Item: SurveyMonkey
Rating: 8
Author: Mitchell Terpstra

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

My organization uses SurveyMonkey for B2C clients to survey current and potential customers to gauge interest in possible expansions to the product line or preferred versions of new product packaging; for B2B clients, we use SurveyMonkey to do occasional check-ins with customers to make sure their needs/our services are aligned, and also to get feedback on events to make them more impactful the next time around.

Pros and Cons

Intuitive survey-building interface with many possible question types
Allows to pay for targeted survey respondents if you don't have audience already
Multiple methods for distributing services, makes easy to disseminate

Not enough on the design-customization side to fully brand surveys in the way you'd always want to
Pricing models are not always well-fitted to business needs or company size
Customer service can be subpar

Return on Investment

Saved us $1000s on outsourcing quantitative research to outside firms when we can do it in house

Alternatives Considered

Qualtrics CoreXM, Typeform, Google Forms, Doodle and Mailchimp

Honestly, SurveyMonkey was on our radar before most of these other options, and as it has met basically all our needs, we've felt no need to switch. For the record, Typeform's interfaces for their surveys are much more beautiful and enjoyable to use.

Key Insights

Do you think SurveyMonkey delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with SurveyMonkey's feature set?

Yes

Did SurveyMonkey live up to sales and marketing promises?

Yes

Did implementation of SurveyMonkey go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy SurveyMonkey again?

Yes

Other Software Used

Google Forms, Typeform, Qualtrics CoreXM

Usability

Super intuitive--however, every now and then, you'll run into a type of question you'd wish to ask but isn't available. Either that, or you wish you could present the question in a more interactive way than their question-options allow for.

Support Rating

Often customer service will just point to existing resources than deal with your specific question at hand

Likelihood to Recommend

If you reach the stage in the decision-making process where you have a number of possible right answers before you, SurveyMonkey is well-suited to collecting data that'll help you make a more informed decision. For example, my agency will use SurveyMonkey to send out possible packaging-and-label designs for a forthcoming product to an audience of our client's most loyal customers, and thereby find out which packaging concepts are the most likely to hit home with our target audience.

Quickest Learning Curve, Easiest/Best Options for Survey Distribution

Overall Satisfaction with SurveyMonkey