The Ultimate Checklist for Choosing a Survey & Form Solution

Choosing the right survey and form solution is more than a tactical decision—it’s a strategic one that can redefine how your business collects, integrates, understands, and acts on feedback data. A modern, comprehensive platform doesn’t just gather data; it transforms it into actionable insights that drive efficiency, enhance customer experiences, and fuel business growth.

With countless options available, finding a platform that aligns with your needs is critical. This guide simplifies the process by framing your evaluation around various criteria.

Evaluate Based on the Four Pillars of Feedback Management

An effective survey and form solution should support the full feedback lifecycle—Collect, Integrate, Understand, and Act—ensuring data flows seamlessly from collection to action for meaningful results.

1. Collect: Seamlessly Gather Insights Across Touchpoints

   A robust feedback solution should simplify data collection while tailoring the experience to respondents, ensuring every interaction contributes valuable insights. By meeting customers with personalized surveys, on their preferred channels and in their native languages, you ensure higher engagement rates, richer data, and a more inclusive feedback ecosystem.

   • Customizable Surveys and Forms: Create branded surveys & forms that reflect your unique business needs using an intuitive WYSIWYG editor. Support for diverse question types—including multiple-choice, ranking, open-ended, and payment gateway integrations—ensures flexibility.
   • Personalization: Tailor questions to resonate with your audience, improving engagement.
   • Multi-Channel Distribution: Engage respondents where they are—email, SMS, WhatsApp, website embeds, or in-product widgets.
   • Global Accessibility: Leverage AI-powered translation to connect with a global audience in their preferred language, ensuring inclusivity and engagement.
   • Mobile-Optimized Design: Deliver fully responsive surveys for seamless participation on any device.

2. Integrate: Connect Feedback with Your Business Systems

   Feedback has the most impact when seamlessly integrated with transactional and operational data to create a unified view of your customers giving you deeper insights into customer behavior and preferences. Integration breaks down silos and enables teams to access feedback where it’s most relevant, streamlining workflows and driving informed decisions.

   • Salesforce Native Integration: Choose a solution that works natively within Salesforce, ensuring real-time data syncing and eliminating the need for external apps.
   • API and Third-Party Compatibility: Opt for platforms that support APIs and connect with other critical tools like CRMs, marketing automation, and analytics platforms.
   • Real-Time Data Mapping: Automate response mapping to Salesforce records for a unified, real-time view of your customer journey.

   By reducing manual tasks and integrating feedback into Salesforce, teams can focus on improving customer experiences and streamlining operations.

3. Understand: Transform Data into Actionable Insights

   Collecting data is only the beginning—understanding it is where the value lies. Advanced analytics empower proactive strategies, allowing you to act on emerging opportunities and mitigate potential risks with precision.

   • Real-Time Analytics: Instantly analyze responses with built-in tools, enabling agile decision-making.
   • Custom Dashboards and Advanced Analytics: Combine customer feedback with your CRM data using Salesforce reports and dashboards to gain a holistic view of business performance. For deeper insights, leverage BI tools like Tableau or Power BI for advanced data exploration and predictive analysis, unlocking trends, improving outcomes, and driving strategic decisions.
   • AI-Powered Sentiment Analysis: Leverage AI to uncover customer emotions, satisfaction drivers, and early churn signals from open-text feedback.
   • Trend Tracking: Monitor patterns over time to refine strategies, improve services, and stay ahead of customer needs.
   • Identify Root Causes: Go beyond surface-level metrics to uncover and address the underlying drivers of feedback trends.

   Insights empower proactive strategies, enabling businesses to identify opportunities and mitigate risks before they escalate.

4. Act: Close the Feedback Loop and Drive Results

   Timely action is the bridge between feedback and impact. Your platform should enable you to close the loop effortlessly. Automation frees up resources while ensuring timely responses, reinforcing trust and satisfaction among stakeholders.

   • Automate Actions: Use Salesforce Flows to automate follow-ups, and thank-you messages based on customer actions or timelines.
   • Response Mapping: Update Salesforce records in real time, ensuring feedback flows directly into workflows and informs your next steps.
   • Targeted Campaigns: Launch personalized campaigns and initiatives based on feedback trends, driving engagement and loyalty.

   Closing the feedback loop improves customer satisfaction, builds trust, and drives tangible results.

Data Security and Compliance

Protecting sensitive information is non-negotiable in today’s data-driven world.

• Data Protection: Confirm that the solution adheres to strict data security protocols to protect sensitive information collected through surveys.
• Compliance Standards: Ensure that the platform meets major compliance requirements (e.g., GDPR, HIPAA) to safeguard user data and privacy.
• Encryption: Look for solutions that offer data encryption both at rest and in transit to prevent unauthorized access.

If you are using the Salesforce platform, Salesforce native solutions leverage Salesforce’s security infrastructure, ensuring data protection and compliance with industry regulations.

Support and Resources

Even the best tools need strong support to maximize their value.

• Responsive Customer Support: Evaluate the availability of knowledgeable support that can assist with any issues or questions you may have.
• Comprehensive Training and Documentation: Access to training materials and documentation is essential for onboarding users effectively and ensuring they can leverage the platform’s features.

Cost Structure

A transparent pricing model ensures there are no surprises as your needs evolve.

• Transparent Pricing: Look for clear pricing structures without hidden fees. Ensure that the pricing model is scalable to grow with your organization’s needs.
• Unmetered Usage Options: Consider solutions that offer unmetered plans, allowing unlimited survey distribution without incurring additional charges.

Customer Success Stories

Understanding how others have succeeded with the solution can provide valuable insights.

• Customer Reviews: Explore user reviews on trusted platforms to gauge satisfaction levels, common challenges, and the overall reliability of the platform. Reviews often highlight day-to-day usability and support quality.
• Proven Track Record: Research case studies or testimonials from existing customers who have successfully implemented the solution.
• Industry Recognition: Check for reviews on trusted platforms to gauge customer satisfaction and product reliability.

If you are using the Salesforce platform, look for native solutions with strong reviews on the Salesforce AppExchange, which provide credibility and insights into long-term value.

SurveyVista + Salesforce: A Winning Combination

SurveyVista enhances your Salesforce investment by bringing advanced survey & form functionality directly into the platform. With its native design, SurveyVista eliminates integration complexity, enabling teams to collect, integrate, understand, and act on feedback data seamlessly within their existing workflows.

• Strengthen Team Efficiency: Empower your teams to work within the tools they already use daily, promoting consistency and reliability.
• Beyond surveys: SurveyVista is much more than a feedback tool. Maximize your investment by using SurveyVista for business forms and assessments. One app, many applications!

SurveyVista delivers a unified, scalable solution that integrates feedback into every aspect of your business, driving better decisions and outcomes.

The Next Step in Your Feedback Journey

The right survey and form solution doesn’t just tick boxes—it becomes a cornerstone of your feedback strategy. AI-powered features like sentiment analysis, automated survey distribution, and real-time analytics elevate your ability to collect actionable insights and make data-driven decisions to close the feedback loop to drive results.
Use this checklist to guide your evaluation and find a solution that empowers your business to collect, integrate, understand, and act on feedback with confidence that drives your business forward. Ready to see how SurveyVista delivers all this and more? Let’s talk!