Survey Links are direct links to your survey that are generated in AskNicely’s “Survey Links” App, which can then be embedded as clickable URLs or exported as QR Codes.
This is a potential solution for those who wish to capture feedback in a more “passive” fashion than the methods we recommend (sending emails, in-app Web Surveys, or SMS surveys) - a typical application is embedding a link in your email signature or displaying the QR code in your store.
Know Before You Go
Because these surveys by default can be delivered to anyone, anywhere, the responses will be captured anonymously in AskNicely - you will not have the ability to “Close the Loop” by replying back to the people who take the survey.
We have a question type available in the survey builder called "Contact Lookup Question". This question will ask the respondent for their email or mobile number and attempt to match them to an existing contact in the contact list which will build a response history. This will also attach any custom data attributed to the contact to the completed Survey Link Response. If an existing contact isn’t found then a new contact with that email/number will be created. The Contact Lookup Question will only be displayed if the response is anonymous, otherwise it will skip over that question.
You can add Custom Fields to a link and set a single value to enable customization of the survey and relate the response to this particular value, so that you can filter the Dashboard and group your feedback based on where and how it was collected.
Each Survey Link view (including testing) will count against your subscription's survey allowance including:
- Daily/Monthly limits
- Overall Response Rate
Jump To
Configure the Survey Link with the right Custom Fields
How to deactivate Survey Link (if needed)
Create a new Survey Template (or choose an existing one)
You can create a Survey Link with a new survey or use one you already have.
To allow for easy filtering, our recommendation is to create a new Survey Template that you will use just for these types of surveys. You can do this by going to Survey > Manage Templates and create a “Custom Survey Template” (see this help article on how to set up a new template). Name it something descriptive so you can quickly understand what it is.
Within the template, ensure you change the text copy so that it does no longer reference ‘email’ as deployment method. AskNicely Templates include a footer which defaults to This email was sent by AskNicely on behalf of {company name}. We recommend changing this to ‘This survey is executed by AskNicely on behalf of {company name}.’ or your Survey Link templates.
Within the template you can also use any Custom Fields you have available in your account and include them as {customfield_c} - ensure you set the value for this Custom Field when creating your Survey Link later on so that it shows in the survey.
Configure the Survey Link
Go to App Store > Discover > Survey Links > Configure. Click “New Survey Link.”
A pop-up modal window will appear - you’ll want to use the “Survey Template” dropdown to select the custom Survey Template you just created.
Adding static Custom Data
Once you’ve selected your Survey Template, you’ll have the option to select any of the existing Custom Fields to attach to your survey responses. All of these Custom Fields correlate to the fields that have previously been created - if they’re not in AskNicely yet, you won’t be able to input it into the Survey Link. You can then choose an existing or add a new value that will apply to the survey and the responses collected from the anonymous contacts; add as many Custom Fields and Data Values into your Survey Link as you wish, but we recommend keeping it as simple as possible.
In the example below, I previously imported a Custom Field called Personal Trainer and loaded some of my Contacts who had that field with a value of Aydin Lang.
This Survey should only be given to Aydin's contacts, so all responses that come back from this Survey Link will already have a Personal Trainer field with a data value of Aydin Lang attached to them.
Setting a Timeout/Auto-Refresh
For use in "kiosk mode" applications, you may set a timeout duration (in seconds) for how long the survey page will wait without input before refreshing and displaying a new survey on screen.
Finishing Up
Click the big blue “Generate” button and the Survey Link will be created. You’ll have the option to paste the link elsewhere by clicking “Copy to Clipboard”, or you can click “Generate QR Code” to download a QR code right away.
Once created, your new Survey Link will live on the Configure page of the Survey Link app - you can return to copy the link again, download the QR code, or create new Survey Links with other Survey Templates, Custom Fields and associated Data Values.
Share the Survey Link
Every time someone clicks on a Survey Link, AskNicely will create a Contact Record, which will count as a Sent Survey in your Statistics.
Note: Testing will affect your Survey statistics.
A response that has come through a Survey Link will have this noted under thedeliverymethod column in your CSV download You can filter to include - or exclude - these responses on your Dashboard later by:
- Set filters to “Delivery Method IS NOT Survey Link”; or
- If you’ve created a separate template, “Survey Template IS NOT [Survey Template name]”; or
- If you’ve used a separate metric for these surveys, use the toggle on the Dashboard to show that particular metric.
Go ahead and test the surveys and make sure you’re happy with them. Once everything looks good, embed them as appropriate.
Passive Survey Links
You can share each Survey Link as you would any URL. Survey Links have been placed in Email Signatures, QR Codes in receipts, and directly in Support Chat.
Survey Links via SMS
Any SMS that contains a Survey Link will produce a "Delivered" stat. Once the link is clicked, a "Sent" and "Opened" stat will be recorded.
Be advised that posting these Survey Links too broadly across the internet could make your survey a target of fraud and misuse by people who did not actually have an interaction with your brand and business, which could distort your results.
How to Deactivate your Survey Link (if needed)
If you no longer want to use a link, you should go to the Survey Links > Configure page and click the ellipses in the corner of the Survey Link you wish to delete, then click “Deactivate.” This will disable the link so that the expiry page is shown instead if someone goes to the link. You can amend the Survey Expiry Message that will be shown on your Survey Template.