11 Proven Strategies to Increase Survey Response Rates

Surveys are a great tool for businesses to gather reliable data in a short period.

They provide great insight into purchasing behavior, customer preferences on packaging, taste, messaging, and more. Aside from being cost-effective, surveys are quite easy to set up and launch.

The challenge, however, often lies in having enough responses to a survey. For a survey to be statistically valid, it needs enough respondents. Without enough participants, the survey results won't be reliable.

In this article, we will share top tips to help you achieve high survey response rates every time.

What Is Survey Response Rate?

Simply put, survey response rate refers to the number of people who have successfully completed a survey, divided by the sample size (the number of people you sent it to).

Survey response rates range from 0% to 100%, and the average depends heavily on the survey method.

Common survey methods are:

• In-person surveys

• Mail surveys

• Email surveys

• Online surveys

• Phone surveys

• In-app surveys

Important to add, the survey method changes the result. A Cochrane review of 27 randomized trials with 66,118 people found that sending a paper questionnaire by post almost doubled the odds of a response compared with email surveys and other online questionnaires.

Survey response rates very rarely reach 100%, if at all.

Typically, high survey response rates are driven by consumer loyalty, incentives to take the survey, or a deep interest in the survey topic.

A survey response rate can be calculated using the following formula.

The resulting number is your response rate in percent.

Response Rate Vs. Completion Rate

Another related term worth knowing is the survey completion rate. It’s quite similar to survey response rate. However, you cannot use them interchangeably. What’s the difference?

Response rate: The percentage of the sample that completed the survey.

Completion rate: The percentage of people who completed the survey upon starting it.

In other words, the response rate is the number of completions in relation to the sample size, while the completion rate looks at the number of completed surveys in relation to the number of surveys that were started. Completion rates provide an insight into how easy it is to answer your survey and whether or not there were any roadblocks associated with answering it.

Here’s the formula for completion rate:

The main contributing factor to a low survey completion rate is poor survey experience.

This means that there is something about your survey that respondents find uninteresting or difficult. It could be the topic of the survey, the questions, length, or mode of answering. Much like low response rates, low completion rates also result in incomplete data which makes it difficult to build a reliable data pipeline.

Why Surveys Matter + Free AI Survey Generator

Surveys are a great way for businesses to gather valuable insights about their customers and products. By collecting opinions, responses, and suggestions, companies can get a clear picture of what their customers think.

It's important to remember that business analytics isn't just about crunching numbers. It's about understanding how data can help improve products and processes in a meaningful way.

With these insights, businesses can enhance various aspects like:

• Customer service

• Product quality

• Manufacturing

• Packaging

• Marketing strategy

To create surveys for your company, use the AI Agent inside involve.me. It generates the survey, and involve.me captures responses and triggers email sequences from the same funnel.

How It Works:

Write a short prompt describing the survey and what to include. On the next screen, paste your website URL so the AI Agent can analyze your branding. The AI Agent generates a survey you can preview without registration. Automated email sequences for the responses are not on every plan.

To edit the survey and send it to your target audience, create a free account at involve.me.

How to Increase Survey Response Rate

For an organization to benefit from a survey, it first needs to ensure good response rates. Here are some tips to increase survey response rates.

1. Incentivize Your Respondents

You can’t just expect website visitors to submit online forms out of the goodness of their hearts. When you ask them to take your survey, you're asking for a chunk of their time to help improve your business.

Make it worth their while by offering incentives they will enjoy and find useful. These incentives can include discounts, gift cards, or branded merchandise.

If you have a loyalty program, offering bonus points is also a great idea. Check out this example from Sephora.

In their email survey, Sephora offers 100 bonus reward points to Beauty Insider account holders who complete a 20-minute survey. They also include the message, "Earn 100 Beauty Insider reward points for your time," to show customers that the brand respects and appreciates their time and feedback.

Another example, like the one above, offers survey takers a ‘$20 digital reward or charitable donation’ in exchange for a completed 10-15 minute survey.

2. Make It Personal

Personalized invitations get more answers. A Cochrane review of 12 randomized trials with 48,910 people found that personalizing an online survey invitation, for example by greeting people by name, raised the odds of a response by about a quarter.

When sending customer surveys, personalization is effective. Using language that conveys the value you place on the customer’s feedback also helps. Use messages like "We value your feedback," or "We want to know what you think so we can improve our services."

Take a look at Amazon’s invitation to participate in a survey. It includes a simple call-to-action after providing the customer with personalized book recommendations based on Kindle and Goodreads activities. The messaging goes:

- "Help us improve"

- "We would love your feedback"

- "Tell us what you think so that we can make your next email even better"

Also, show that you respect their time by indicating how long the survey will take to complete. For example, you could say, "This survey will only take 5 minutes to complete."

If possible, keep surveys short. The same Cochrane review found, across five randomized trials with 12,325 people, that shorter online questionnaires raised the odds of a response by about half.

3. Have a Survey Research Panel

A survey research panel is a group of pre-selected respondents who volunteer to answer surveys. Businesses can build and manage their own research panels to increase survey response rates, as there’s no need to find new respondents for each survey.

Service providers can supply sample populations tailored to your research needs. They can also assist in building a market research panel for your in-house surveys.

4. Appeal to Their Interests and Values

Creating a cover letter and questionnaire that appeals to your customers' emotions, interests, and values can be very effective in persuading them to participate.

It's important to highlight the following:

• Participating in the survey will support causes they care about and improve the products and services they benefit from.

• Providing valuable insights and feedback helps the brand continue its work with the charities and advocacies they support.

For example, Humane Society International regularly sends out email surveys that highlight the newsletter subscriber’s values, as well as the work that the organization does:

5. Create a Sense of Urgency

All research projects have timelines, so it's helpful to inform customers of the deadline for completing a survey. To see examples of how brands indicate deadlines in their survey requests, check out item 1 (Sephora survey request).

Setting deadlines also helps increase response rates. Feedback given soon after a product or service has been delivered tends to be more accurate. 

People answer when a business asks: in BrightLocal's 2026 survey of 1,002 US consumers, 83% of those asked to leave a review in the past year went on to write one.

6. Target Audience Segmentation

Segmenting your target audience and tailoring the survey invitation to match their specific interests and needs can increase survey response rates significantly.

By ensuring that the survey is relevant to the respondents, you not only enhance their willingness to participate but also improve the quality of the survey data you collect. Tailored messages resonate more, making respondents feel like their feedback will have a meaningful impact.

7. Minimize Survey Fatigue

To combat survey fatigue, keep your surveys concise and focused. Limit the number of questions and avoid ones that are complex or ambiguous. Clearly communicate the estimated completion time upfront and stick to it. Reducing the cognitive load on your survey respondents can prevent drop-offs and improve survey completion rates.

8. Enhance Survey Design

A well-designed online survey can increase survey response rates. Use engaging elements like sliders or interactive scales instead of simple checkboxes. Ensure the design is visually appealing and aligns with your brand, which can increase the perceived value of the survey participation and encourage more completed surveys.

9. Incorporate Advanced Incentivization

Beyond typical rewards, consider tiered incentives for survey completion. For instance, offer basic rewards for participating and additional entries into a larger sweepstakes for completing more detailed customer feedback sections. This method can increase response rates dramatically by appealing to a broader section of your survey respondents.

10. Utilize A/B Testing for Invitations

Experiment with different versions of your survey invitation to determine what works best for your audience. A/B testing can provide insights into the most effective email subject lines, the ideal time of day for sending out invites, and the most compelling messages to improve survey response rates. This can help to increase survey response and achieve a good survey response rate.

11. Write a Survey Invitation Email People Open

When you send a survey by email, the invitation decides whether people open it. A good survey request email:

• Says in the subject line and first sentence what the survey is for.

• Tells people how long it takes, for example two minutes.

• Names the incentive and the deadline, if there is one.

• Keeps brand promotion to one line and the email to a few short paragraphs.

• Assures respondents their answers stay confidential.

• Has one clear call to action, such as a "Take the 2-minute survey" button.

Then follow up: send a reminder after two or three days to people who haven't answered, and a last one before the deadline. Stop at two reminders, since more feel pushy.

Final Words + More Survey Templates

Surveys are a valuable source of consumer insight for businesses, providing data to inform decisions about various aspects of the company.

To address the common problem of low survey responses, businesses should reward customers for their time and feedback and show that their opinions are valued. Personalized communication also increases engagement and promotes customer loyalty.

Boost your average survey response rate by applying these helpful tips.