A good survey is short, neutral and clearly worth the respondent’s time. In Canada, it should also be available in French where your audience expects it and handle personal information carefully. Here’s how to build one with Mailpro.
1. Start with one decision
Write down the decision the survey will inform: “Should we open on Sundays in Winnipeg?” or “Which new service do our Quebec clients want first?” Every question should help answer it. If it doesn’t, cut it.
2. Choose the right format
- Satisfaction: a rating scale plus one open question. Our customer satisfaction survey templates are a quick start.
- Market research: multiple-choice and ranking questions. See the market research survey page.
- Staff feedback: anonymous questions on workload, tools and management, as in our job satisfaction survey.
3. Write neutral questions
Avoid leading wording (“How much did you love…”). Ask one thing per question. Offer “Not applicable” where some respondents can’t answer. For national surveys, make sure regional terms are understood everywhere: a “double-double” is clear in Ontario but not necessarily to every reader elsewhere.
4. Build the French version
Translate the whole questionnaire, including instructions and the thank-you page, and have it reviewed by a native Canadian French speaker. Keep the same question order and answer options so results are comparable. Let respondents pick their language on the first screen.
5. Handle privacy properly
Explain the purpose, whether answers are anonymous, and how long you keep them. Collect names or emails only if you need to follow up. Under PIPEDA and Quebec’s Law 25, that transparency is expected, not optional. Mailpro stores responses in Switzerland, outside US jurisdiction.
6. Distribute at the right time
Share the survey by email to contacts who have consented to hear from you, by link on social media, or by QR code at your location. Avoid long weekends such as Canada Day or Thanksgiving, when response rates tend to dip, and schedule email invitations by time zone. Send one polite reminder to non-respondents a few days later.
A quick checklist before launch
- Can the survey be completed in five minutes or less?
- Does it work on a phone?
- Are both language versions identical in structure?
- Is it clear whether answers are anonymous?
- Have two colleagues, one in each language, completed it as a test?
7. Analyze and act
Watch results arrive in the survey statistics dashboard. Compare English and French responses and different provinces. Then close the loop: tell respondents what you learned and what you’ll change. People who see their feedback used are more likely to answer next time.
For an overview of survey features, return to online surveys in Canada.