Home → Arctic Reservations → Evaluations → Tips for Creating an Effective Evaluation Form
7.3. Tips for Creating an Effective Evaluation Form
In this section we will offer some insight on how to create an effective evaluation form. There is balance to be achieved between creating a short and simple form and still being able to collect useful information that you can take forward to improve your services. Most guests are not opposed to providing feedback; however, many will abandon the process if it becomes too lengthy or involved so here are some tips to keep in mind when you are designing your evaluation form.
Tip #1:
Keep it Short. The ideal number of questions for an Evaluation form is 5 -7 questions. When an evaluation starts to climb above seven questions, your guests can become impatient and choose to just abandon the process rather than completing the form. Remember, you are asking your guests to take time out of their day to provide you with feedback. Many are happy to provide their input, but do not want to have to answer a multitude of questions to do so.
Tip #2:
Beware of too many "Open Ended" fields. "Open Ended" fields are fields that require your guest to enter something in a blank. This can be a comment box, a question like "Who was your guide?" or a "Rating - Open Ended" field. While "Open Ended" fields can be useful for collecting comments and specific information, too many of them can turn off guests from the evaluation process. It is best to limit your "Open Ended" fields to one or two at the most. The "Open Ended" fields should also not be "required" fields this way your guests can skip them if they don't want to take the time to fill them out. If these fields are "required" and your guest does not want to complete them they will not be able to submit any of their evaluation form answers until they complete the "required" fields. This can also lead to abandoned evaluation forms.
Tip #3:
Guests like "Choice" fields and "Rating - Grids". These fields require the least from your guests because all they have to do is choose an answer from a preset list of responses. This makes it easy for them to complete the form as they are not required to create an answer on their own. These fields also make it so the guests can complete the evaluation relatively quickly. Because of the simplicity and efficiency of these fields, more guests will complete the evaluation rather than abandoning it part way through the process. It is also easier to make these fields required without turning off your guests to the whole evaluation process. If your guests finds that the field they missed that is required is a multiple choice answer they will be more likely to just answer that question quickly and then re-submit their form than if the field that is required is one that requires more effort like typing in answer or comments.
Tip #4:
"Choice" fields and "Rating" fields are easily tracked in the "Summary Reports" avaialble for each evaluation form you create. When your guests complete the evaluation forms, Arctic not only records their reponses for your to see but it also takes those responses and builds a "Summary Report" that you can access to see how well you are doing for each of the fields you have asked about on your Evaluation Form. "Choice" fields and "Rating" fields are the best fields to use because the data gathered through these fields can easily be graphed. "Open Ended" text fields are not easily graphable because these fields will vary widely in content. To access the "Summary Reports" for your evaluation forms, go to the "Settings" page under "Evaluations" and click the "Pencil" icon next to "Manage Evaluation Forms". On the "Browse Evaluations" page, click the "Summary" button as shown here:
Tip #5:
Make your evaluation forms fun. Adding fun answer choices to your fields makes completing the evaluation form less of a chore. Your business is to provide your guests with a fun and memorable experience, carry that philosophy into your evaluation forms as well. Answers like "Ummm, maybe they should consider a career change", "You guys rock!" or "Non-stop Adrenaline Buzz" are great ways to liven up your evaluations and will make it a more enjoyable experience for your guests.
Tip #6:
Strike while the iron is hot. When you are sending your guests their evaluations, timing is everything. We have found a good rule of thumb is to send your evaluation emails 2 - 3 days after a multi-day trip ends. This gives the guests time to get home and sort through other messages in their inbox before being asked to complete an evaluation for you. This also is still soon enough after the trip that the experience is still fresh in their minds making it easier for them to complete the evaluation form. For day trips, we recommend sending your evaluation emails the day after the trip, this again gives the guest time to make it home but they still get the evaluation request while the trip is fresh in their minds.
Additional Insights:
Here are some other things to keep in mind:
1. "Choice" fields and "Rating - Grid" fields are easier for guests to answer on their smart phones or tablets. This can come in handy, if your evaluation emails end up arriving while your guest is still traveling. If guests can easily complete the evaluation on their mobile device, you may get more responses.
2. The "Is Required" setting for each field should be used wisely. You do not want to make it too difficult for your guests to complete the form. If the guests can skip over questions even though they may not have answered all of the questions on the form, you may get more responses overall than you would have gotten if they were forced to answer every question on the evaluation. That being said if the questions are simple "Choice" fields, it is probably safe to require your guests to answer these questions. However, even if all of your fields are "Choice" fields, if you have too many questions and they are all "required", your guests are likely to abandon the process as well.
Balancing all of the tips and insights above will help you create a better more effective evaluation form which will allow you to collect the data you need to continue to improve your services. If you have more questions or need further assistance please contact technical support by emailing us at support@arcticreservations.com.