9 examples of ranking survey questions

If you want to know what your customers or employees think, there are few better ways to find out than using surveys.

But sometimes getting their thoughts on a topic isn’t enough. If you want to understand how customers value different product features in relation to one another or which benefits your employees prefer most, then ranking survey questions can help.

In this article, we’ll look at what these questions are, explain why you should use them, and provide nine examples of ranking survey questions that can help you gather the information you need.

What are ranking survey questions?

Ranking questions are a specific type of survey question that asks respondents to rank a list of items in order of preference.

They’re the best choice if you need to know how customers’ preferences compare to one another, according to the team at OnePulse. “Let’s say you’re trying to narrow down your offerings from five to three flavors,” they write. “If everyone tells you they like all the flavors, that doesn’t help. But if you require them to rank them and most people rank lemon and cherry at the bottom, you know which flavors to cut from your menu.”

Ranking questions aren’t perfect, though, says Will Mellor, director of surveys at B2B platform GLG.  “What is the difference between first place and second place?” he asks. “How about third place and fourth place? Perhaps a respondent is equally passionate about their first- and second-place rankings and they have to flip the proverbial coin to decide. Then they get further down the list, and third place is still strong, but fourth place is barely worth a second look.”

Ranking vs rating questions: What’s the difference?

Ranking and rating questions sound the same, but they’re quite different. Rating questions ask respondents to score answers on a scale, typically from 1 to 5 or 1 to 10. Ranking questions, on the other hand, ask respondents to rank their answers in order of preference. Ranking questions force respondents to compare answers; rating questions don’t.

What are some examples of ranking survey questions?

Not sure how to get started with ranking survey questions? Check out these examples.

For employees

Which benefits do you value most?

This question will help you prioritize benefits when making budget cuts or working to improve employee retention.

Which tools are most vital for your work?

Do you need to trim your tool stack? Use this ranking survey question to understand which tools employees value most.

What do you need to work from home? Rank items in order of importance.

Use this ranking survey question to better understand your employees’ needs and your budget for work-from-home (WFH) equipment.

For customers

Which product features do you use most?

Want to know which areas of your product to focus on? Ask this question.

What matters most to you when it comes to customer support?

Choose the right customer support partner or train your existing support reps better by asking this question.

Which problems does our technology best solve?

This ranking question can help you understand whether your product meets your customers’ needs and whether it aligns with your initial vision.

For consumer research

What are the biggest problems you’re facing? Rank them in order of importance.

Ask this ranking survey question to understand which of your customers’ pain points you should prioritize.

What things would make you most likely to leave your current provider?

Want to position your product better in the market? Ask this question.

What features do you like best from our competitors?

Find out what your target audience thinks your competitors are getting right with this survey ranking question.

How can Jotform help you create awesome surveys?

Jotform is the ideal solution if you want to create a ranking survey — or any other kind of survey, for that matter. Our free ranking survey maker and thousands of survey templates will help you get started in a matter of minutes.

Jotform is packed with all the features you need to create the perfect survey, including

• A drag-and-drop survey builder
• Intuitive survey design
• List widgets that make it easy to rank answers
• Easy survey sharing through links, email, and QR codes

What’s more, you can store and organize all the data you collect in Jotform Tables, which will make it easy to understand user sentiment and identify how you can improve. Get started today for free.