Survey Timer has been a feature on Survey Analytics for a while but it’s now moved over to those of us who use and love QuestionPro.
I have to admit that when I heard about it, I didn’t quite get it. I didn’t understand the potential benefits that having a timed survey would offer.
So to get a little more information and clarity on the subject, I talked to Aditya Bhat, our director of sales. Here’s a peek at our conversation.
What is Countdown Timer?
Countdown timer is a feature that actually sets a time limit on a survey. Respondents literally have to complete the survey within a certain period of time. When the timer runs out — the survey closes and the responses are marked as incomplete. The minimum time limit is 1 minute and the maximum is 60 minutes.
Why would you ever want your survey to time out?
Believe it or not, answering a survey under a given time frame actually increases the quality of responses in terms of capturing the first thing that comes to the respondents mind. A classic use case would be a quiz survey.
A Quiz Survey?
Of course, surveys aren’t just for finding out what people think, they can be an ideal tool to find out what people know. And using a timer increases their concentration on the material. Too often, respondents are disengaged from surveys – they simply click on the extreme ratings; lowest, highest or right down the middle. Often these responses can’t be used. Adding a timing feature increases their engagement and full participation.
What’s the benefit of this?
The biggest advantage of this feature is to reduce drop out rates. The respondents have to complete the survey as soon as they start it as there is a timer. They can not leave it and walk away from their desk etc.
Who do you see using this feature the most?
Market Researchers and people running Employe satisfaction surveys. When you have the employee answer the survey in a give time frame will get you more precise data as they dont have much time to think and alter their answer.
Countdown timer follows the gaming trend
If you’ve been reading our articles, you know that we’re big fans of making surveys more engaging and more fun — the industry calls it Gamification. Big brands are using games to get their customers and fans more involved and online and mobile surveys have jumped into the fray as well.
If you haven’t tried the countdown timer feature in your surveys — be sure to give it a try. Follow the help link to set it up: https://www.questionpro.com/help/610.html
