There are dozens of good reasons why you might want to conduct a survey for your small business. Maybe you’re trying to solicit customer feedback on a new store policy. Maybe you’re looking for input from your employees on which health plan is best. Or maybe you want to increase engagement on social media. No matter the reason, here are some popular small business survey tools that make it easy to create, send, and analyze custom questionnaires.
[Read more: How Data Is Helping Brands Recover Millions Lost to Product Returns]
SurveyMonkey
SurveyMonkey is one of the most popular online survey tools, with many features and tiered levels, ranging from basic to enterprise. SurveyMonkey’s most affordable option is free, allowing you to conduct unlimited surveys. Each survey can include up to 10 questions, and you can receive up to 25 responses.
If you need more bells and whistles, such as the ability to export data or built-in advanced analytics, the other subscription tiers may be a better fit.
Google Forms
Google Forms is another easy way to collect feedback from your employees, followers, or customers. If you have a personal Google account, Forms is free and includes unlimited forms, unlimited responses, and full feature access. However, you need a business account to customize your questionnaire with a photo, logo, and brand colors.
Forms delivers results in a format that makes it easy to review your data: Either view the responses in Forms, or export your data to Google Sheets for deeper analysis.
Typeform
Users love Typeform’s elegant, minimalistic design and ability to work on virtually every device. The tool comes with the ability to personalize question paths and make unlimited logic jumps. It’s a relatively versatile platform that can be used to build both forms (e.g., capture customer data) or surveys (e.g., ask more open-ended questions for feedback).
Use the built-in templates to quickly and easily create order forms, feedback surveys, satisfaction surveys, and even job application forms. Typeform offers a free version in which you can create unlimited forms and collect 10 responses per month. That’s relatively limiting, so consider the free plan to be more like a free trial.
Google Forms is another easy way to collect feedback from your employees, followers, or customers. If you have a personal Google account, Forms is free and includes unlimited forms, unlimited responses, and full feature access.
LimeSurvey
LimeSurvey targets its offerings to universities, institutional research, and market research purposes. It could be a good option if you want to dive deeper into your market segment, gain insight into your customers’ wants and needs, and perform advanced assessments.
While there are some free options, they are rather limited; the free plan only offers up to 25 responses per month and limited storage.
Qualtrics
Qualtrics is a more advanced survey option designed to scale with your business, offering more than 100 question types, advanced logic, predictive intelligence, and advanced back-end statistical analysis.
Their built-in templates make it easy to get started, and a free trial allows you to try the tool before you’re asked to subscribe.
Survey Planet
Survey Planet’s free version gives you 10 survey themes to choose from, and you can create questionnaires that align with the look and feel of your brand.
Survey Planet has one of the most comprehensive libraries of prewritten surveys to choose from among its free online survey tools. Its platform is not as sophisticated as Qualtrics’, but it’s a solid option offering unlimited responses and questions for free.
HubSpot
If you’re already using HubSpot as your customer relationship management (CRM) software, consider its free Form Builder. You can create surveys that automatically transfer customer data directly into your CRM. Drag and drop from more than a dozen question types to customize your questionnaire.
After you send the survey, you can set alerts to follow up with a responder when a survey is completed or notify your sales team of a new lead.
How to choose the right survey tool for your business goals
As you evaluate your options for survey software, start with your goal, or how you plan to use the survey. A tool that is built to gather customer satisfaction feedback will not work for eliciting employee feedback or collecting market research, so begin the process by being clear on the purpose of your survey.
Ease of use is especially important for small businesses without dedicated information technology or research staff. Look for intuitive drag-and-drop builders and ready-made templates to simplify and speed up the design process.
This list has highlighted free and inexpensive tools, which are a great place to start. Many tools like Google Forms or Typeform offer free tiers that cover basic needs, while paid plans unlock features like custom branding, advanced logic, and deeper analytics. Response limits and audience size vary widely between the tools and pricing tiers, so make sure the plan you choose can handle your expected volume without hitting a paywall midcampaign.
Integration with your existing tools is worth considering too. If you're already using a CRM like HubSpot or a platform like Mailchimp, choosing a survey tool that connects with those platforms saves time and keeps your data in one place.
Finally, consider how you'll analyze the results. Some tools offer basic charts, while others provide more sophisticated reporting. For a small business, simple and visual is usually better than complex and data-heavy.
Key features to look for in survey platforms
Survey platforms offer tons of features packaged in different ways. In general, look for these attributes:
- Question types and flexibility. Look for a range of question formats, including multiple choice, rating scales, open-ended responses, and ranking questions, so you can gather different kinds of feedback. Logic and branching options also allow you to show different questions based on previous answers, making the experience more relevant for respondents and improving completion rates.
- Templates and customization. Prebuilt templates save time and are especially useful for common use cases like net promoter score, customer satisfaction, or employee engagement surveys. The ability to add your logo, colors, and custom URLs makes surveys look more professional and builds respondent trust.
- Analytics and reporting. Built-in dashboards that visualize responses in real time make it easier to spot trends without exporting data elsewhere.
- Integrations and distribution options. Connecting your survey tool to CRMs, email platforms, or spreadsheets keeps workflows efficient and your data centralized. Look for platforms that let you share surveys via email, a web link, social media, or that you embed directly on your website.
- Pricing and response limits. Understand what each tier includes, as many platforms cap the number of responses or features on free or entry level plans.
Depending on your industry, you may need strong data protection features or compliance controls.
Tips for crafting effective surveys that get results
Getting useful data from a survey depends as much on how it's designed as who receives it. As you create your survey, follow these suggestions:
- Keep it short and focused. Respondents are more likely to complete a survey that respects their time. Aim for a single clear objective and cut any question that doesn't directly serve that purpose. As a general rule, fewer than 10 questions is ideal for most business surveys. Be transparent about the information you need and how you’ll use it.
- Start with easy questions. Opening with simple, nonsensitive questions eases respondents into your questionnaire and improves completion rates. Save harder or more personal questions for later, after respondents are engaged. And make sure you use the right format for your questions. Use rating scales for measuring satisfaction or sentiment, multiple choice for clear-cut options, and open-ended questions sparingly, as they take more effort to answer.
- Use clear, neutral language. Avoid jargon, bundled questions (asking two things at once), and leading questions that nudge respondents toward a particular answer. The goal is honest feedback, not confirmation of what you already think.
- Test your survey with a few employees or trusted friends to ensure it works. Run the survey internally first to catch confusing wording, broken logic, or technical issues before sending the poll to your larger target audience.
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