How Effective Are Text Message Surveys?

More and more audiences want to connect with organizations via text message. But will they respond to surveys? Here’s a look at why SMS surveys can be effective for research of all types.

 

We know by now that many of today’s audiences are open to texting with their favorite organizations and brands. But are they willing to participate in your research efforts via text surveys? Studies show yes, but it’s important to create and use the right data collection tools to be successful.

So, how effective are SMS surveys? And how do you do it the right way? This article will go over these key points:

• Reasons for the format’s effectiveness
• Knowing the best method for your audience and goals
• Using a platform that validates and tracks data

 

Reasons for the format’s effectiveness

First, let’s look at what the numbers say about the success of text message surveys. Here are a few reasons that gathering data via texting is effective.

 

1.  People are always on their phones

Communicating with audiences of any kind over text is likely to have the widest reach because most people own a cell phone, and, over a one-week period, 97% of smartphone owners report use text messaging at some point.

Other research has shown that around half of smartphone owners in the U.S. check their devices at least a few times an hour. This means most of the smartphone users who you’re trying to reach regularly check their phones, and they’re more likely to see a text from you the moment they receive it.

 

2. Audiences respond to texts

What’s more, people are more likely to respond to a text survey or questionnaire than other formats, like email or a phone call. One study showed that 72% of participants responded to multiple-choice questions sent via text message. That response rate dwarfs anything you’ll see through other digital channels

 

3. Feedback is instant

Because of the personal, immediate nature of SMS texting, organizations can receive feedback from their audience almost instantly. Sending surveys in other ways may take days or weeks for a response. But because people tend to answer text messages quickly, you’ll have the responses you need in days instead of weeks.

One study of text surveys showed that 88% of responses were recorded on the same day of either the initial text or a subsequent reminder text.

 

4. Automation features

Another perk of sending text surveys is the integration of automation tools to help speed up and streamline the process even more. The Mobilize platform allows you to upload all your member information, and the survey is sent to your customized list in seconds, taking a lot of manual data entry and tracking out of the equation.

 

What’s the best method for your audience and goals?

Remember that without the right tools and approach, you may not be fully taking advantage of the survey format.

Determine the right question type by the data you are looking for. For example, if you would like to know how a customer likes your product, you should use a rating style question that gives a scale from 1 to 10 for them to select. If you are looking for a start date for their current job, you would use the date format. The Mobilize platform allows up to nine different question types.

Finally, consider the goal and length of each of your surveys. Gather data that is essential without making it too long and risking question fatigue, where a respondent will either quit the survey or stop responding and send in blank answers.

Preview Mobilize’s survey function by texting DATA to 833-428-1249.

 

Use a platform that validates and tracks data

To send more effective surveys and gather more data, a text communications platform can help reach your goals and improve the way you interact with members. Mobilize has an advanced text survey feature that allows you to send unique survey links to each mobile number and validate the data you collect.

Using the Mobilize platform, you can send messages to 1 or 100,000,000 people at once and take advantage of the 98% read rate and quick responses that SMS texts provide.

Get in touch with the Mobilize team to learn more about all of our plans and pricing.