10 Customer Satisfaction Survey Questions for Small Businesses
A customer satisfaction survey works best with 5 to 10 questions: one overall rating, one recommendation question on a 0–10 scale, a few specific ratings, and two open questions about what customers liked and what to improve. Short surveys get many more answers.
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Why the right questions matter
Most unhappy customers never complain; they simply do not come back. A short survey gives them a place to say what went wrong before they say it in a public review, and it tells you what happy customers value, so you can keep doing it.
The questions you choose decide what you can learn. Ratings give you numbers to compare month by month. A recommendation question gives you a standard measure of loyalty. Open questions explain the numbers. The ten questions below combine all three, in the order that keeps the survey quick to answer on a phone.
The 10 questions, by section
Overall
1Overall satisfaction
Why ask it: One simple score you can follow over time. Ask it first, before details shape the answer.
Example wording: Overall, how satisfied are you with your experience?
Field type: Rating · Required
2Likelihood to recommend (NPS)
Why ask it: The Net Promoter Score question. Answers of 9–10 are promoters, 7–8 are passive, and 0–6 are detractors who need attention.
Example wording: How likely are you to recommend us to a friend, from 0 to 10?
Field type: Single choice · Required
3Customer effort
Why ask it: How easy it was to get what they needed predicts loyalty almost as well as satisfaction, and points straight at friction you can fix.
Example wording: How easy was it to get what you needed?
Field type: Rating · Optional
Specific parts
4Quality of the product or service
Why ask it: Separates the thing you sell from the way you sell it. A great product with slow service needs a different fix from the opposite.
Example wording: How would you rate the quality of what you received?
Field type: Rating · Optional
5Service and staff
Why ask it: Tells you how the people side felt: friendliness, speed and help.
Example wording: How would you rate the service you received?
Field type: Rating · Optional
6Value for money
Why ask it: A low score here with high quality scores often means a pricing or communication problem, not a product problem.
Example wording: How would you rate the value for money?
Field type: Rating · Optional
In their words
7What they liked most
Why ask it: Shows what to keep and gives you the words customers use about you, which are useful in your own marketing.
Example wording: What did you like most?
Field type: Long text · Optional
8What to improve
Why ask it: The most useful answer in the survey. Keep it open and optional, and read every reply.
Example wording: What is one thing we could do better?
Field type: Long text · Optional
Follow-up
9Permission to follow up
Why ask it: Some unhappy customers want a reply. Asking for permission respects those who want to stay anonymous.
Example wording: May we contact you about your answers?
Field type: Single choice · Optional
10Contact detail (optional)
Why ask it: Only for customers who agreed to be contacted. Keep it optional so the survey stays anonymous for everyone else.
Example wording: If yes, what is the best email or phone to reach you?
Field type: Short text · Optional
What not to ask
- Two questions in one. "How fast and friendly was our service?" cannot be answered well when one part was good and the other was not. Ask one thing per question.
- Leading questions. "How much did you enjoy our new menu?" assumes they enjoyed it. Neutral wording gives honest answers.
- Required personal details. Making name or email required turns a feedback survey into a sign-up form, and the most honest answers disappear.
- More than ten questions. Every extra question lowers the number of people who finish. If a question will not change a decision, remove it.
The ready form
Most of these questions are already in this template. Open it in the chat and ask the AI to add the rest, or to change anything for your business.
Customer Satisfaction SurveyOpens the ready template in the chat, so you can fit it to your business.
Frequently asked questions
How many questions should a satisfaction survey have?
Five to ten. A survey that takes a minute on a phone gets far more answers than a long one.
What is a good NPS score?
It depends on the industry. For a small business, compare your own score over time: more 9–10 answers and fewer 0–6 answers means you are improving.
When should I send a satisfaction survey?
Soon after the purchase or service, while the experience is fresh. For restaurants, a QR code on the bill works well.
Should the survey be anonymous?
Usually yes. Keep contact details optional, and ask for permission before you follow up.
How do I analyse the answers?
In Pinkit, responses show as charts per question, and the AI analysis groups written answers into topics and shows their tone.