Micro Surveys

Short, targeted, and timely questions

Imagine a short survey asking users: “What prompted you to leave the registration page?” of a user who just left the registration page. Now – compare that to a broader and more traditional survey, sent weeks after, asking: “What was unappealing about our service?”.

General questions sent long after relevant user behavior loose their meaning and connectedness to what we are interested in. They become hard to answer and seem irrelevant. Instead, contextual, short, and behavior targeted (exit intent, scroll behavior, etc.) can be crafted as incredibly relevant and managable to complete by users.

A micro survey is a concise, focused questionnaire designed to gather specific insights from users. Unlike traditional surveys, micro surveys are short, typically consisting of 2-5 questions, and are embedded within a product’s user interface. They are aimed at capturing real-time feedback from users interacting with a product or service.

These surveys are typically short, ensuring they don’t disrupt the user experience, and are strategically placed at points where users are most engaged or after they’ve interacted with a specific feature.

Types of micro surveys

Micro-surveys can be delivered in a number of ways:

• Via email. While easy to set up, it can be hard to connect user behavior with triggering an email.
• In-page pop-up. By listening to specific user behavior, several services allow to show pop-up micro-surveys as users conduct relevant behavior on specific URLs.

Timing

The timing of these surveys is crucial. They’re most effective when triggered by user actions or specific events within the app, such as completing a task or using a new feature. This timing ensures that the feedback is relevant and top-of-mind for the user.

The design of in-app surveys should be concise and focused. Questions should be straightforward and directly related to the user’s experience at hand (that was just interrupted), avoiding ambiguity. This clarity increases the likelihood of users completing the survey and providing useful data.

Scenarios

Micro surveys can be used in a variety of scenarios to enhance product development and user experience:

• User satisfaction assessment. Regularly measuring user satisfaction to understand overall app experience and identify areas for improvement.
• New feature feedback. Gathering immediate reactions and detailed feedback on newly released features or updates.
• Onboarding process evaluation: Assessing the effectiveness and ease-of-use of the onboarding process for new users.
• Bug and issue reporting. Post-update surveys to ensure that bugs or issues have been effectively resolved and to gather feedback on the update.
• Usage pattern analysis: Understanding how users interact with various features of the app, which can inform future development and feature prioritization.
• Exit surveys. When a user unsubscribes or uninstalls the app, to understand their reasons for leaving and identify potential areas for improvement.
• Market research. Early in the customer journey, to understand demographics and preferences before product engagement.
• Post-transaction feedback. Immediately after a purchase or transaction within the app, to gauge satisfaction with the buying process.
• Long-term engagement feedback. Periodically for long-term users, to understand ongoing usage patterns and long-term satisfaction.
• Feature-specific usage. When a user frequently interacts with a specific feature, to get detailed feedback on its usefulness and potential enhancements.
• Market demand assessment. Before full-scale development, to gauge interest in a potential new feature or service, helping to validate market demand.
• Problem validation. Early in the development phase, to confirm that the product or feature being developed effectively addresses a user problem or need.