User experience (UX) research is the backbone of designing products and services that make a great impression on users and customers. Among the many methods in the UX toolkit, user surveys are one of the most popular ways that companies learn more about their audiences, helping them find out what is or isn't working. User surveys are great for their versatility, reach and cost-effectiveness. Whether you're a startup just getting off the ground, a medium business continuing to grow, or a large enterprise trying to streamline complex customer journeys in your app, surveys offer a flexible way to collect feedback, validate assumptions and guide decision-making.
In this blog, we'll explore why you should be thinking about user surveys as a business owner. We'll also take you through the kinds of survey tools out there, how to run them well, and how you can get the most out of surveys and UX research.
Why are surveys so valuable in UX research?
User surveys are a powerful research method because they can provide quantitative data on how users feel about your brand, and what motivates or frustrates them. User surveys are very common in UX research as they enable you to dig deep and answer questions about satisfaction, perception and preferences.
One of the many reasons companies invest in user surveys is because they're cheaper than user testing or interviews. For many businesses the investment required for user interviews or usability testing is unattainable in terms of time or budget. With a high price tag of between £20-50 per user test, budgets can be burned through pretty quickly without careful planning. As an alternative, a well-designed survey can reach many more people in less time. This way, you can get even more views and opinions of your target audience and notice trends and patterns from larger volumes of responses, helping you to quickly find areas for improvement.
Surveys also help strengthen customer relationships. When people see that their feedback is solicited and acted on, it builds trust and loyalty. The simple act of asking can show that you value your users, which makes them more likely to return.
Finally, surveys can help brands to understand how people are behaving (or how they think they will behave), which in turn allows them to anticipate problems, make future product or service decisions, and measure satisfaction. Combined with other UX methods (analytics, usability testing and interviews), surveys help companies better understand their audiences and help them to make more informed decisions regarding the design and delivery of their products and services.
Survey options for small businesses
When it comes to surveys, small and local businesses don’t need to overcomplicate things. A few simple approaches can provide a lot of value without taking up too much time or budget. One of the easiest starting points is the customer satisfaction survey. These are short, usually just one or two questions, and can be given after a purchase or service.
For example, a local café could ask, “How was your visit today?” or a salon might send a quick text after an appointment to check whether the customer was happy with their haircut. These surveys give immediate feedback that help business owners to spot what’s working well and where improvement might be needed. A quick online form sent the next day can ask about their overall experience, whether staff were helpful, and if they would recommend the business to a friend. This not only provides useful data, but also shows customers that you genuinely care about their opinions.
For businesses wanting to improve future offerings, product or service feedback surveys can be very effective. A shop could ask customers which new brands or products they’d like to see on the shelves, while a restaurant could gather opinions on potential new dishes before adding them to the menu. This kind of input helps you make decisions based on real customer demand, rather than guesswork.
Finally, even something as simple as a one-question online poll on social media can count as a survey. Asking your audience “Would you use a delivery service if we offered it?” or “Which class time works best for you?” can provide quick insight into what your customers need and want. Free tools like Google Forms or Typeform make it easy to create these, and they don’t require a big investment of time or money.
Surveys for medium and larger businesses
As businesses grow, so do their customer bases. This means they have to offer more complex services. Surveys at this stage can move beyond simple satisfaction checks and become a way to track trends, assess performance, and inform strategic business decisions. Larger organisations could ask their customers how likely they are to recommend their brand to others. The results give a clear measure of loyalty and whether changes in products, services or customer support are moving the needle in the right direction.
Customer experience surveys look at specific points along the customer journey. For example, after an online purchase, a retailer might ask how easy the checkout process was, or a bank could survey customers about the clarity of information when applying for a loan. By focusing on these touchpoints, businesses can identify friction and improve the experience in ways that directly impact conversion and retention.
Whether it’s customer satisfaction, brand perception or employee engagement, this approach gives a long-term view of whether improvements are working. It helps companies make informed decisions with data to back them up.
How to run a successful survey
First, define clear goals: what specific decisions will you take based on the survey? What are the main questions you need answers to? Without that, you risk gathering data you won’t use.
Second, design your survey clearly. Be careful with leading questions and skewed wording – make sure that your questions are open if you want both breadth and depth. Remember shorter surveys tend to get better response rates and less drop-off.
Think about who responds to your survey. If only your most loyal customers reply, that may bias results.
Finally, think about timing and context: when should you send the survey? Post-purchase? After support interaction? Weekly, monthly? Also where: via email, website pop-ups, notifications, in app, etc.
Survey tools
The good news is that there are plenty of survey tools available for every budget, from completely free to enterprise-level. For small businesses just starting out, Google Forms is a simple and free option that’s quick to set up and integrates easily with spreadsheets for analysis. Tools like Typeform and Jotform are also popular because they look polished and are easy for customers to use, with free versions available and paid upgrades for more features.
For more developed businesses, platforms like SurveyMonkey and Qualtrics offer powerful features. These tools are better suited for medium and larger organisations that need to run more complex surveys or gather large volumes of replies. Whichever tool you choose, it’s worth considering factors like how many responses you’ll need, how easy the survey is to complete on mobile, and whether it integrates smoothly with your existing systems.
The takeaway
User surveys are essential tools in UX research that offer flexibility, insight and value. From helping a small startup test assumptions, to enabling medium and large businesses to refine customer journeys, surveys can bridge the gap between what users want and what you deliver as a business. We can offer user surveys as part of our UX research services at Haddington & Haddington.
