Survey templates: ready-made questions to copy
A survey template is a ready-made set of questions that you adapt to your own survey. Here you will find six templates with questions and answer types that you can copy as they are.
The templates cover customer surveys, NKI, market research, event evaluation, employee surveys and reader surveys. You also get ready-made texts for the invitation and the thank-you.
How to use the templates
A template saves time, but it needs to become yours. Do this:
- Decide what you will do with the answers. Only include questions that can lead to a decision.
- Copy the template and cut what does not apply to you.
- Swap the words for your own names of products and services.
- Test on two colleagues. Do they understand the questions the same way you do?
- Send it out and remind once.
If you want the whole workflow from purpose to analysis, it is in the guide How to succeed with your survey.
Template for a customer survey
Suits you when you want to know how customers experience you as a whole. Send it once a year or after a completed delivery.
| Question | Answer type |
|---|---|
| How satisfied are you with us overall? | Scale 1 to 5 |
| How likely is it that you would recommend us to a colleague or friend? | Scale 0 to 10 |
| How satisfied are you with how we treat you? | Scale 1 to 5 |
| How satisfied are you with the quality of what we deliver? | Scale 1 to 5 |
| How easy is it to get help when you need it? | Scale 1 to 5 |
| How good value for money do you think we are? | Scale 1 to 5 |
| What do you appreciate most about us? | Free text |
| What can we do better? | Free text |
More about setup, sampling and follow-up is in the guide on customer surveys.
Template for an NKI survey
The first three questions give your NKI value, Nöjd Kund Index (the Swedish customer satisfaction index). The rest show what lies behind the number.
| Question | Answer type |
|---|---|
| How satisfied are you with us overall? | Scale 1 to 10 |
| How well do we meet your expectations? | Scale 1 to 10 |
| Imagine a perfect supplier. How close do we come? | Scale 1 to 10 |
| How satisfied are you with how we treat you? | Scale 1 to 10 |
| How satisfied are you with the delivery? | Scale 1 to 10 |
| What can we do better? | Free text |
How to calculate and interpret the value: NKI surveys step by step.
Template for market research
Suits you when you want to understand a market or target audience before you invest in something new. The questions go from awareness to willingness to buy.
| Question | Answer type |
|---|---|
| Which suppliers in the field do you know of? | Free text |
| Have you heard of us before? | Yes or no |
| How do you meet the need today? | Multiple choice |
| What is most important when you choose a supplier? | Multiple choice, at most three answers |
| How satisfied are you with your current solution? | Scale 1 to 5 |
| What do you miss in today's solutions? | Free text |
| How interesting is the following offer to you? | Scale 1 to 5 |
| What would you be prepared to pay? | Multiple choice with price ranges |
| Where do you look for information before a purchase? | Multiple choice |
| What industry and role do you have? | Multiple choice |
Method, sampling and cost are covered in the guide How do you do market research?
Template for an event evaluation
Send it within a day after the event, while the impressions are fresh.
| Question | Answer type |
|---|---|
| What is your overall rating of the event? | Scale 1 to 5 |
| How well did the content match your expectations? | Scale 1 to 5 |
| Which program item gave you the most? | Multiple choice |
| How satisfied were you with the venue, food and practical information? | Scale 1 to 5 |
| How did the registration and the information beforehand work? | Scale 1 to 5 |
| Would you come to a similar event again? | Yes or no |
| What would you like to hear more about next time? | Free text |
| What can we do better? | Free text |
More advice on planning and follow-up is in the guide How to succeed with your event.
Template for an employee survey
Short, recurring measurements often give more than one big annual survey. Keep the answers anonymous.
| Question | Answer type |
|---|---|
| I enjoy my job. | Strongly disagree to strongly agree |
| I know what is expected of me. | Strongly disagree to strongly agree |
| I have a reasonable workload. | Strongly disagree to strongly agree |
| I get the support I need from my immediate manager. | Strongly disagree to strongly agree |
| I find out what I need to know about what is happening in the company. | Strongly disagree to strongly agree |
| I have the opportunity to develop in my job. | Strongly disagree to strongly agree |
| How likely is it that you would recommend us as an employer? | Scale 0 to 10 |
| What would make your workday better? | Free text |
Template for a newsletter reader survey
Ask the subscribers what they want to read. Then you can adapt the content to the answers.
| Question | Answer type |
|---|---|
| How often do you read our newsletter? | Multiple choice |
| How useful is the content to you? | Scale 1 to 5 |
| Which topics would you like to read more about? | Multiple choice, several answers |
| How often would you like to get the newsletter? | Multiple choice |
| Are the newsletters a suitable length? | Too short, just right, too long |
| What do you miss? | Free text |
Tips on how to use the answers are in the guide to better newsletters.
Choose the right answer scale
The answer type decides what you can do with the answers. Stick to one or two scales in the same survey.
| Answer type | Suits | Keep in mind |
|---|---|---|
| Scale 1 to 5 | Satisfaction and ratings | Easy to answer on a phone |
| Scale 1 to 10 | NKI and finer comparisons | Explain what 1 and 10 mean |
| Scale 0 to 10 | The recommendation question, NPS | Only used for that question |
| Strongly disagree to strongly agree | Statements, for example about the work environment | One statement per question |
| Multiple choice | Facts and choices between alternatives | Add the alternative Other |
| Free text | Explanations and ideas | At most two or three per survey |
Terms such as single-choice question, scale question and nonresponse are explained in our survey glossary.
Texts for the invitation and thank-you
The text around the survey affects how many people answer. Copy and adapt.
Invitation
Hi! We want to get better and need your help. Answer six short questions about how you experience us. It takes about two minutes and your answers are anonymous. The survey is open through Friday. Thank you for helping us!
Reminder
Hi again! You haven't missed our survey, have you? We would love to hear what you think. It takes two minutes and the survey closes on Friday.
Thank-you
Thank you for your answers! We are going through all the comments and will tell you in the next newsletter what we plan to change.
Five common mistakes
- Too many questions. Long surveys usually get fewer answers.
- Two questions in one. Do not ask about price and quality in the same question.
- Leading questions. Write How did you experience the support, not How good was our support.
- Different scales. Do not switch between 1 to 5 and 1 to 10 without a reason.
- No feedback. Tell people what you did with the answers, or fewer will answer next time.
Send the survey to the right people
When the questions are ready, what remains is reaching the people who should answer. The simplest way is to email the link to your own contact list, so that you reach people who already know you. A reminder by SMS after a few days can give more answers.
Frequently asked questions about survey templates
What is a survey template?
A survey template is a ready-made set of questions for a certain purpose, for example a customer survey or an event evaluation. You copy the questions, swap out what does not fit and add what is unique to you.
How many questions should a survey have?
As few as possible. Five to ten questions are enough for most surveys. A shorter survey usually gets more answers.
Which questions should you ask in a customer survey?
Start with the whole: how satisfied the customer is and whether they would recommend you. Then ask about what you want to be able to improve, such as how you treat customers, delivery and price. Finish with an open question about what you can do better.
Which answer scale is best?
Use the same scale throughout the survey. A scale from 1 to 5 is easy to answer on a phone. A scale from 1 to 10 gives finer differences and is used in Statistics Sweden's NKI model. For NPS, 0 to 10 is always used.
Should the survey be anonymous?
Anonymous answers make it easier to answer openly on sensitive questions, for example in an employee survey. If you want to be able to follow up individual answers, you need to ask for a name or email address and say why. Always say how the answers are used.
How do you get more people to answer a survey?
Say why you are asking and how long it takes. Send the survey close to the purchase or event, keep it short and send a reminder after a few days to those who have not answered.
Can I use the templates freely?
Yes. The questions are free to copy, change and use in whatever survey tool you like.
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