What Is Survey Response Rate?

Are you struggling to get enough responses to your surveys? Are the responses a bit mid, or downright unhelpful? You’re not the only one.

With declining response rates becoming a common challenge for many types of local business research, it’s critical to understand what factors affect survey participation. And we’re here to help.

Read on to explore the latest research on survey response rates, including practical tips for increasing your response rates and improving the quality and validity of your survey data.

What Is a Survey Response Rate?

Survey response rate is a metric that represents the percentage of your customers who participate in your survey out of the total number of customers you invited or targeted. Response rates can vary widely and are measured on a scale from 1% to 100%.

Of course, the average response rate varies across industries and survey types but typically falls between 0% and 30%. They are affected by elements such as season, survey strategy, demographic, incentive, and more that we’ll get to further down the page. A higher response rate generally indicates a more representative and reliable dataset, reducing your risk of bias and increasing the validity of survey findings.

Measuring the response rate of every survey you take is vital as it provides insights into the effectiveness of your survey design and distribution methods as well as the level of engagement from your target audience. Monitoring and improving response rates is one of the most meaningful and actionable things you can do to optimize informed decision-making within your business.

What is a Good Survey Response Rate?

As we mentioned, “good” can vary significantly based on the survey’s nature, audience, and distribution method. Typically, you’ll see quite a variation between seasons and topics.

However, a typical “good” response rate across industries ranges from 5-30%. if your score is above 50% it’s considered amazing. And of course, your response rate is just an indicator of what’s really going on. As you boost your response rate consistently over time, you’ll typically also see an increase in customer loyalty, repeat purchases, and satisfaction. Happy customers are responsive customers–and the more you can get to fall into that category, the better.

Survey Response Rate vs Completion Rate

Your response rate and your completion rate are both important in understanding the effectiveness of your survey and improving your data collection efforts. So, what’s the difference?

Your response rate measures the percentage of customers who’ve participated in the survey relative to the total number of individuals you invited or contacted. It includes both completed surveys and partial responses.

On the other hand, your completion rate specifically focuses on the percentage of your respondents who’ve fully completed the entire survey compared to the total number who’ve only started it. In essence, it offers a more targeted perspective on the level of engagement and commitment of your participants who not only began the survey but saw it through to the end.

While a high response rate indicates a broad interest in the survey, a high completion rate is indicative of a more thorough and invested participation, providing valuable insights into the quality of responses you collect. So if a high response rate is silver, a high completion rate is gold.

How to Calculate Survey Response Rate

Don’t worry–we promise we’re not about to throw some intensely complicated math at you. Calculating your survey response rate is relatively simple and only takes three steps.

To calculate your rate, simply subtract your number of ineligible cases from then number of surveys you distributed. Then, divide your number of completed surveys by that number, and multiple by 100.

Several factors can impact your survey response rate. These include your survey’s length and complexity, the relevance of your questions to your participants, the clarity of your instructions (this part is often underrated), the timing and frequency of your survey invitations, your chosen distribution method, and your target audience’s level of interest and engagement.

How to Increase Survey Response Rates

With these factors in mind, how can you reasonably and consistently increase your survey response rates and keep them high? We’re glad you asked. Here are nine tips to take your survey game to the next level and keep your customer engagement high.

Offer Freebies

Are your customers failing to respond? A little treat might just do the trick. Offering incentives such as discounts, free trials, or small gifts can motivate customers to complete surveys by providing tangible rewards for their time and input. You can also personalize the rewards to help your customers feel more connected to you.

Focus on Your Active Customers

Targeting surveys towards your most engaged and active customers ensures that you are soliciting feedback from individuals who are more likely to have valuable insights and a vested interest in your products or services. This automatically takes your chances of getting a response up a level.

Use the Best Channel for Your Audience

Tailor your survey distribution method to your audience’s preferences. Whether it’s email, social media, or in-app notifications, selecting the most effective channel increases your likelihood of reaching and engaging your target respondents. These days, many local businesses are finding that the most effective way to reach and engage with their customers is through text. With an open rate of up to 98%, text has become one of the fastest and most efficient ways to get your survey out to customers in every demographic.

Use Survey Panels

Utilizing survey panels, where individuals have already opted in to participate in surveys, can streamline your recruitment process and ensure a more willing and accessible pool of respondents.

Get Straight to the Point

No one likes to beat around the bush. And in taking your survey, your customers are already doing you a favor, so it’s important to make it as easy and simple as possible. You can do this with straightforward language and simple structuring. Design concise and focused surveys with a short subject line and clear incentive. A shorter and well-structured questionnaire is more likely to maintain customer interest and lead to higher completion rates than a lengthy, wandering survey.

Personalize, Personalize, Personalize

Did you know that you can personalize your surveys for your customers? Personalizing your survey invitations and questions, addressing respondents by name, and tailoring content based on their previous interactions with you can create a sense of individual relevance, encouraging higher engagement. A customer is more willing to do something that they feel will result in better experiences for them in the future.

Send Reminders

We all forget the little things. And emails or texts containing questionnaire invitations are often the first to go. Gentle reminders can be effective in prompting your customers to complete surveys, especially in cases where initial responses are slow. Pro Tip: Reminders should emphasize the importance of your customers’ individual input as well as the sweet benefits of participation.

Set Expectations

When someone receives a survey invitation, one of the first barriers to entry is not knowing how long it’s going to take. Transparency about the estimated time commitment for completing your survey manages participant expectations and fosters a sense of respect for their time, potentially reducing survey abandonment. Pro Tip: While you want the time commitment to be short, be honest in your estimation of how long it will take. Setting expectations might help you recognize where you need to cut down a survey or restructure it to be easier to navigate.

Make Sure It Looks Good on All Devices

As we mentioned, your customers might be taking this survey on their desktop, laptop, tablet, phone, or something else. Ensure that your survey is mobile-friendly and compatible with various devices. This accommodates all of your respondents, broadening accessibility and potentially increasing response rates. Pro Tip: With the rise in voice services, you might even consider making sure your survey can be automatically read aloud by the device, or offering an option to take it vocally.

What a High Response Rate Indicates.

Now this is all exciting stuff, but a high response rate is only as useful as you know how to interpret it. So what does a high response rate indicate, what does it say about your business, and how can it help you?

Reduction in Non-Response Bias

Say goodbye to sample bias. A high response rate indicates that you’ve achieved an accurate representation of your target population, minimizing your risk of non-response bias. (Non-response bias occurs when the characteristics of non-respondents differ significantly from those who participate, potentially skewing your survey results.)

Target Market Representativeness

A high response rate also suggests that your survey sample is more reflective of the characteristics and opinions of your target market. This increased representativeness enhances the reliability and generalizability of your online survey findings to a broader audience or customer base. More relevance = more customers.

Larger Sample of Data

Lastly, a higher response rate provides a larger pool of data for analysis. An increased volume of responses enhances the statistical power of your survey, allowing you to draw more robust and accurate conclusions from your data, helping you tap into customer preferences, behaviors, or attitudes.

Get Started

Ready to boost your survey completion rate by cracking the response rate formula? We’re here to help. Podium allows you to reach your customers easily and quickly where they want to be reached: their phones. With Podium’s communication and tracking tools, you can launch surveys that actually get results that you can track in real time. Whether you’re sending a customer satisfaction survey, a net promoter score survey, a feedback survey, or a niche question survey, you can get consistent results that will improve your customer satisfaction, personalization, market research, and more.

Also, try our new product just for you! Speed to lead is critical in today’s fast-paced market, and Podium offers an unparalleled advantage by ensuring businesses engage with leads within a couple of minutes—guaranteed. Podium’s conversational AI is outcome-driven – it doesn’t just respond to inbound leads it guides conversations toward a specific goal, such as a sale or booking. Unlike other AI systems that focus on providing correct responses, Podium aims to drive specific customer actions to grow your business. Podium’s AI Employee guarantees your business engages with leads within a couple of minutes; during peak hours, off hours, and every hour in between.

Transform your business with Podium’s AI Employee. Get a Demo Today!