Need questions for your next survey? We have tons of survey question examples to suit a range of objectives. Use them to maximize your own customer feedback, or as inspiration when formulating your own unique survey questions.
What makes a good survey question?
Before we get to the survey question examples, it’s worth underlining just what makes a good survey question. Here are some golden rules to consider:
- Start with the objective in mind. If you know what insights you’re trying to gather, work back from that to come up with questions that fit the bill.
- Keep it as simple as possible. Long or complicated questions can lead to confused answers.
- Avoid survey bias. Surveys help you get at the truth, but results can be skewed if you take the wrong approach. We explain more here.
- Choose the right kind of survey question for what you need. There are around 10 types of survey question, and each is suited to certain kinds of situations. We cover this in more detail below, or read the full guide on survey question types here.
How to make the most out of your survey questions
It’s worth investing some thought in coming up with the right survey question. But even then, the question itself needs a little extra help to get you the best, most accurate and instantly understandable insights possible. For example:
- Designing your survey for maximum engagement. A pleasing look and feel and effortless functionality are essential to optimizing responses. Make it easy and even fun, and you’ll get a more representative set of results.
- Sending surveys out at the right time to the right people. Most customer feedback surveys are email surveys, so timing is very important. You can even organize your whole feedback strategy around your customer journey map, so you can learn how to improve the customer experience at every touchpoint.
- Analyzing your results in real-time with trending reports and dashboards. Use close-ended questions to generate quantitative data that you can visualize in live dashboards, widgets and management reporting.
- Having a plan for how to act on your survey results. Learn how to optimize your feedback response – especially to negative feedback – and close the loop with your community.
- Using a customer feedback platform to bring it all together. We say Customer Thermometer is the best! Take a free trial, learn about our extensive platform integrations and the role we play in driving instant feedback.
What are the main types of survey questions?
Here are the 10 main kinds of survey questions and their respective pros and cons. For the full lowdown, read this blog post.
Open-ended questions
The most free-form type of question, that allows any answer to be given.
PROS: Rich insights; scope to collect unexpected findings
CONS: More time and effort needed for participants to complete and for data analysis and response.
Nominal (multiple-choice) questions
Questions that allow a single choice from a predetermined set of answer options.
PROS: Saves time and effort; helps narrow down lots of possible answers into smaller groups
CONS: Risk of introducing bias; including “Other, please specify” as an option necessitates open-ended analysis
Dichotomous questions
Questions that allow one of only two answer options to be chosen. For example, yes/no, true/false, agree/disagree.
PROS: Very simple; very fast; good for screening responses into cohorts that follow-up questions can be targeted at
CONS: Limited findings and insights; cannot detect any nuance
Likert scale questions
Questions that allow respondents to record their intensity of opinion by choosing one from a list of answer options going from one extreme to the other. For example, from “strongly agree” to “strongly disagree”.
PROS: Simple to engage with; simple to analyze; can capture nuances in opinion where questions are not clear-cut
CONS: Can encourage ‘neutrality bias’ and allow participants to sit on the fence
Rating scale questions
Questions that require an answer in the form of a numeric value, typically from 0–10. For example, the NPS (Net Promoter Score®) question.
PROS: Simple to use; simple to draw conclusions from; ideal for tracking change over time using the same survey question consistently
CONS: Doesn’t cover why certain values are given; participants can differ in their idea of what each numeric value represents
Contextual follow-up questions
Questions used in combination with other questions asked immediately beforehand.
PROS: Finds out why respondents give certain answers; adds an extra dimension to insights without requiring qualitative analysis
CONS: Limited to the context of earlier questions; may irritate/annoy participants who were only expecting a one question survey
Matrix questions
Multiples of questions of a similar kind (e.g. rating/ranking questions) that are grouped together in a space-saving grid/matrix format that eliminates repetition.
PROS: Makes longer surveys feel less painful and time consuming; simplifies a lot of content into a digestible process
CONS: Only works with questions that are closely related to one another; oversized matrices can become confusing and impenetrable
Drop-down questions
Questions demanding a lengthy number of answer options that are compressed into a scrollable drop-down selector.
PROS: Great for questions where the list of possible options is both logical and very long; quick and easy for participants to engage with
CONS: Applicable to a comparatively narrow range of question scenarios
Ordinal (ranking) questions
Questions that ask respondents to rank answer options into order of preference.
PROS: Forces respondents to identify their preferences thoughtfully; enables rich insights without the corresponding analysis overhead
CONS: Assumes participants know enough about what they’re ranking; cognitive effort may lead to survey abandonment.
Checkbox questions
Questions that provide multiple-choice answer options where respondents can check (or tick) all that apply.
PROS: Quick and easy; well suited to collecting evidential data
CONS: Can produce confused or nonsensical findings; open to unintentional bias, particularly if the list of answer options is not comprehensive
51 survey question examples to drive your feedback programs
So here’s a broad and varied range of survey question examples that cover all the main types explained above. What are you waiting for – dive in!
Open-ended survey question examples
What could we have improved on/done better?
Please give your answer here
How would you explain our product/service to a friend, family member or colleague?
Please give your answer here
Do you have any suggestions on how we could improve our product?
Please give your answer here
How did you hear about this event?
Please give your answer here
Contextual follow-up survey question examples
We’d love to know more about why you clicked that rating. Please choose an option below.
Attitude
Choice
Clarity
Detail
Product
Speed
What could we have done to get a 10/10 today?
Please give your answer here
We’re sorry to hear about your experience. What would you like us to improve upon?
Please give your answer here
Thanks for that great feedback! Which features of our service impressed you the most?
Please give your answer here
Yes/no survey question examples
Were you satisfied with your experience today?
Yes
No
Would you recommend us to a friend or family member?
Yes
No
Did you find what you were looking for on the website today?
Yes
No
Did our product/service meet your expectations?
Yes
No
Would you buy from us again?
Yes
No
Did the cleanliness of our restrooms meet your expectations today?
Yes
No
Agree/disagree survey question examples
Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? “[COMPANY] invests time and money to keep employees updated with technology.”
Agree
Disagree
Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? “The user manual provided clear guidance in how to install and set up the application.”
Agree
Disagree
Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? “The conference speakers were knowledgeable and informative.”
Agree
Disagree
Do you agree or disagree with the following statement: “The website is useful and informative.”
Agree
Disagree
Multiple-choice survey question examples
What’s the reason for your visit to Rocky Road Ranch today?
Celebrating an occasion with family/friends
Journey stop off
Dedicated day trip from home
No particular reason
Other (please specify)
Which best describes your job role?
Owner
Director
Manager
Support staff
Other (please specify)
Which of our products/services have you purchased from us in the past?
Filters
Plugs
Solenoids
Bulbs
Panels
Other (please specify)
As an employee, do you feel included in the company mission?
Absolutely
Yes
Not really
Not at all
Likert scale survey question examples
What was your level of satisfaction with our product(s) (or service)?
Very satisfied
Somewhat satisfied
Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied
Somewhat dissatisfied
Very dissatisfied
To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statement: “The online store checkout process was straightforward.”
Strongly agree
Agree
Somewhat agree
Neither agree nor disagree
Somewhat disagree
Disagree
Strongly disagree
How likely are you to recommend this product / service to friends and family?
Very likely
Likely
Unlikely
Very unlikely
Please tell us how important it is to you for us to provide 24/7 customer service.
Essential
Important
Low importance
Not important
Please tell us how important the new features added to [product] are to you.
Highly important
Moderately important
Low importance
Not important at all
How helpful are the instruction videos provided from our website?
Extremely helpful
Somewhat helpful
Not very helpful
Not helpful at all
To what extent did our customer service team meet your expectations?
Significantly exceeded expectations
Met expectations
Did not meet expectations
How would you rate your recent customer service call?
Exceptional
Good
Fair
Poor
How often do you seek assistance from customer support?
Very frequently
Occasionally
Rarely
Never
What do you think about our online prices?
Very happy
Happy
Not very happy
Not happy at all
Other rating scale survey question examples
How satisfied were you with your experience today on a scale of 1 to 10?
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
To what extent do you agree with the following statement: “COMPANY made it easy to handle my issue.”
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
On a scale from 0-10, how likely are you to recommend us/COMPANY to a friend or colleague?
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
On a scale of 0-10, considering your experience with us so far, how likely are you to recommend XXX to a friend or colleague?
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Now that you’ve experienced our fast-track booking, how likely are you to recommend XXX to a friend or colleague? (0-10)
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
On a scale from 0-10, how likely are you to recommend XXX to someone like you?
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
How would you rate your experience with Helen today with a score between 1 and 5?
1 2 3 4 5
Ranking survey question examples
Please rank the following car brands in order of your ownership preference.
BMW
Chevrolet
Ford
Honda
Tesla
Volvo
Volkswagen
Please rank the following service attributes in order of their importance to you.
Clear communication
Courtesy
Effectiveness
Responsiveness
Other (please specify)
Here are some possible changes to our Summer menu. Please rank them in order of your priority.
More salads
‘Street food’ style options
Less red meat
Sharing platters
Chef’s choice daily set lunch
Which of our product features do you use the most, in ranked order?
Conferencing
Call forwarding
Hunt groups
Visual voicemail
Push to talk
Analytics
Auto attendant
As an employee, rank the following in their importance to you.
Workplace inclusivity
Wellbeing support
Advancement opportunities
Mentorship program
Matrix survey question examples
Please choose how satisfied you were with aspects of your hotel stay.
Please choose how important the following aspects of a cinema experience are to you
| Very important | Somewhat important | Neutral | Somewhat unimportant | Very unimportant | |
| Seating comfort | |||||
| Choice of film | |||||
| Food and beverage options | |||||
| Sound and vision quality |
Drop-down survey question examples
Which is your favorite country in the world to visit?
Choose a country
What is your annual pre-tax income?
Select range
Checkbox survey question examples
Which of the following meal courses did you order today? (select all that apply)
Appetizer
Sorbet
Main course
Dessert
Coffee / liqueur
Which modes of communication have you used in the last month? (select all that apply)
Voice call/conference
Video call/meeting
SMS (inc. WhatsApp)
Webchat (with chatbot)
Social media
Messaging app (e.g. Slack)
Collaboration platform (e.g. Teams)
Which type/s of credit cards do you carry? (select all that apply)
Visa
Mastercard
American Express
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