Best Time to Distribute a Survey for Higher Response Rate

Sending out surveys is not just about the questions; it's also about when you ask them. The timing of your survey distribution can be the deciding factor between receiving disappointing response rates or a flood of valuable feedback. Pinpointing the ideal time to send a survey is a strategic move that significantly boosts participation and ensures a high response rate.

To elevate the success of your survey campaigns, gaining a profound understanding of your audience's availability and engagement patterns is paramount. Recognizing the opportune moments to reach them can make all the difference in the effectiveness of your surveys, ultimately determining their success.

In this blog, we’ll look at the best time to send a survey and proven tactics and insights to help you get the best response rate. Discover the secrets to efficiently timing your surveys, the mistakes you should avoid, and actionable suggestions for increasing engagement and gathering the data you need for informed decision-making.

Best day and time to distribute a survey

The best time to send a survey depends largely on the audience we are sending to. There are two types of audience. Respondents fall into these two categories:

B2C:  These are customers or potential customers that purchase everyday consumables
B2B:  These are employees and workers in business communities.
Now let us look into them one after the other.

The best day and time to distribute a B2C surveys

People usually think a Friday or Saturday is best for sending surveys since respondents might have more time on those days. As it turns out, those are not the ideal days to ship your survey.
Studies by Checkmarket and SurveyMonkey have found that weekdays are the best for sending survey emails to customers. That sounds counterintuitive because we’re all overwhelmed with work on weekdays. But this is what the studies reveal, folks.

If we had to guess, we’d think it’s because people are more diligent with their emails on weekdays. Some of those extra responses might be people looking for ways to procrastinate on their work. Either way, the results are in on this one. Monday is the best day to send a survey.
It’s best to avoid sending the surveys during work hours if it’s a customer survey. You also don’t want to send out these surveys on the weekends since people are in no mood to fill out surveys.

Multiple studies have revealed that surveys sent to customers between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. get the most responses. People are mentally more complimentary, yet not completely tuned out of their emails. They’re more likely to engage in a light-intensity activity like filling out a survey during after-work hours.

The best day and time to distribute a B2B surveys

The best practices for B2B surveys are much like those for any other work email. They should be sent during work hours only.
For B2B surveys, you’re looking strictly at weekdays. If you send an employee engagement survey or a performance evaluation, it should be done during work hours. Businesses that make the mistake of sending B2B surveys outside of work hours will inevitably suffer from low responses.

Out of weekdays, some preliminary data from Checkmarket indicates that Monday might be the best day for a B2B survey. We’re not quite sure why that is, but that’s what surveys are for, folks: to give us results we didn’t expect but can benefit from.

The timing for B2B surveys is different from B2C surveys. Ideally, you want to catch employees during lighter workloads, but simultaneously, you must only send the surveys within work hours. Here’s what we recommend.

You don’t want to send a B2B survey between 12 noon and 3 pm. That’s when employees are either on a lunch break or busy with calls.

The best time slots for sending B2B surveys are either early morning, from 10 am to 12 noon, or later in the afternoon, from 3 pm to 6 pm. Data from multiple surveys indicates that these timings get more responses for B2B surveys.

Best tips for choosing the time to send Survey Emails

Sending emails has become a routine part of our workdays, often done without much consideration for the timing. However, when it comes to survey emails, timing plays a critical role in garnering the highest number of responses. Overcoming the tendency to overlook the timing aspect is essential for achieving optimal results in your survey efforts.

1. First Time’s the Charm

While sending casual work emails allows recipients to address them at their convenience, the dynamics change when it comes to survey emails. The crucial distinction is that recipients are less likely to engage with a survey if they don't do so the first time they encounter it. Striking at the right moment becomes imperative. To conduct a survey that effectively captures the insights you seek, understanding the best time to send it is essential.

2. Better Responses at a Better Time

Consider Susan on a hectic Friday afternoon – she's not in the ideal mental space to complete a survey. Responses gathered during such times are often passive and lack thoughtful consideration. The mental state of your recipients directly influences the quality of responses. Sending surveys when respondents are mentally free and have the time to engage ensures more thoughtful and meaningful responses.

3. More Satisfaction, Less Frustration

Survey emails can be a source of frustration, especially when they intrude on your time. The ideal solution lies in sending surveys promptly. This approach ensures that customers aren't frustrated by untimely survey requests. Recognizing that customer satisfaction is paramount, the timing of survey distribution becomes crucial in enhancing the overall survey experience.

In simple terms, the best time to send a survey is not merely a trivial consideration. It significantly impacts the effectiveness of your surveys, influencing the quality of responses and overall respondent satisfaction. By being mindful of the timing, you can optimize your survey strategy to elicit meaningful insights from your audience.

10 Essential Checkpoints for Maximizing Survey Responses

Optimal Timing: Ensure you send your survey at the most opportune time, typically mid-week and mid-day, to capture respondents when their engagement is at its peak.

Brevity Matters: Keep your survey concise and to the point. Lengthy surveys often result in higher dropout rates as respondents may lose interest.

Clarity is Key: Guarantee that your survey questions are clear, concise, and free from ambiguity to prevent any confusion among respondents.

Relevance is Crucial: Validate that your survey content is relevant to your audience. Surveys lacking relevance are more likely to be overlooked.

Offer Incentives: Encourage survey participation by offering incentives or rewards. This can significantly boost engagement and completion rates.

Mobile-Friendly Design: Ensure your survey is mobile-friendly, considering that many users access surveys through their smartphones. A responsive design enhances accessibility.

Personalize Survey: Add a personal touch to your survey invitation and questions whenever possible. Personalization makes respondents feel valued and increases their willingness to participate.

Reminder Emails: Implement a reminder email strategy for individuals who haven't completed the survey after a few days. Gentle reminders can prompt additional responses.

Easy Access: Simplify survey access by eliminating unnecessary logins or complicated steps. A straightforward process encourages more respondents to participate.

Privacy Assurance:  Communicate to respondents that their data is confidential and will be handled responsibly. Assuring privacy fosters trust and encourages candid responses.

Conclusion

If you’re thinking about the best time to send a survey, you’re already well on your way to getting more responses. Following these best practices will ensure that you’re doing everything you can to get the most responses to your survey.

Enquete helps you get the best responses that can give you valuable insights to improve your business. Our survey design and marketing tool guides you at every step towards making the best decisions for conducting a successful survey. We also have various templates for all your survey needs, from customer satisfaction feedback to NPS surveys.
When next you are sending out a survey, following the best time to send a survey will make your recipients feel less frustrated and more willing to respond. To conduct a successful survey and get plenty of responses, that’s exactly what you’ll need. To get started, check out this quick guide on how to boost response rate rate with mobile friendly surveys.