How to create a survey campaign with Nudgesmart
Build a multi-step survey popup with NPS, star ratings, and open-text questions, then export responses as CSV to act on customer feedback.
Surveys are the cheapest research you'll ever run — but only if you ask the right shoppers, at the right moment, with questions short enough that they'll actually finish.
TL;DR
Pick the Customer Feedback Survey template (or add survey questions to any popup template), build a 3-5 question list mixing NPS, ratings, and open-text, decide whether email is required at the lead-capture stage, and publish. The Survey Responses tab auto-computes an NPS score, a star-rating distribution, and a CSV export. Surveys win when they're short, neutrally worded, and shown to shoppers with a real opinion — typically post-purchase or on the cart page, not on the homepage.
When surveys win (and when they don't)
Surveys work best when the shopper has experience worth sharing. Good moments to ask:
- Post-purchase — the order is fresh and the shopper is most likely to give honest feedback.
- On the cart page — useful for "what almost stopped you from buying?" before they leave.
- In a thank-you flow — a 1-2 question NPS prompt after order confirmation gets the highest response rates.
- For brand or product research — when you genuinely don't know what to launch next.
Bad moments: top-of-funnel browsing pages, blog and About-Us pages, and anywhere in checkout. Surveys belong where the shopper has already formed an opinion, not where you're hoping to provoke one.
Step 1 · Pick a survey template
In the campaign editor, choose the Customer Feedback Survey template (or any template, then add survey questions to it via the visual editor).
Template picker showing the Customer Feedback Survey template with the Insights badge
Screenshot coming soon
The Customer Feedback Survey template carries the Insights badge in the template library and ships with the four-stage flow already configured. If you need custom branding, drop a survey block into any popup template via the visual editor instead. Nudgesmart distinguishes between full multi-question surveys (the focus of this article) and quick emoji feedback widgets, which capture a single tap of "loved it / fine / disappointed". Use the full survey for structured data; use quick emoji feedback when you only want a directional pulse.
Step 2 · Build the question list
In the Survey Questions panel, click Add a new question and pick a type. Nudgesmart supports 8 question types organized into Basic and Rating categories.
Question editor with the 8 question type buttons grouped under Basic Question Types and Rating Question Types
Screenshot coming soon
Basic Question Types:
- Multiple Choice — pick one from 2-5 choices. Good for "Where did you hear about us?"
- Yes/No — binary feedback. Good for "Did you find what you were looking for?"
- Open Text — free-form responses. Good for "What would you change about the checkout?"
- Checkbox (Multi-select) — pick multiple options. Good for "Which features matter most?"
- Dropdown — pick one from a long list. Good for "What's your industry?"
Rating Question Types:
- Star Rating (1-5) — classic 5-star feedback. Best for product or experience reviews.
- Scale (1-10) — granular satisfaction scoring when you want more resolution than 5 stars.
- Net Promoter Score — the standard "How likely are you to recommend us to a friend or colleague?" question, scored 0-10.
Three or four questions is the right length for almost every store. Five is the max before completion rates drop sharply.
Step 3 · Sequence the survey across stages
Survey campaigns flow through 4 stages: Introduction, Questions, Lead Capture, and Thank You. The campaign moves from one stage to the next as the shopper progresses; you can style each stage independently.
Stage editor showing the four-step Introduction, Questions, Lead Capture, and Thank You tabs across the top of the visual editor
Screenshot coming soon
The four stages give you room to set context, run the questions, optionally collect an email, and close with a thank-you message. Within the Questions stage, shoppers see one question at a time — the next question appears as soon as the previous answer is submitted. There's no per-answer routing: the order you list questions in the editor is the order the shopper sees. That's a feature, not a limitation. A predictable, linear flow finishes faster and produces cleaner data than branching surveys. If different audiences need different questions, run two separate campaigns with different page-targeting rules.
Step 4 · Capture responses
Decide whether to require an email at the Lead Capture stage or keep responses anonymous.
The trade-off:
- Required email — higher data quality and lets you follow up, but lower completion (some shoppers bail at the gate).
- Optional email — best of both in practice. Shoppers who want follow-up leave their email; the rest finish anonymously.
- Anonymous only — highest completion, best for sensitive feedback where shoppers won't speak honestly under their name.
If you collect email and plan to add shoppers to a marketing list, make consent explicit on the form ("By submitting you agree to receive occasional emails"). Pre-ticked consent boxes are not valid under GDPR.
Step 5 · Analyze results
Open the campaign and click the Survey Responses tab to see real-time data.
Survey Responses tab showing NPS Score card, Star Rating Distribution chart, and a filterable response table with Export CSV button
Screenshot coming soon
Four tools are computed automatically — there's nothing to set up:
- NPS Score card — shows your score from -100 to +100 with a breakdown of Promoters (9-10), Passives (7-8), and Detractors (0-6). Updates live as responses come in.
- Star Rating Distribution — a bar chart showing how many shoppers gave each star rating. A flat distribution means shoppers are split; a sharp spike at 5 means you've got something working.
- Filters — search responses by email, or filter to "With Email" / "Without Email".
- Export CSV — top right of the response table. The CSV includes one column per question, plus email, timestamp, and metadata.
Common pitfalls
- The survey is too long. Keep it to 3-5 questions. Every extra question drops completion by ~10%, and the answers from a 12-question survey skew toward the few patient enough to finish — usually not your typical shopper. Nielsen Norman Group's survey design tips cover this in depth.
- You ask leading questions. "How much did you love our checkout?" pre-loads positivity. Use neutral phrasing: "How was your checkout experience?"
- You don't act on the responses. A survey with no follow-up burns trust. Even a "thanks — here's a 10% off code" automation is better than silence.
- You run the survey on every page. Surveys belong post-purchase or on cart-abandon — never as a homepage interruption to first-time visitors.
Frequently asked questions
What's a good survey response rate?
Expect 5-15% for incentivized post-purchase surveys (shopper gets a discount code for completing) and 1-5% for anonymous on-site polls. Below 1% means the timing is wrong, not the questions — try a higher-intent moment first.
Can I add a survey to a popup that already exists?
Yes. Open any campaign in the visual editor, drag in a survey element, and configure the questions. The four-stage flow only applies to campaigns built from the Customer Feedback Survey template. Other campaigns can include a single embedded survey question — useful for a quick "Why are you leaving?" prompt on an exit-intent popup, for example.
Should I require an email for survey responses?
Optional usually wins. You get more responses without the gate, and shoppers who want follow-up will leave their email voluntarily. The exception is research where you need to follow up with respondents — then require email and accept the lower completion rate.
How do I export survey data for analysis in a spreadsheet?
Click Export CSV in the Survey Responses tab and open the file in Google Sheets, Excel, or any analysis tool. For longitudinal NPS tracking, export weekly and append rows to a master sheet — Nudgesmart shows your current score, but a spreadsheet is the easiest way to chart the trend.
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