Survey Invitation Examples : 13 Best Practices + Examples

As a business manager, it can sometimes seem difficult to find the perfect balance between soliciting feedback from your clients and not bothering them.

While your clientele's opinion is necessary to provide them with quality services, it can be complex to know the right time and the right wording to use in an invitation to fill out a questionnaire. Does this sound familiar?

Know that this type of concern is completely legitimate!

To know how to properly solicit your clients in the context of an invitation to fill out a questionnaire, it is important to rely on best practices. After all, certain formulas have proven themselves and will allow you to have better response rates for your customer satisfaction questionnaires. Without further ado, we propose 13 best practices to adopt right now!

Why Send Satisfaction Questionnaires to Your Clients?

"Building a great customer experience doesn't happen by accident. It happens by design." This quote from Clare Muscutt, founder of CMXperience, attests to the importance of adapting a company's customer experience to the needs of its clientele. However, to ensure your clients' satisfaction, you need to understand their expectations toward your brand and your services.

Download now: Why and how to track customer satisfaction? [Free Guide]

To better grasp these expectations, creating a customer satisfaction questionnaire can allow you to discover areas for improvement you might not have otherwise considered. Through the design of a satisfaction questionnaire, you encourage your clientele to express themselves freely about the services and products offered by your company. You can then collect these opinions in order to adapt your service offering based on the needs of your clientele. This will allow you to optimize your customer experience, while also showing your clientele that they are a priority for you. In this sense, sending an invitation to fill out a satisfaction questionnaire can even help you increase your customer retention!

A study conducted by Financial Training attests that 96% of dissatisfied customers do not complain to the company concerned, and that 91% will never return after a poor customer experience. In this sense, sending an invitation to fill out a questionnaire allows you to obtain the opinion of your dissatisfied clients. This will help you understand the source of their dissatisfaction and find certain flaws in your customer experience. You can even offer dissatisfied clients a way to rectify the situation, which may allow you to regain their trust. This is why it is important to create a customer satisfaction questionnaire for your business!

The Importance of Having a Good Invitation to Fill Out a Questionnaire

Once the design of your questionnaire is complete, you now need to send it to your clientele. However, to obtain the responses that will allow you to initiate a customer experience improvement strategy, your clientele must first want to fill out your survey!

Therefore, an invitation to fill out a questionnaire becomes an important asset for your customer retention. In fact, it is the wording and clarity of your invitation that will determine whether your client will respond to your satisfaction survey. Thus, a message that respects best practices for an invitation to fill out a questionnaire will generate a response rate that will allow you to subsequently optimize your company's customer experience.

Don't forget that each of your clients' responses counts. Thanks to these feedbacks, you will be able to adapt your services based on the needs of your clientele. This is why it is crucial to pay special attention to writing your invitation to fill out a customer satisfaction questionnaire!

Choose Your Sending Method to Adapt Your Approach

When your satisfaction questionnaire is complete and your questions are written, it is now time to select your sending platform. For a fully automated sending of your invitation to fill out a questionnaire, there are two options to consider: emails and SMS.

Schedule your free InputKit demo now to automate the sending of your satisfaction questionnaires

Thanks to the automated sending of your invitation to fill out a questionnaire, you can save several hours of management time so you can focus on priority tasks. Using this method, you will no longer need to write and send each message individually.

You want to automate the sending of your invitation to fill out a satisfaction questionnaire, but don't know which platform to choose? To help you make an informed choice, here are the advantages of automating your messages via SMS and email.

By Text Message (SMS): The Advantages

Once you have finished designing your questionnaire, you can schedule its sending via SMS. This method will allow you to reach your clients in record time.

You wish to schedule an invitation to fill out a questionnaire via text message? If so, here are the advantages you will have:

• SMS allows immediate contact with your clientele, since most people have their phone with them at all times;
• They have a higher open and response rate than emails;
• The 160-character limit ensures a clear and concise message that will catch the client's eye;
• Many people receive sound notifications when receiving text messages, which captures the client's attention upon receiving the survey.

By Email: The Advantages

You want to automate the sending of an invitation to fill out a questionnaire, but hesitate to use SMS? If so, emails are also an excellent method to invite your clients to respond in an automated way!

Here are the many advantages of sending an invitation to fill out a questionnaire via email:

• Emails are a medium mastered by more people than text messages (SMS);
• They allow for longer messages than texts;
• For a web-based customer experience, it is easier to survey clients by email rather than by SMS, since emails have no geographic borders;
• You can notify your clientele of your upcoming questionnaire through a newsletter, which can have a positive impact on your survey's response rate.

Best Practices for Sending an Invitation to Fill Out a Questionnaire via Text Message (SMS)

You have finished designing your questionnaire and have chosen to automate its sending via SMS. However, do you know the best practices for sending an invitation to fill out a questionnaire by text message?

To help you, here are six best practices to apply when sending an invitation to fill out a questionnaire via SMS:

1. Include your first name and that of your company: Since SMS is one of the most used means of communication, it is important to stand out. At the beginning of your SMS, write your first name followed by that of your company so that your client knows who you are at a glance. This will prevent them from confusing you with spam! Including a human's name will definitely be a favorable element in terms of opening your messages.
2. Personalize your message: While automating your invitations is an essential asset for saving several hours of management, it is crucial to maintain a human touch with your clients. In this sense, think about including your client's name and the type of service you provided them in your message. We also recommend prioritizing the use of "I" instead of "We" to emphasize one human communicating to another. These best practices will allow you to add a personal touch to your message, which will encourage your client to respond to your questionnaire!
3. Get straight to the point: Keep in mind that an SMS has a 160-character limit. As such, it is important to write a clear and concise message to prevent your text from being cut off, but also to avoid losing your client. Thus, in a few lines, the recipient should know the subject of the SMS and the objective of the questionnaire.
4. Provide an estimate of the questionnaire's completion time: While it is simple to contact your clients by SMS, it should not be forgotten that they can have very busy schedules. Therefore, including an estimate of your survey in your invitation can encourage them to fill it out. However, be careful not to lie about the completion time in your invitation to fill out a questionnaire, as this risks losing your clients' trust!
5. Include a call to action at the end of your SMS: Once your invitation to fill out a questionnaire is written, it is important to include a call to action. At the end of your message, include the URL of your survey and write a sentence to cordially invite your client to fill it out. Make sure there is space around the link: this way, your client can spot your CTA at a glance!
6. Use a local phone number: One of the first things your client will see when receiving the SMS is the area code. As such, use a point of sale in the same region as the client to send your questionnaire via SMS. By sharing the same area code as them, you will inspire their confidence, which will increase your email open rate!
7. Thank the client for the time they attribute to you: Remember that the client is giving up part of their day to fill out your questionnaire. In this sense, it is important to thank them for the effort provided, if only by highlighting the impact that their responses can have on their future in-store experience. Thus, your client will understand how much their feedback is appreciated!

An Example of an Invitation Letter to Fill Out a Questionnaire via SMS

Philippe from Sport Expert: Hello Mr. Tremblay,

We want to make sure our service was up to your expectations, which is why we would like your feedback by answering a few quick questions.

Our questionnaire can be completed in less than 60 seconds.

Give your opinion now: [Insert the URL of your CTA].

Thank you very much for your time!

Best Practices for Sending an Invitation to Fill Out a Questionnaire via Email

Once you have finished your questionnaire and chosen your sending platform, it is now time to focus on writing your invitation. However, writing the perfect message to encourage your clientele to complete your survey is not a task to be taken lightly!

How do you write an invitation to fill out a questionnaire via email? To help you, here are 7 best practices to follow to encourage your clients to respond to your satisfaction questionnaire:

1. Optimize your email subject line: Most clients decide to open their emails based on the subject line. Therefore, it is important to stand out from the crowd with a subject line that will allow your clients to distinguish you from spam. For example, when writing your subject line, include your name and that of your company, accompanied by the type of service provided to your client. This will allow your client to identify you more easily, which will encourage them to open your message.
2. Write a short message: Like the SMS, it is important to keep your message brief to avoid losing your client. Make sure the client understands the purpose of your questionnaire in a few lines. Also, avoid adding superfluous content, like an upcoming event. This will allow you to maintain a clear and concise text!
3. Personalize your email: Since emails can be longer than SMS, take advantage of it to personalize them! Sign your name with that of your company, address your client at the beginning of the message, and explain to your recipient the reason for sending the questionnaire based on the type of service/product they received. There are several ways to personalize an invitation to fill out a questionnaire. For example, prioritizing "I" instead of "We" can give a more human touch to your email, which will encourage your clientele to share their true opinion!
4. Explain how their responses will benefit the customer experience: Sometimes, it can be discouraging for a client to respond to a questionnaire if they feel their opinion won't change anything. This is why including the purpose of your survey is a vital asset in an invitation to fill out a questionnaire. Think about sharing with your client the impact their opinion will have on their future experience: this will make them feel important and encourage them to fill out your questionnaire!
5. Indicate the time required to respond to the questionnaire: As explained with SMS, your clients will be more inclined to respond to your questionnaire if they know its completion time. Include a precise estimate of the time required to complete your survey, and make sure it takes less than 60 seconds to optimize your completion rate. Bold the estimate so the client knows the required time at a glance: this will allow them to respond when they can!
6. Include a call to action in your email: Once your invitation to fill out a questionnaire is complete, it's time to integrate your call to action. By email, it is recommended to include the link of your CTA in the form of a brightly colored button so it stands out from the rest of the text. Add a friendly message to your call to action, such as "Give my opinion," to include the client's action in your text. This visual interest will give your invitation a polished look that your client will notice at first glance!
7. Thank the client for filling out the questionnaire: Don't forget that your client is doing you a favor when they accept your invitation to fill out a questionnaire. Therefore, take the time to thank them for the time they attribute to you by reiterating that their responses will be used to improve their experience within your company. Your client will be more inclined to complete your survey if they feel appreciated and understand the importance of their opinion!

An Example of an Invitation Letter to Fill Out a Questionnaire via Email

Subject line: Mr. Tremblay, how was your appointment with Andréanne?

Hello Mr. Tremblay,

I want to make sure my team has properly met your expectations. This is why I would like your feedback on your experience by answering a few quick questions.

Our questionnaire takes less than 1 minute to complete.

Your testimonial will allow me to improve your next experience within my company. I value your opinion and thank you for taking the time to share your feedback.

You can respond anonymously at the link below:

[Include the URL of your CTA].

How InputKit Can Help You Send Questionnaires to Your Clients

If you don't know how to formulate your invitation to fill out a questionnaire, or how to schedule its automatic sending, InputKit is here to help. With our automated customer experience evaluation and improvement solution, you can access our examples of invitations to fill out a questionnaire to create a message in your colors, with ease. Moreover, our unlimited French support combined with an easy-to-use interface will allow you to write a personalized invitation without the slightest difficulty.

Additionally, our solution targets satisfied clients to invite them to leave a review at the right time. With our response rate of 49% by email and 57% by text, you will be assured of obtaining valuable feedback that will allow you to improve your customer experience.

At InputKit, we rely on best practices to send your customer questionnaire at the right time. To this effect, it is recommended to send your questionnaires one to two hours after the customer experience, which positively impacts the response rate obtained. For example, waiting a day can reduce the response rate by 50%, and after a week, it can reduce the response rate by 75%. Put all the chances on your side by sending your questionnaires at the right time!

Our many integrations allow for the centralization of your data for optimal management of your locations. Thus, whether you are a dental clinic or a home installation and services specialist, you can automatically transform your survey responses into performance indicators. This will give you an accurate picture of your client satisfaction across your locations!

While writing an invitation to fill out a questionnaire may seem complex, several means exist to simplify the task. Take care to choose an automatic sending platform to save precious hours of management, and make sure to follow best practices for sending to finalize your invitation.

Optimize your email subject line to stand out from your competitors, and sign your invitation to prevent your clientele from confusing you with spam. Take the time to explain to your clients how their responses will be used to improve the customer experience, and thank them for the time they attribute to you. Include an estimate of your survey's completion time as well as a call to action to encourage your recipients to respond. Personalize everything while keeping your message clear and concise for an invitation that will increase your response rate in no time!

Are you experiencing some difficulty when designing your invitation to fill out a questionnaire? If you would like to benefit from the advice of our professional and motivated team, or our examples of invitations to fill out a questionnaire, do not hesitate to schedule a free demo now!