it.
Committing to developing continuous research though online communities and mobile surveys are crucial in our current landscape and will continue to be as the need for technology only increases. The fastest and most efficient way to connect with the majority of people is through mobile apps as most everyone 1) has a smartphone and 2) frequently has that smartphone on hand.
Fuel Cycle has the tools you need to successfully design a survey for mobile users in our agile insights platform, however, there are some other considerations to take as you are developing your survey questions and format for a mobile-friendly audience.
What to Do
Here are a few simple tips to keep in mind while building your mobile surveys. As a general rule, you will want to keep brevity in mind. Users on mobile devices are oftentimes using it as a gap between interactions and can be easily distracted or frustrated with their mobile experience. The first step in combatting this is ensuring the platform you use is built for mobile from the ground up.
Keep Surveys Laser-Focused
Surveys need to be short and simple in order to perform well on a mobile platform. Users don’t want to sit and read paragraphs on their phones. As a market researcher, it’s important to make mobile surveys as easy as possible and to-the-point for your on-the-go users.
Pick Question Types with Simple Mobile Interaction
Think about your question types and what might work better on a mobile survey than on desktop. For example, you might consider using a drop-down menu of answers on mobile rather than a long list your users would have to scroll through. It’s also helpful to only have one question per page to prevent the need to scroll.
Use Logic for Targeted User Questions
It’s important that your users only see relevant questions. If one question asks, “Which of these brands have you interacted with?” follow-up questions should be triggered based on the answer any given user chose.
Keep Questions & Required Answers Brief
Lengthy, tedious questions and answers are a major turnoff for mobile users and may prevent survey participation. These people are on-the-go but willing to take surveys so long as they don’t take up too much time. Keep everything to-the-point, from introductions to questions and answers.
Use a Mobile Ready Survey Platform
Using a platform built for mobile will ensure you have a streamlined and agile market research platform to build your mobile survey on. This will help ensure your users will stay engaged with your mobile survey.
What Not to Do
But enough about what you should do to optimize mobile surveys. What shouldn’t you do?
Avoid Using Lots of Images
Images take up a lot of space and have longer load times. Limit your use of images and only use them when absolutely necessary.
No Need to Title Every Page
Omit that survey title after the first page! Your users don’t need to be reminded that they’re taking your specific survey with every question. Assume they’re smart enough to remember. (A small logo for your company on each page is welcome, however.)
Limit Open-Ended Questions
Open-ended questions can be tedious and lengthy for your users. Limit your use of these to keep the mobile survey simple and easy-to-use.
Final Thoughts
If you want to have a successful mobile survey, consider the tips outlined above. Mobile users are users on-the-go. While they want to participate in your online survey, they also have other things to do.
Keeping your survey laser-focused and picking question types and a survey platform that work well for mobile will help keep user attention and increase participation. With questions that are short and to-the-point and logic that triggers questions based on previous answers, you are sure to create a survey experience that will motivate users to complete it.
COVID-19 is forcing the acceleration and adoption of technology. Fuel Cycle is here to help you stay connected to the people that matter most. We have a wide range of tools for the modern marketing team to gather insight from mobile and beyond. Find out more about our agile insights platform and continuous research tools, request a demo today.
