First impression matters in surveys, especially when you need objective responses. Your survey introduction is your opportunity to make an excellent first impression on your respondents.

Although the introduction to your survey is the first thing your participants see when they open it, it does not have to be the first thing you do. Most people prefer to write their introduction after designing the survey. 

When you finish creating a survey before writing the introduction, it makes it easier to write an introduction that fits the tone and purpose of the survey.

Here’s a guide to help you write engaging and welcoming survey introductions that make your respondents eager to complete your survey with examples.

What Is a Survey Introduction?

A survey introduction is a welcome text your survey participants see when they open your survey. It tells the respondents what the survey is about and how you intend to use their responses.

Some survey introductions include instructions to help survey participants answer questions. While some include disclaimers to inform respondents about how the company intends to use their data.

An excellent survey introduction informs participants about what to expect from the survey. It’s an excellent opportunity to weed out respondents who aren’t interested in the survey. 

Uninterested respondents can immediately drop off if they read the survey introduction and realize they opened and realize they aren’t interested in the survey.

What to Include in the Introduction

There are three main components you need to create an exceptional survey introduction: respondents, the organization you’re representing, and the information you need from the respondents.

Here is a breakdown of the three components:

• Company Name

Always inform your respondents who need their responses; this helps you build trust and brand awareness. For example, if it’s the first experience respondents have with your brand, introduce yourself and what you do.

• Survey Goal

A good introduction informs respondents about the purpose of the survey and how you intend to use their responses. For example, if you’re conducting a pricing survey to help you price your product competitively, inform your respondents.

• Instructions

Your introduction should be more than just a warm welcome. Include a detailed guide on how to successfully participate in the study.

• Survey Disclaimer

How you handle respondents’ data matters to them. Let them know how you intend to use their information. For example, if their personally identifiable data like the name is going to be public or if you’re sharing their data with third parties.

This helps respondents make an infrared decision about whether or not to give you their information.

How to Introduce a Survey

Survey introductions are your chance to bond with your participants and get them to be eager to answer your questions.

In addition, your introduction should include all of the information necessary for your respondents to provide you with informed consent. Provide respondents with information about the survey’s purpose, length, and privacy.

• Be Explicit

Provide respondents with all the relevant information they need to take the survey but don’t overwhelm them with information. You don’t have to write an essay because you want your respondents to warm up to you and provide you with the responses you need.

Participants are more likely to complete a survey if they understand how their data will be used.  Also, inform them that if they are not comfortable with the privacy terms, they can choose not to proceed.

Always state the reason for your survey and what their responses are going to do. This allows you to inform respondents that they are a part of an important process and motivates 

For example, if you have previous market research results and how they helped the company grow, that can be a good motivator for respondents to eagerly take your survey. The results assure them that their opinions are valued.

• Be Thankful

Participants are devoting time to taking your survey; you probably need the survey data more than they do. So the least you can do is thank them for devoting their time to assisting you with your research.

Even if your survey is incentivized, saying thank you goes a long way toward making them feel valued for participating in the study.

For example, after they’ve agreed to the survey’s terms and privacy policy, you can begin with a “thank you for choosing to participate in the survey”.

If you’re offering incentives, you can say something like, “Thank you for choosing to participate in this survey; we have a gift for you at the end of the survey.” This would encourage them to participate because they would be rewarded at the end, but it could also backfire.

Some participants may make the incentive their sole reason for participating in the study, so make sure they are interested in the survey rather than the reward.

• Be Concise

Yes, you need your participants to make informed decisions, understand the survey goal, how their responses will be used, that their privacy is protected, and more. However, writing a long essay will most likely bore your respondents and make them less interested than informed.

The list of requirements for your survey can be long, but being clear and concise is more effective. So, tell them the respondents they need to know in the simplest way possible.

Avoid going into too much detail when writing a survey introduction; instead, provide participants with the essential information they need. You don’t want to exhaust participants before they even begin taking the survey by overwhelming them with information.

A page-long introduction, for example, is far too long to tell participants what they need to know about the survey; you’re drowning in details.

• Be Neutral

The primary goal of writing an effective survey introduction is to lure people to open the survey and provide honest responses. Being neutral is a good way to ensure that participants are not biased.

Respondents need context to properly understand the survey and answer objectively, so they can provide you with objective and insightful submissions. So stick to giving them the information to contextualize the study and offer insightful responses.

Also, avoid blowing your trumpet unnecessarily, it can bring prejudice into your feedback. Including statements like “the best in the xxx niche” may pique respondents’ interest, but it may prevent them from being objective.

The Importance of a Good Survey Introduction

• Emphasize the Importance of Responses

Writing a survey introduction allows you to clarify the significance of participants’ submissions to the study. This motivates them to take the study seriously and complete the survey with a goal in mind.

For example, participants tend to take the survey pretty seriously because they know their responses will be used to make real-life decisions.

• Welcomes Participants

Introductions are an excellent way to get participants to warm up to you. They help ease participants into the survey and make them eager to answer your questions.

• Builds Trust

Introducing your survey in a welcoming and honest manner helps participants trust you. For example, informing respondents about the purpose of the survey and how you intend to use their data makes them feel more at ease answering your questions.

• Increases Survey Completion Rate

A well-designed survey introduction excites respondents to respond by piquing their interest in the survey and its objectives. Informing participants about the survey’s purpose and intended use makes you appear more transparent, which encourages respondents to proceed with the survey.

Also, if respondents aren’t comfortable with the survey’s goal or the privacy terms, they can exit the survey immediately rather than have missing data in your research.

• It Shows You Value the Respondents’ Time

Thanking respondents for taking the time to complete your survey demonstrates how much you value their time.

Also letting them know the length of the survey shows you also value the time they are taking out to complete the study.

• Helps You Create a Positive Brand Image

Writing a good survey introduction allows you to present your brand or the company you’re researching to the participants in a positive light. Interested participants are likely to learn more about the company and may even become customers if they find the products or services useful.

Even if respondents do not go looking for the products, seeing an ad about the brand is likely to stir up their interest because they are already aware of the brand and its products.

Effects of a Poor Survey Introduction

• Low Completion Rates

A poorly written survey introduction is likely to cause respondents to abandon the survey. For example, participants may become bored and leave the survey if the introduction is too long.

Also, if the survey does not make it clear how participants’ data will be used, it is natural for respondents to be skeptical and drop out because they are concerned about their privacy.

• Non-insightful Responses

Respondents are more likely to provide non-insightful responses if the survey introduction does not provide context for the survey, such as what the survey aims to achieve and the significance of their responses. They don’t fully understand what the survey is about or how their responses matter, so their responses may be insufficient to help you reach valid conclusions.

Also, if the survey introduction does not reassure participants about their data security, they are more likely to provide guarded responses because they do not want the information to be linked back to them.

Some respondents, for example, provide false emails, phone numbers, geographic locations, and other information to protect their data. These responses will only skew your result accuracy and lead to incorrect conclusions.

• Paints a Negative Brand Image

Your survey introduction is most likely the first interaction participants have with your company. Ensure that the introduction reflects your brand personality and company values.

If your survey introduction does not demonstrate that you value user privacy, participants are unlikely to be interested in your products because they do not trust you with their information. Also, if your introduction is unwelcoming, they are less likely to want to learn more about your products or become customers.

Survey Introduction Example

• Example 1

Hey there! 🙂

Thanks for taking the time to participate in our 2 minutes survey. 

Our company, XXX is launching a new hair care product for curly and kinky hair. We’re curious to know what our curly and kinky hair customers think about this product and that’s why we chose you! 🤗

Your data is safe with us, we’re only collecting your response to design a product for our customers. We’ll not share your data with third parties or spam you with promotional messages.

Start

• Example 2

Hi (respondent name),

We’re glad to see you here, your feedback matters to us.😊

We’d like to know how your shopping experience with our app went and what you’d like us to improve in this survey in this 1-minute survey.

Your responses will be kept anonymous, but if you have any questions kindly contact us at (support email).

Before you start, we appreciate you taking out time to give us your feedback, we have a little incentive for you at the end of the survey.

Start

How to Add an Introduction to Your Formplus Surveys

Adding a survey introduction with Formplus is straightforward. Here’s what you need to do:

1. Sign in or Create a Formplus Account.
2. Next, Click on Create Form.

3. Select Intro Page from the left side bottom of the page

3. Tap on the Enable Intro Page Slider

3. Add your survey introduction, choose its alignment and you’re done.

Conclusion

A good survey introduction is simple, clear, and brief. It makes your respondents comfortable with you and eager to provide you with honest and insightful responses.

When creating your survey, make sure to include all of the necessary components such as who your company is, the survey goal, data protection, and instructions to ensure your respondents have a positive experience with your survey.