{"id":5895,"date":"2015-10-13T09:00:50","date_gmt":"2015-10-13T16:00:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/?p=5895"},"modified":"2016-02-23T14:54:15","modified_gmt":"2016-02-23T22:54:15","slug":"exit-survey-tips","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/post-launch\/exit-survey-tips\/","title":{"rendered":"Exit Survey: How to Implement This User Research Tool Effectively"},"content":{"rendered":"

An exit survey can help you discover\u00a0why users are leaving your app or service. Here’s our top advice for crafting and implementing a successful exit survey.<\/em><\/p>\n

A well-crafted exit survey is an invaluable tool for user research and retention. <\/span><\/p>\n

By polling the people who have unsubscribed from your product, you can figure out what frustrations or unsolved needs have led to their decision to quit you. More importantly, you can determine how to fix the\u00a0problems.<\/span><\/p>\n

In addition, you can use the exit survey as an opportunity to point out features that your users may have missed or under-utilized.<\/span><\/p>\n

Thus, in the best case\u00a0scenario, these quick polls will help you improve your product, win back dissatisfied users, and increase your retention rate.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Read on to learn how to build an effective exit survey for your website, mobile app, or game.<\/span><\/h3>\n

1. Keep It Short<\/span><\/h2>\n

When users are confronted with long surveys, they typically react by either quitting mid-survey or \u201csatisficing\u201d (i.e. choosing arbitrary answers in an effort to quickly finish). Obviously, either of those reactions will hurt your survey results.<\/span><\/p>\n

Avoid this by keeping your exit survey as short as possible. As a rule of thumb, you should stick to 10 questions or less.<\/span><\/p>\n

Take a look at this SketchUp example<\/span><\/a>, which includes a mere three questions. <\/span><\/p>\n

\"Exit<\/a><\/p>\n

The app makers undoubtedly could have requested more information from their respondents. But,\u00a0by making the exit survey so quick and easy, they\u2019ve probably dramatically increased the number <\/i>of respondents.<\/span><\/p>\n

Similarly, when you design your own exit survey, you\u2019ll have to make a trade-off between the number of questions and the response rate.<\/span><\/p>\n

2. Decide What You Need to Know<\/span><\/h2>\n

\u2026 vs what you want to know. <\/span><\/p>\n

For example, you probably want to know if your users or customers are switching to a competitor<\/a>. However, you need<\/i> to know why they\u2019re so unhappy with your product they\u2019re giving up on it. <\/span><\/p>\n

The first piece of information is nice\u00a0to have, but you can\u2019t use it to improve your product like you can with the second. <\/span><\/p>\n

In general, you should be able to explain why every single question in your survey is there and why it\u2019ll help you make your app or site better.<\/span><\/p>\n

3. Decide What You Want to Say<\/span><\/h2>\n

\u2026 vs what you need to say. <\/span><\/p>\n

Many people use their exit survey as an informational tool for users. For example, this Sidekick exit survey<\/a> asks if the respondent has tried the \u201cemail profiles\u201d and mobile notification features.<\/span><\/p>\n

This approach\u00a0is great. But, as with the questions you ask, it\u2019s crucial that you\u2019re strategic about the features you point out.<\/span><\/p>\n

Here are some things to keep in mind when choosing what to point out in a \u201cDid you know\u2026?\u201d question:<\/span><\/h3>\n

1. How many of your users regularly use this feature\/visit this section\/click on this?<\/strong>\u00a0The more popular a feature is, the less likely it is that the survey taker doesn\u2019t know about it.<\/span><\/p>\n

2. How useful or cool is this feature?<\/strong>\u00a0Is it something that will make or break the decision to keep using the product?<\/span><\/p>\n

3. How new is this feature?<\/strong> Is it something you\u00a0just added that not many users are aware of yet?<\/span><\/p>\n

4. How relevant is this feature to common pain points with the website, mobile app, or game?<\/strong>\u00a0Does it fix a problem that a lot of users are having?<\/span><\/p>\n

Rather than picking one or two features to call out and showing every\u00a0respondent\u00a0those options, you can design your survey so that once users have chosen the main reason for their dissatisfaction, they\u2019re shown a feature that most closely answers it.<\/span><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s say I choose \u201ctoo expensive\u201d as my explanation for uninstalling an app. In response, the next window might say, \u201cDid you know we offer a basic version for only $2.99 a month?\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

However, if I choose \u201ctoo confusing\u201d as my explanation, I\u2019d get \u201cDid you know we offer detailed user guides, community forums, and live chat with our representatives?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

While this technique allows you to serve up features to a targeted audience, it also assumes the respondent has correctly chosen his or her primary reason for uninstallation as opposed to the first one that sounded good. It\u2019s giving your survey participants a lot of trust \u2014 which unfortunately can backfire.<\/span><\/p>\n

4. Be Transparent about Length<\/span><\/h2>\n

If people are given an expectation of how much time it\u2019ll take them to finish the survey, they\u2019re much more likely to begin and complete it. If they have no idea how lengthy the questionnaire is, they\u2019ll probably assume it\u2019s long.<\/span><\/p>\n

There are several ways to set length expectations. You can take the straight-forward approach and tell them in your introduction, \u201cThis survey should take approximately three minutes.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Another option is to include a progress bar and page\/question numbers, i.e. \u201cQuestion 3 out of 7,\u201d or \u201cPage 1\/2″ (like this Network Magic survey<\/span><\/a>).<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Exit<\/a><\/p>\n

If you decide to use the first technique (which I recommend), send your survey to friends and family before it goes live and measure how long it takes the average person to complete it. <\/span><\/p>\n

5. Have an Engaging Introduction<\/span><\/h2>\n

On top of somehow disappointing your users, you\u2019re now asking them to spend precious time helping you improve your product \u2014 with no clear benefit to themselves. To motivate people to take your survey despite this fact, make it humble, appreciative, and friendly.<\/span><\/p>\n

Check out this example from PaperCut<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Exit<\/a><\/p>\n

As you can see, this introduction is laid-back and human-sounding, which makes it pretty effective.<\/span><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a template:<\/span><\/h3>\n

Thank you for trying out [product name]. We\u2019re really sorry that it didn\u2019t live up to your expectations! Will you help us make it better by filling out this X-minute survey? <\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

6. <\/i>Think of Why Your Product Might Fall Short<\/span><\/h2>\n

Now it\u2019s time to get into drafting the actual questions.<\/span><\/p>\n

Most exit surveys, such as this Opera one<\/span><\/a>, include a checkable list of potential reasons why someone is opting out. <\/span><\/p>\n

\"Exit<\/a><\/p>\n

You want this list to be fairly comprehensive. After all if the scope is too narrow, you won\u2019t get any good data.<\/span><\/p>\n

Here are some universal themes to get you started:<\/span><\/h3>\n

It\u2019s too expensive.<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s too time-consuming.<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s too buggy.<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s hard to navigate.<\/span><\/p>\n

The\u00a0interface is unappealing.<\/span><\/p>\n

It has too many features.<\/span><\/p>\n

It doesn\u2019t have enough features.<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s too slow.<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s not functional.<\/span><\/p>\n

It has too many updates.<\/span><\/p>\n

It sends\u00a0too many notifications.<\/span><\/p>\n

It takes up too much storage space.<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s not as good as the alternative.<\/span><\/p>\n

I suggest gathering your team in a room and writing down all the negative feedback you\u2019ve heard from users, friends, family, other people in the space, and so on. Then, mark the most common responses.<\/span><\/p>\n

While this exercise isn\u2019t exactly fun (painful might be more accurate), it\u2019ll ensure that every user taking your survey feels like you\u2019ve provided an honest and complete list of explanations. <\/span><\/p>\n

This shows the former user that you\u2019re not so taken with your product you can\u2019t see its flaws. Who knows, that\u00a0may even be enough to convince them to stay!<\/span><\/p>\n

7. Include an \u201cOther\u201d Option<\/span><\/h2>\n

When Groove changed their exit survey<\/span><\/a> from a drop-down format to an open-ended one, their response rate jumped from 1.3% to 10.2%. <\/span><\/p>\n

So, am I suggesting you give your survey responders the same freedom? No, and here\u2019s why: It\u2019s likely that the\u00a0answers will be so varied that you won\u2019t get any usable data.<\/span><\/p>\n

But, by including an \u201cOther\u201d option or an optional comments section, you can standardize your results without blocking your users from giving you feedback\u00a0you haven\u2019t anticipated. <\/span><\/p>\n

Take a look at how iMacros used this strategy in their uninstall survey<\/span><\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n

\"Exit<\/a><\/p>\n

Concluding Thoughts<\/h2>\n

A well-crafted exit survey will give you the information you need to boost your customer retention rate. Every website, mobile app, and\u00a0game should have\u00a0a thoughtful one in place.<\/span><\/p>\n

Feature image credit<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An exit survey can help you discover why users are leaving your app or service. Here’s our top advice for crafting and implementing successful exit surveys.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":68,"featured_media":6356,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[464,426,465,146,198,228,239],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nExit Survey: How to Implement This Tool Effectively<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"An exit survey can help you discover why users are leaving your app or service. 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