Conversational survey best practices

Use these tips to make your conversational survey as compelling and effective as possible.

Include a welcome message.

Imagine that you are the prospective participant. If you receive an unexpected text message from a phone number you don't recognize, would you respond? Not likely. By contrast, if you know that the survey is from a known brand or trusted source, and understand why you are being asked to complete the activity (for example, as a follow-up after a recent purchase or transaction), you are much more likely to participate. Always start the activity with an intro message that:

  • Introduces yourself.
  • Gives some context about who you are and what the survey is about.
  • Mentions the opt-out.
  • Mentions the opt-in (optional).

Give participants a way to opt out.

Always give participants a way to opt out of receiving text messages. In the welcome message at the beginning, provide unsubscribe commands like STOP, END, QUIT, CANCEL, and UNSUBSCRIBE so that participants know what to text to end the survey at any time.

Straightforward opt-outs in SMS campaigns are covered by legislation such as:

  • The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the E.U.
  • Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL)
  • The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) and the CAN-SPAM act in the U.S.

Failure to provide an opt-out may result in legal or financial penalties.

Ensure participants have consented to receiving messages.

As a Conversational Surveys admin and an Alida customer, it is your responsibility to obtain opt-in consent from your audience before including them in SMS distributions. Once your organization obtains consent, keep a record of the following information:

  • When consent was obtained
  • How consent was obtained
  • Why consent was obtained
  • Manner of obtainment

Failure to present this information may result in a fine.

The Conversational Surveys app only checks whether the phone numbers you've provided are valid phone numbers. It's up to you to know whether participants consented to receiving the survey and to use the app's functionality responsibly.

Use the opt-in feature in the activity intro message to create an additional digital record of consent from respondents, to be used in the event of a dispute. The opt-in message does not replace getting prior consent to send SMS messages to your participants.

Keep messages brief.

One text message is equivalent to 160 characters. If a message exceeds 160 characters, it will be sent as two messages.