Have you ever started an online survey, got bored with it, and never finished it? Chances are, you have. Typical online surveys have surprisingly low completion rates. In fact, one of our competitors (that offers
basic web surveys without attention to emotional responses or emojis) suggests that companies should expect just 10-15 percent of participants to actually answer all of their questions, with up to 40 percent if they’re truly lucky. In fact, based on a recent academic review of 45 different studies in the journal, Elsevier, “it is estimated that the response rate in the web survey on average is approximately 11 percent lower than that of other survey modes,” even when conducting scholarly research. Most online surveys simply aren’t captivating enough to keep their participants’ interest to the end.

Why does this matter? Isn’t it enough just to get some responses? Not quite. You see, the higher your completion rate, generally, the more accurate and actionable your survey will be. If you only ever hear the thoughts and feelings of the 10 percent who stuck with your survey until the bitter end, your results will be skewed. In addition, having a low completion rate can breed a general sense of boredom and disinterest in your brand, which isn’t great for building your reputation. To actually do their job – provide the information you need and help keep your audiences engaged with your company – your surveys need a high completion rate.

Well then, what exactly is a high completion rate? According to Michigan State University’s National Social Norms Center, “various studies described their response rate as ‘acceptable’ at 10 percent, 54 percent, and 65 percent, while others” suggested “38.9 percent, 40 percent, and 42 percent” would be satisfactory. The exact numbers may vary depending on the circumstance, but generally, the more, the merrier, and it should be roughly around if not over half.

With this in mind, Emojot is thrilled to report that our completion rate for the Pre-Super Bowl survey was 84.2 percent! That’s right: over 8 in every 10 people who began our Emotion Sensors™ finished it. We got hundreds of responses in just a few days, giving us an excellent 99 percent confidence level with a tiny 3.5 percent margin of error. This means that our Emotion Sensors™ was not only engaging, but produced scientifically dependable results .

What Changes Our Completion Rate

Emojot’s pre-Super Bowl Emotion Sensors™ success goes to show that listening to your audience on an emotional level and allowing them to share their perspectives with fun emoji-based responses works . If you think emojis are silly and whimsical, you’re correct! But they’re also a powerful tool to tap into your audience’s thoughts and feelings in a way they’ll actually respond . If you’ve been sticking with the plain old, 10-15 percent completion rate surveys that yield no real benefit for your business, it’s time to turn your sad-face into a happy-face with Emojot’s Emotion Sensors™.