If you’re running B2B surveys, you know the drill: you need clear, useful answers, but most survey tools make it too easy to write vague, leading, or just plain confusing questions. If you use Appinio, you get speed and reach, but you’re still on the hook for question quality. This guide is for anyone who wants better B2B responses—marketers, product folks, founders, or anyone tired of sifting through noise.
Let’s get into the nuts and bolts of designing B2B survey questions in Appinio that don’t just fill a dashboard, but actually give you answers you can use.
Step 1: Start With the End in Mind
Before you even open Appinio, get painfully clear on what you need to know. Sounds obvious, but most B2B surveys go off the rails because people start brainstorming questions instead of outcomes.
- What business decision are you trying to make? If you can’t connect a question to a real decision, you don’t need it.
- Who do you actually want to answer? Not “business people”—what job titles, what industries, what company sizes?
- What’s going to be actionable? Don’t ask what you won’t use.
Pro tip: Write down your top 1-3 survey goals in plain English. Keep them in front of you while you build the survey. Toss any questions that don’t support them.
Step 2: Know Appinio’s Strengths and Weaknesses
Appinio is great for fast, mobile-first surveys and access to a big panel. But you need to play to its strengths:
What works:
- Short, simple questions (mobile-first means nobody wants to read a novel on their phone)
- Multiple choice and scaled responses (easy to analyze)
- Clear, jargon-free language
What doesn’t:
- Super niche audiences — Appinio’s B2B panel is growing, but don’t expect CFOs at Fortune 100s to be waiting around all day.
- Complex logic or branching — Keep it simple. If you need a choose-your-own-adventure survey, look elsewhere.
- Long open-ended questions — People give you junk if you make them type too much, especially on a phone.
Ignore: The temptation to use every question type “because it’s there.” Stick to the basics unless you have a rock-solid reason.
Step 3: Define Your Audience Filters Carefully
Appinio lets you target by things like industry, job title, company size, and more. But don’t get greedy.
- Be specific, but not so narrow you get 10 respondents. If you’re torn, err on broader and filter later in analysis.
- Use plain language for roles and industries. “Decision maker in IT” is better than “Director of Cloud Transformation.”
- Double-check your audience estimates. Appinio shows you how many people fit your filters—use it.
Pro tip: If you care about a niche role, add a screener question at the start. Example: “Are you involved in purchasing software for your company?” (Yes/No)
Step 4: Write Questions Real People Understand
This is where most B2B surveys fall apart. Don’t write like an MBA textbook. Your questions need to be:
- Short: 1-2 sentences, max.
- Clear: No jargon, buzzwords, or double negatives.
- Focused: One idea per question.
Examples
Bad:
To what extent does your organization’s digital transformation strategy align with cross-functional KPIs?
(Honestly, what?)
Better:
Does your company have a plan for using new technology to improve business processes?
(Yes/No/Not sure)
Step 5: Build Smart Multiple Choice Questions
Multiple choice is your friend, but lazy options will mess up your data.
- Mutually exclusive answers: No overlap between choices.
- Exhaustive options: Offer “Other” or “None of the above” if needed.
- Randomize order (if Appinio allows), to avoid bias toward the first option.
Example
Bad:
What is your company’s size?
- Small
- Medium
- Large
(Who knows what those mean?)
Better:
How many employees does your company have?
- 1–10
- 11–50
- 51–200
- 201–500
- 501+
Step 6: Use Scales Sparingly—and Clearly
Rating scales (like 1–5 or 1–7) are fine, but only if every point is labeled. Don’t make people guess what “3” means.
- Label every anchor: e.g., “1 = Not important at all, 5 = Extremely important”
- Keep it short: 5-point scales are usually enough.
- Stick to one direction: Don’t flip “positive” and “negative” halfway through.
Pro tip: If you wouldn’t be able to answer the question yourself, rewrite it.
Step 7: Be Careful With Open-Ended Questions
You’ll want some qualitative data, but don’t expect a goldmine from mobile respondents.
- Use only when you truly need context.
- Be specific: “What’s your biggest challenge when choosing a vendor?” is better than “Any other comments?”
- Limit to 1–2 open-ended questions per survey.
Reality check: Most open-ends will be short or generic. If you need deep insight, run follow-up interviews.
Step 8: Avoid Leading and Double-Barreled Questions
- No nudging: Don’t ask, “How much do you agree that our product saves you time and money?”
- One thing at a time: Split “How satisfied are you with our pricing and customer service?” into two questions.
Watch for:
- Words like “clearly,” “obviously,” or “don’t you think...”
- Questions that mix two concepts.
Step 9: Test Before You Launch
Don’t just hit send and hope.
- Preview your survey: Use Appinio’s preview mode—check on both desktop and mobile.
- Send to a colleague: Fresh eyes catch unclear wording.
- Take it yourself: If you get bored or confused, so will your respondents.
Pro tip: Time yourself. If it takes more than 5 minutes, cut it down.
Step 10: Clean Up Your Data (and Your Expectations)
Even with perfect design, B2B panels can be scrappy. Here’s how to handle it:
- Screen out junk responses: Look for “speeders” (people who finish impossibly fast) or obviously fake open-ends.
- Filter by your screener question: Only analyze real decision-makers, not people who clicked at random.
- Don’t over-interpret small samples: If you get 30 responses from CTOs in biotech, that’s a directional signal, not gospel.
Ignore: Fancy graphics Appinio spits out if you don’t trust the data underneath.
Final Thoughts: Keep It Simple, Iterate Often
Most B2B surveys fail because people overthink, overcomplicate, or overestimate what they’ll get back. Write your questions simply, test them, and expect to learn and tweak as you go. The best insights come from clear, direct questions—and from not trying to answer everything in one go.
Keep it simple, stay skeptical, and let the results guide your next step.