In a perfect world, you’d be a mind reader—able to intuitively perceive your customer’s grievances and sense the details that delight them. If your crystal ball is in the repair shop, the next best thing might be a customer survey.
Surveys can help you gain insight into your customers’ perceptions and experiences. But first, you’ll need to convince your audience to take your survey and provide their unfiltered feedback. This is where a solid survey introduction comes in.
Whether you’re conducting a customer satisfaction survey or doing market research to guide development of your company’s products, a good introduction can help deliver a high survey response rate. In the crowded ecommerce landscape, where customer loyalty and brand trust are paramount, a well-crafted online survey introduction can show your commitment to listening to customer feedback.
What is a survey introduction?
A survey introduction is a brief body of text that precedes a survey. It may appear at the top of the survey or on the page before the start of the survey.
A survey introduction provides essential information like how to complete the survey and how long it will take. A survey introduction also typically explains the purpose of the survey, why the recipient should bother to complete it, and how you will use their customer feedback.
A survey introduction should motivate survey participants to complete the survey by explaining incentives and being transparent. A strong survey introduction is both informative and reassuring, and often includes information on data privacy.
How to write a good survey introduction
- Introduce yourself
- State the purpose of the survey
- Detail the benefits for respondents
- State how long the survey will take to complete
- Explain how to complete the survey
- Acknowledge data privacy
- Provide contact information
- Thank the participant
Follow these steps to flesh out a good introduction to your next survey:
1. Introduce yourself
At the start of your survey introduction, begin with a friendly welcome message to introduce yourself or your company. When you write a survey introduction, use simple language and avoid industry jargon that might confuse or intimidate participants.
This helps provide context, build rapport, and set a positive tone for the upcoming survey. If you’re distributing your survey to existing customers or have attained a high level of brand recognition with your survey audience, you can likely forgo a lengthy introduction.
Keep your survey introduction short, and remember, a clear and approachable intro with actionable steps will be the most helpful to respondents.
2. State the purpose of the survey
Explain the survey topic in concise and simple terms. Clearly state the survey’s purpose, so participants can understand what you aim to achieve and why their input matters.
3. Detail the benefits for respondents
Explain how respondents’ valuable feedback will benefit them. For example, you might offer incentives like loyalty points or entry into a raffle for a giveaway prize.
You can also let customers know their participation helps create positive changes to enhance their future interactions with your company. For example, you might explain how respondents’ answers will help inform your brand’s customer satisfaction strategies (by improving customer service, for example). You can note how their responses will help improve existing processes and services (like returns) and guide the development of new features or products.
4. State how long the survey will take to complete
To set clear expectations, tell respondents how long the survey will take to complete. For example, for a five-question survey, you might say the estimated time is just a few minutes. This can incentivize participants to take action since they’ll know the survey won’t take much time.
5. Explain how to complete the survey
To ensure accurate responses, provide clear instructions on how participants should complete the survey. This might mean explaining the survey format, whether it uses a drop-down menu, rating statements on a scale of one to 10, or requires written answers.
Emphasize the importance of providing honest and accurate responses to ensure respondents are telling you how they feel—not just what they think you want to hear.
6. Acknowledge data privacy
Clearly outline your data-collection process and acknowledge the privacy of respondents' answers and information. If you can, let participants know you will keep all data collected secure, and that you’ll use it solely to improve your company’s products or services. Stay transparent and keep your language in line with your company’s privacy policy.
If you’re conducting an anonymous survey, assure potential respondents their responses will remain anonymous. These reassurances can help participants know you will handle their information carefully, helping respondents feel comfortable sharing their feedback.
7. Provide contact information
Include an email address or phone number in case participants have questions or need assistance while taking the survey. Offering this information exhibits your company’s transparency and helps you show your customers you’re always available to them.
8. Thank the participant
At the end of the survey introduction, thank recipients in advance for their time and input—you are asking for their free time, after all. This can make respondents feel valued and reinforce the importance of their feedback.
Survey introduction template
A survey introduction example or template is a great starting point when you need to write a survey introduction. Just make sure to customize it to reflect your unique brand voice and tone. A survey is a chance to communicate with both potential and existing customers. Make the most of the opportunity by reinforcing your brand identity and brand personality during the interaction.
[Survey title]
Hello [name of individual respondent or respondent group],
We’re [company name]. We [explanation of what your company does].
Thank you for taking part in our survey on [topic]. This survey will [explain the purpose of your survey and what you will do with the data collected]. Your feedback will help us [describe the follow-up action for improvement]. All respondents will [mention incentive, whether that’s contributing to an improved customer experience or something more concrete, like entry in a raffle].
This survey is estimated to take [number] minutes to complete.
To complete the survey, [instructions on how to respond to the questions].
Your responses will [mention your company’s policies on anonymity and data privacy] and will only be used for research.
Have questions or additional feedback? Please email [contact email] for continued support.
Thank you very much for your time and thoughtful responses. Your honest feedback helps us [briefly mention the goal of the survey, such as “provide more helpful customer service”].
Best,
[Your name or company name]
Free Survey Introduction Template
Start gathering valuable feedback from your customers with this ready-to-use survey introduction template.
Survey introduction FAQ
How do you write an introduction for a survey?
To write a survey introduction, use clear language explaining the purpose of the survey and how your company will use the responses. Address the survey participants directly and encourage them to provide honest feedback, emphasizing the value of their opinions. A well-crafted survey introduction can improve a survey’s response rate by making participants feel valued and informed about the survey’s relevance.
What should a survey introduction include?
A proper survey introduction should include relevant information about what your company aims to do with the data collected, such as how you will use the feedback to improve products or services. It should clearly explain the purpose of the survey and set expectations for the estimated time commitment required from potential participants.
How long should a survey introduction be?
A survey introduction should be concise, offering a brief description of the survey’s purpose without overwhelming the reader with unnecessary information. Ideally, it should be no longer than a few sentences. A good survey introduction strikes a balance between providing enough context to engage potential participants and not losing the reader’s attention.
