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How to Use Rating Scale Questions in Your UX Research

3 min read
Eleanor Hecks

Written by Eleanor Hecks

31 October, 2022

Are you trying to figure out what your audience really wants? How can you improve the customer experience (CX) unless you know what they prefer? Doing user experience (UX) research can take on many different tools and tactics. One excellent way to figure out what your customers need is by conducting some rating scale question surveys.

You’ve probably taken a survey before with rating scale questions. A company you order from may have asked how likely you are to recommend them on a scale of 1 to 10. Another brand may have asked if you like their new website design and asked you to rank your like or dislike on a scale.

What Is the Use of Rating Scale Questions?

One of the most powerful types of research is rating scales to get an idea of the overall perception of your brand’s performance. How can you best utilize rating scale questions in your UX research? Here are our favorite ways:

1. Get More Participation

Rating scales may not offer a ton of detailed information, but they are very easy to feel out. You can even make a game of them, asking people to do something catchy like slide the scale or show off what they love.

By getting more people to share their general thoughts, you get a big picture of what your customers think and whether your UX is working and how.

2. Gain an Understanding of the Total Experience (TX)

TX takes a look at both employee and customer experiences and sees where improvements might be made in the process. It is one of the quickest ways to improve operations. The COVID-19 pandemic changed what both workers and consumers expect from brands. Research shows companies giving an excellent TX will outperform competitors by 25% in satisfaction.

3. Spot Negative Trends Before They Become Problems

Conducting regular spot checks with rating scale questions can help you identify areas where your customers aren’t fully satisfied. You can take steps to fix these issues before they force your loyal patrons to leave. In turn, taking such a proactive approach may reduce your churn rate and improve growth.

4. Improve All UX Processes

Most business leaders agree that happy customers equal loyal customers. One way to keep your clients happy is by offering the most amazing user experience possible. Your fans should never doubt you or even consider going to a competitor.

With scaled research questions, you can get a handle on every aspect of the UX. For example, knowing the number of mobile phone users will hit 4.68 billion soon might spur you to ask some pointed questions about the mobile search experience on your site.

5. Send Out a Series of Questionnaires

You might start with a broad rating scale set of questions, such as whether the customer enjoys your mobile site, how likely they are to recommend you to their family and friends and so on. As you see issues in the broader topics, you can then narrow the questions down and send out additional surveys.

For example, if your broad questions show a high number of respondents are unhappy with the mobile experience, you might send out a series of questions about the different aspects of your mobile site, such as the aesthetics, how forms work, how easy the site is to navigate and whether images and text look the way they should.

As you narrow down the questions, you’ll gather a better understanding of what needs changed for an improved UX.

Ready to Use Rating Scale Questions?

You don’t need any specialized training to get started asking questions on a scale of something to something. Just brainstorm some ideas of things you’d like to know that might help improve UX and send surveys out to your customers. You might be surprised at what you learn.

Eleanor Hecks

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