Sending Your First Survey

demeterrr offers three ways to send surveys, each with different use cases:

Best for: Professional communications with detailed context

Advantages:

• No cost per send (unlimited on all plans)
• Can include branding and formatted text
• Higher engagement for detailed feedback
• Better for B2B customers

When to use:

• Post-purchase follow-ups
• Quarterly satisfaction check-ins
• Professional service feedback
• When you want to include context or instructions

Best for: Quick, immediate feedback with high open rates

Advantages:

• 98% open rate (vs. 20-30% for email)
• Instant delivery and fast responses
• Great for mobile-first customers
• Perfect for time-sensitive feedback

When to use:

• Right after an appointment or service
• For customers who prefer text
• When you need quick responses
• For short, simple surveys (2-3 questions)

Note: SMS sends count toward your monthly SMS quota. Check your plan limits in Billing Overview.

Best for: Let demeterrr choose the best channel automatically

How it works:

• Sends via SMS if customer has a phone number and you have SMS credits
• Falls back to email if SMS isn't available
• Prioritizes the channel most likely to get a response

When to use:

• When you want maximum response rates
• For automated sequences
• When you're not sure which channel is best

Perfect for testing or one-off sends.

Step 1: Navigate to Contacts

1. Click Contacts in the left sidebar
2. Find the customer you want to send to
3. Click the Send Survey icon (paper plane)

Step 2: Choose Survey and Channel

1. Select Survey: Choose from your active surveys
2. Select Channel:
   • Email: Customer receives an email with survey link
   • SMS: Customer receives a text message with link
   • Auto: demeterrr picks the best channel
3. Select Language (if applicable):
   • English
   • French
   • Auto-detect from contact preferences

Step 3: Assign Employee (Optional)

If you're tracking employee performance:

1. Select the employee who served this customer
2. Responses will be linked to this employee in reports
3. Leave blank if not tracking by employee

Step 4: Review and Send

1. Preview the message content
2. Click Send Survey
3. You'll see a confirmation message

The customer will receive the survey within seconds!

Perfect for sending to many customers at once.

Step 1: Navigate to Surveys

1. Click Surveys in the left sidebar
2. Find your survey
3. Click the Send button

Step 2: Select Recipients

Choose who receives the survey:

Option A: All Contacts

• Click Select All Contacts
• Sends to everyone in your contact list

Option B: Filter by Criteria

• Location: Send only to customers from specific locations
• Organization: Send only to customers from specific companies (B2B)
• Tags: Send to contacts with specific tags
• Custom Fields: Filter by any custom field values

Option C: Manual Selection

• Check the boxes next to specific contacts
• Useful for smaller, targeted groups

Step 3: Configure Send Settings

1. Channel: Choose Email, SMS, or Auto
2. Language: Choose default language for all recipients
3. Employee (optional): Assign an employee to all sends
4. Schedule (optional):
   • Send Now: Immediate delivery
   • Schedule for Later: Pick date and time

Step 4: Review and Confirm

1. Review the send count (e.g., "Sending to 47 contacts")
2. Check SMS credit usage if applicable
3. Click Send Survey

demeterrr will queue and send all surveys automatically!

The most powerful way to send surveys is through automated sequences.

What is a sequence? A sequence is a multi-step workflow that automatically sends surveys (and other communications) based on triggers or time delays.

Example sequence:

1. Trigger: Customer completes appointment
2. Step 1: Wait 2 hours
3. Step 2: Send CSAT survey via SMS
4. Step 3: If promoter (9-10), send review request via email
5. Step 4: If detractor (0-6), notify manager

To create a sequence:

1. Click Sequences in the left sidebar
2. Click Create Sequence
3. Follow the builder to add steps

Learn more in Creating Your First Sequence.

After sending, track your survey delivery in the Sendings tab:

1. Go to Responses in the sidebar
2. See all completed surveys
3. Filter by:
   • Survey type
   • Date range
   • Employee
   • Rating (promoters, passives, detractors)
   • Location

For Email:

• Best days: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday
• Best times: 10am-11am or 2pm-3pm
• Avoid weekends and Monday mornings

For SMS:

• Send within 1-4 hours after service
• Avoid early mornings (before 9am) or late evenings (after 8pm)
• Best time: 2pm-4pm (after lunch, before evening rush)

Always include:

• Customer's name (automatically inserted)
• Employee name who served them
• Specific service or location they visited

Example email subject:

Recommended frequency:

• Transactional surveys (after each visit): Maximum once per week
• Relationship surveys (NPS): Maximum once per quarter
• Check-in surveys: Maximum once per month

Why? Survey fatigue leads to lower response rates and unsubscribes.

Before sending to hundreds of customers:

1. Send a test to yourself or a colleague
2. Check both desktop and mobile rendering
3. Verify all links work
4. Review message tone and clarity
5. Check for typos

For Email:

• Subject line: Keep under 50 characters
• Preview text: First line should explain value ("Help us improve your experience")
• Body: 2-3 sentences maximum before the survey link

For SMS:

• Maximum 160 characters recommended
• Always identify your business
• Make the ask clear and simple

Example SMS:

If a customer unsubscribes:

• demeterrr automatically marks them as opted-out
• They won't receive future surveys
• You can view unsubscribed contacts in Contacts with "Opted Out" filter

Important: Unsubscribes are permanent and should be respected.

After sending, monitor key metrics:

1. Response Rate: % of customers who completed the survey

   • Good: 30-40%
   • Excellent: 40%+
   • Needs improvement: <20%

2. Channel Performance:

   • Compare email vs. SMS response rates
   • Adjust strategy based on data

3. Time to Response:

   • How quickly do customers respond?
   • Faster = better experience recall

If response rates are low, try:

✓ Shorten your survey (aim for under 2 minutes) ✓ Send sooner after the interaction ✓ Personalize the message more ✓ Test different channels (SMS often outperforms email) ✓ Add an incentive (optional: "Enter to win a $50 gift card") ✓ Improve your subject line or SMS copy

Possible causes:

• Invalid email address or phone number
• Email bounced back (doesn't exist)
• Phone number is landline (can't receive SMS)

Solution:

• Update contact information
• Try alternative channel
• Remove invalid contacts from list

Check credits:

1. Go to Settings > Billing
2. View current SMS balance
3. Purchase SMS add-on pack ($10 for 500 SMS)

Tip: Set up low-balance alerts in notification settings.

Immediate actions:

• Reduce survey length
• Send within 2-4 hours of service (not days later)
• Try SMS instead of email
• Add personalization
• Test different subject lines

Check:

• Survey status is "Active" (not Draft)
• Survey link isn't expired
• Link wasn't broken by email formatting

Solution: Resend the survey with a fresh link.

Now that you've sent your first survey:

1. Understand your dashboard - Track performance metrics
2. View and analyze responses - Turn feedback into insights
3. Set up automated sequences - Save time with automation
4. Manage Google reviews - Connect your Google Business Profile

How much does it cost to send surveys?

• Email: Unlimited, included in all plans
• SMS: Counts toward your monthly SMS quota (varies by plan)

Can I send to the same customer multiple times? Yes, but be mindful of survey fatigue. We recommend waiting at least 1 week between sends.

What if a customer doesn't have an email or phone? demeterrr will skip contacts without valid contact information for the selected channel.

Can I cancel a scheduled send? Yes, go to Sendings tab, find the pending send, and click Cancel.

Do I need customer permission to send surveys? For email: No, if they're existing customers (transactional emails are allowed). For SMS: Yes, ensure you have explicit consent to text them.

How do I know if my survey was delivered? Check the Sendings tab for delivery status updates in real-time.

Ready to see how your customers respond? Check your dashboard! 📊