What is an intercept survey?

If someone has ever approached you to take a survey in a public place, it can be a little surprising. You may have been too busy to stop and answer questions, or maybe you were happy to lend your time to this ambush style of data collection. Whatever your experience, this type of survey is known as an intercept survey.

An intercept survey is like a spontaneous chat with people in public places, such as malls or parks. Instead of setting up interviews beforehand, researchers approach folks on the spot and ask questions. They use a set questionnaire to find out information about people’s preferences, opinions, or behaviors.

For example, imagine you’re a researcher investigating what people think about a new product. Instead of calling them up or sending out surveys, you hit the streets or hang out in a mall. You catch people in the moment and get their thoughts right there and then. It’s quick and direct, and you get a taste of diverse opinions. Here are some things to know about intercept surveys and how you can go about designing one yourself.

Types of intercept surveys

Intercept surveys come in a few different flavors, depending on where and how you catch people. Here are a few types to consider:

In-person interviews

This type of survey can happen at concerts, sports events, or festivals, and they typically target people attending specific gatherings. They’re perfect when you want to capture the vibe of a particular crowd or when you’re looking for a set of participants who have a unique interest or hobby.

Transit intercept survey

Ever been approached while waiting for a train or bus? That’s a transit intercept survey. Similar to in-person interviews, researchers catch people during their commutes. The topic of the survey will often be related to the mode of transportation or the agency that’s providing the participant’s ride.

Kiosk surveys

A kiosk survey can be great for gathering feedback in busy public places, like malls or town centers. Instead of researchers approaching individuals, there’s a kiosk — a stand or booth with a computer or tablet — inviting people to take a survey. It’s like a mini survey station.

Digital popup forms

A digital popup survey is like the online version of catching someone’s attention in the middle of their internet journey. It usually comes in the form of a box that suddenly appears on a website or app. It’s like the website saying, “Hey, quick question…” and you either click to participate or close the box if you’re not interested. These surveys can cover anything from user experience on a website to customer satisfaction with a product.

Embedded website surveys

An intercept survey embedded on a web page is a way to gather feedback from visitors while they’re browsing a website. Instead of a survey popping up out of nowhere, it’s seamlessly embedded into the website itself. It’s a more subtle way to present your survey, and it may actually get more people to participate.

Benefits of intercept surveys

Intercept surveys can be unpredictable, but they do have their perks:

1. In-the-moment insights: You’re diving into people’s natural habitats, so you get real, unfiltered responses.
2. Diverse samples: Since you can conduct these surveys in a mix of public places, you get a diverse group of participants.
3. Immediate results: There’s no waiting around with intercept surveys. You ask a question, and you get answers on the spot. They’re great for getting quick snapshots of opinions or trends.
4. Flexibility: You can adapt on the fly with this type of survey. If something isn’t working, you can tweak your approach on the spot.
5. Cost-effectiveness: Compared to some other research methods, intercept surveys can be budget-friendly. You can even allow people to use their own devices to take the survey, and setup is quick and easy.
6. High response rates: People might be more willing to chat in a casual setting rather than responding to a formal survey request.

How to design an intercept survey with Jotform

Now that you know something about intercept surveys, you might want to get started designing your own. You can do this with Jotform, an online survey builder that allows for quick survey design. You can easily create one from scratch or use one of many premade templates.

Once you create your survey, you can share it via multiple channels, like social media or email, or by embedding the survey directly in your website. If you’re conducting your intercept survey in person, you can provide participants with a scannable QR code, so they can participate on their own devices. Jotform’s mobile-responsive design ensures that surveys are clear and easy to complete with a smartphone.

A kiosk survey is another great option, which is easy to achieve with Jotform’s kiosk mode. The survey form will refresh automatically after each submission, and you can protect your device by enabling screen lock. This prevents participants from navigating away from the Jotform mobile app while using your mobile device or tablet in a public location.

If you’re interested in creating website popup surveys, Jotform users can create a form with the Jotform popup generator and publish it as a lightbox form. This will allow your survey to pop up on a website automatically, so you can grab your customers’ attention and collect feedback, contact info, newsletter subscriptions, and more.

Jotform offers a number of unique features to add to your intercept surveys. First, you can use conditional logic to create targeted and dynamic surveys that change according to how respondents answer certain questions.

Another great feature is the automated, customizable thank-you message. Once participants complete the survey, they’ll automatically receive a thank-you email. You can customize the email to provide additional resources, contact information, or even a link to the overall survey results.

If you’re looking for a survey software that includes powerful, built-in analytics tools, Jotform has you covered. Jotform Report Builder automatically turns your survey results into easy-to-understand graphs and charts. Jotform Form Analytics can help you track conversion rates, submission locations, and more. Plus, Jotform integrates with a number of analytics and CRM tools, so you can keep your data up to date across platforms. Check out the many survey features Jotform offers by signing up for a free account today.

Photo by Sora Shimazaki