How to Write A Survey Report
You’ve spent weeks crafting the perfect survey. You’ve fine-tuned every question, targeted the right audience, and collected responses. Now, you’re sitting on a treasure trove of data. But there’s a problem – raw data, no matter how valuable, doesn’t mean anything until it’s analyzed data and presented in a way that drives action.
This is where an effective survey report comes into play. In this guide, we’ll walk you through creating a survey report that not only communicates your findings clearly but also inspires action.
What is a Survey Report?
A survey report is a comprehensive document that presents the findings of a survey. It’s more than just a collection of raw data. It’s an organized presentation of that data. The goal is to turn responses into insights, insights into strategies, and strategies into actions.
Great survey reports create a bridge between data collection and actionable insights. They help you:
Transform numbers and responses into a meaningful narrative
Influence decision-making, align teams, and drive strategic initiatives
Illuminate and represent the customer voice to guide improvements
Whether you’re looking to improve customer satisfaction or understand market trends, a well-crafted survey report can be a game changer.
Let’s dive into what makes a survey report effective, and how you can create one that drives your team forward.
Difference Between Qualitative and Quantitative Data
When preparing a survey report, it’s important to understand the types of data you plan to work with. Surveys typically collect two main types of data: qualitative and quantitative.
Quantitative Data: This type of data is numerical and can be measured and analyzed statistically. It includes metrics like percentages, averages, and other statistical analyses. For example, “75% of respondents are satisfied with our service” is a piece of quantitative data. Quantitative data is valuable for identifying trends, making comparisons, and measuring change over time. Additionally, completion rates can be calculated by dividing the number of questions answered by the total number of questions, which helps in understanding respondent behavior and survey relevance.
Qualitative Data: Unlike quantitative data, qualitative data is non-numerical. It includes open-ended responses, comments, and feedback that provide deeper insights into the respondents’ thoughts, feelings, and motivations. For example, “Respondents mentioned they appreciate the friendly customer service” is qualitative data. This type of data is valuable for understanding the context behind the numbers and uncovering insights that are not immediately apparent from quantitative data alone.
What to include in a survey report
Creating an effective survey report involves more than just presenting data. It’s about telling a story with the findings.
Here are the top elements to consider including in your survey report, to ensure it’s comprehensive, clear, and actionable:
1) Executive Summary
The executive summary offers a high-level overview of the findings. This section should be concise, typically one to two pages, and provide a snapshot of the entire report.
Start with the key objectives of the survey—why it was conducted and what it aimed to achieve. Then, highlight the major findings. End with significant recommendations that can drive action based on the survey insights. This summary should be able to stand alone, giving executives a quick yet comprehensive understanding of the report’s contents.
Importance: Provides a high-level overview of the survey findings.
Details to Include: Key objectives, major findings, and significant recommendations. Keep it concise and to the point, typically one to two pages.
2) Methodology
The methodology section is a key component for ensuring the transparency and credibility of your report. This part should detail how the survey was designed, the criteria for sample selection, and the methods used for data collection.
Clearly describe the timeline over which the survey was conducted, and the time period when data was collected. Address any limitations or potential biases that might affect the results. Being transparent about the methodology helps build trust and also allows others to replicate the study if needed.
Importance: Ensures transparency and credibility.
Details to Include: Survey design, sample selection, data collection methods, and the timeline. Include any limitations of the survey and how they were addressed.
3) Survey Respondent Demographics
Including respondent demographics is essential for providing context to the data. This section should present information about the survey participants, like age, gender, location, and any other relevant demographic factors.
This demographic breakdown helps to segment data for deeper analysis, allowing you to identify trends and patterns within specific groups. For instance, understanding the preferences and behavior of younger women can provide valuable insights into the usage of certain products, as their responses may differ significantly from older age groups. Understanding who the respondents are is key to interpreting the results accurately.
Importance: Helps in understanding the context of the data.
Details to Include: Information about the respondents such as age, gender, location, and other relevant demographics. This section can help in segmenting the data for deeper analysis.
4) Key Findings and Survey Results
The key findings section is where you highlight the most important results of the survey. Summarize the major insights, trends, and patterns discovered through your survey.
Use bullet points or short paragraphs to make these findings clear and impactful. This section should provide a quick reference to the most critical data points, giving readers an at-a-glance understanding of the survey’s main outcomes.
Importance: Highlights the most important results of the survey.
Details to Include: Summarize the major insights, trends, and patterns found in the data. Use bullet points for clarity and impact.
5) Data Visualization
Data visualization makes the survey data easier to understand and more engaging for your audience. This section should include pie charts, graphs, tables, and infographics to represent the data visually.
Effective visual elements can highlight trends, comparisons, and significant points in a way that raw numbers can't. Ensure that each visual element is clear, accurately labeled, and directly relevant to the data it represents.
Importance: Makes data easier to understand and more engaging.
Details to Include: Use charts, graphs, tables, and infographics to present the data. Ensure that visual elements are clear and accurately represent the data.
6) Detailed Analysis of Survey Data
A detailed analysis section is useful for diving deeper into survey results, breaking down the data by different segments. Here you can provide an interpretation of what the data means, and point out trends and insights that are not immediately obvious.
Leverage both quantitative and qualitative data in your survey analysis, explaining how the different data points relate to each other. This step is crucial for drawing meaningful conclusions and providing a solid foundation for your recommendations.
Make sure to include key metrics in your overall analysis. The response rate for example, which measures the percentage of questions answered by respondents, is a key factor to keep an eye on in your analysis. A low response rate can indicate issues like respondents skipping questions, abandoning surveys, or purposefully ignoring certain questions –– all behaviours that impact the reliability of your survey results.
Importance: Provides an in-depth look at the survey results.
Details to Include: Break down the data by different segments and variables. Discuss what the data means, identify trends, and provide interpretations. Include both quantitative and qualitative data analysis.
7) Recommendations
The recommendations section is where you translate the survey findings into actionable steps. Based on the data, provide clear and specific recommendations that address your survey objectives.
Explain how these recommendations can improve business outcomes and what steps should be taken to implement them. This section should offer practical advice that stakeholders can use to drive change and achieve better results.
Importance: Translates findings into actionable steps.
Details to Include: Based on the survey results, provide clear and specific recommendations. Explain how these recommendations can address the survey objectives and improve outcomes.
By including these elements, you can create a survey report that is not only informative but engaging and actionable. Each element plays a crucial role in ensuring that your data is easy to understand, making it easier for your audience to grasp the insights and take action.
Example survey report
To understand the power of a well-structured survey report, let's look at an example using Kapiche, a tool designed to streamline and enhance the survey reporting process.
Imagine you conducted a customer satisfaction survey to gauge the effectiveness of a new product launch. Here’s how Kapiche could help you craft impactful survey reports:
Title Page
You want the title page of your survey report to look professional and concise. It might read:
Title: Customer Satisfaction Survey Report - Q1 2024
Date: March 31, 2024
Survey Name: New Product Launch Feedback
Organization: ABC Tech Solutions
Author: Jane Doe, Head of Customer Insights
Executive Summary
Kapiche enables you to quickly summarize the key points from your survey. With those key points, the executive summary might include:
Objective: To evaluate customer satisfaction following the launch of our new product, the ABC Smart Home Hub.
Key Findings: 78% of customers reported satisfaction with the product. Common positive feedback highlights the ease of setup and user-friendly interface. However, 15% mentioned issues with the mobile app connectivity.
Recommendations: Focus on improving the mobile app and provide additional customer support for setup issues.
Methodology
Connecting the data from your survey tool into Kapiche, you can document your methodology for clarity up front:
Design: The survey consisted of 15 questions, including both multiple-choice and open-ended questions.
Sample: 500 customers who purchased the product within the first month of launch.
Data Collection: Conducted via email with a follow-up reminder sent one week later.
Limitations: Potential bias due to self-selection and non-response.
Respondent Demographics
Kapiche can automatically generate demographic breakdowns, to paint a picture of each survey respondent:
Age: 18-24 (10%), 25-34 (40%), 35-44 (30%), 45-54 (15%), 55+ (5%)
Gender: Male (55%), Female (45%)
Location: North America (60%), Europe (20%), Asia (15%), Other (5%)
Key Findings
Use Kapiche's text analytics tools to highlight the most significant insights across your data. Whatever survey platform you use, you can easily route all your data into Kapiche's feedback brain to get a clear view of data from any source.
Overall Satisfaction: 78% satisfied, 12% neutral, 10% dissatisfied
Top Positive Feedback: Easy setup (65%), User-friendly interface (60%)
Top Negative Feedback: Mobile app issues (15%), Limited integration options (10%)
Data Visualization
Leverage Kapiche's storyboard view to transform raw data into engaging visuals. Keep in mind the way your audience will consume the survey report – think about optimizing your presentation to viewed both from a small phone screen, or traditional landscape view.
Satisfaction Levels: Pie charts showing the distribution of satisfaction ratings
Common Feedback Themes: Word clouds highlighting frequently mentioned terms
Demographic Insights: Bar graphs comparing satisfaction levels across different age groups
Detailed Analysis
Dive deep into survey views with Kapiche's data segments and get an in-depth analysis of your data. Kapiche helps you count individual respondents, and understand how they relate to the whole. For example:
Segment Analysis: Satisfaction levels by age group show that younger customers (18-24) are less satisfied compared to other age groups.
Sentiment Analysis: Positive sentiment around setup ease but negative sentiment clusters around the mobile app.
Trend Identification: Early adopters (first month purchasers) show higher satisfaction compared to later buyers.
Recommendations
Make sure to include a strong set of actionable insights for decision-makers to reference. Whether your insights are supporting marketing efforts, product strategy, or customer engagement, you need to tailor how you present the recommendations in your survey reports. Kapiche's summary views help with this, serving up insights that lead to clear, actionable recommendations. For example:
Mobile App Improvements: Address connectivity issues and enhance user interface.
Customer Support: Provide additional resources for setup assistance, such as video tutorials and a dedicated support hotline.
Feature Enhancements: Consider integrating more smart home devices based on customer suggestions.
In summary
Kapiche is designed to help you not only create impactful survey reports but also to transform those reports into actionable strategies.
With Kapiche, you can dive deeper into your survey data, uncover hidden trends, and gain a comprehensive understanding of your customers’ needs and preferences. Our advanced analytics tools simplify the process of turning raw data into meaningful insights, ensuring you can make informed decisions with confidence.
Want to see it in action? Check out an on-demand demo of the platform and see how it can make your survey reporting a lot easier.
