The ultimate CRM survey guide: example questions and strategies 

Discover clear definitions, 12 expert question examples and three proven strategies to turn customer data into action.

Accurate customer data drives smart business decisions, but keeping contact information fresh and relevant is a constant challenge. Although most companies have customer relationship management (CRM) systems in place, they often lack the quality feedback needed to make these systems truly effective.

Let’s turn your CRM into the powerful business tool it was meant to be.

This guide will show you how to use CRM surveys to gather the insights you need, qualify leads more effectively and deliver experiences that drive retention and growth.

A CRM survey helps businesses collect feedback from their target audience that flows directly into their CRM system, where teams manage customer data and relationships.

In 2025, 53% of companies that use CRM report improved customer satisfaction and retention with customer relationship management tools, which is why understanding how survey data integrates into CRM software is key.

The primary purpose of CRM surveys is to connect businesses to their target audience and existing customers, fostering a deeper understanding of their needs, preferences and pain points. This allows companies to improve marketing efforts, boost satisfaction rates and drive revenue growth. 

It’s important to note that CRM surveys also help balance day-to-day customer relationships with a long-term customer experience management strategy. It allows you to collect detailed, real-time feedback on a daily basis while improving interactions with your business over time. 

Pro tip: Get started quickly with our pre-built CRM survey template designed specifically for gathering actionable customer insights.

When creating CRM surveys, resist the urge to ask everything. As Divya Shroff, product marketer at SurveyMonkey, explains: ’Prioritise what’s most important that only the customer can provide. What’s going to be actionable?”

Following this principle, CX teams should focus on questions that provide clear, actionable insights. Below are examples of proven questions organised by objective:

Start with questions that help you to segment and categorise your customer base effectively. These foundational questions ensure that you can analyse responses according to company size, industry and decision-making authority.

For example: 

Gauge how customers feel and uncover opportunities for improvement through direct input. These questions help you to measure satisfaction while gathering specific suggestions for enhancement.

For example:

Related: See how Greyhound boosted its NPS by integrating feedback into Salesforce.

Understanding how customers use your product and their sentiment helps you to identify power users, spot adoption challenges and inform the development of a company’s products. These questions reveal the real-world value that your solution provides. 

Here are a few to consider:

Pro tip: Get started in minutes with our customisable product survey template. 

Look ahead by understanding your customers’ evolving needs and the competitive landscape. These forward-looking questions help you to anticipate changes and stay ahead of shifting expectations.

For example:

Once you’ve gathered customer feedback, the next step is turning the intelligence you’ve gathered into action. Here’s how to leverage survey data in your CRM system to drive decisions, improve overall customer relationships and create measurable business impact.

Effective analysis goes beyond tracking standard metrics. “While NPS®, CSAT and other customer experience metrics are helpful to track, they’re often lagging indicators,” notes Shroff.

“You want to look at feedback from interactions at different touchpoints, including non-survey data, to surface insights early on.”

Here’s how to implement a comprehensive approach that combines both traditional metrics and real-time data:

When prospects complete your surveys, they reveal valuable signals about their interests, challenges and buying timelines. By feeding these data points into your lead scoring system, your sales team can identify which opportunities deserve immediate attention and which need nurturing.

Here’s how to make survey data work harder in your qualification process:

Related reading: Uplevel your marketing campaigns with the SurveyMonkey Marketo integration

Every piece of survey feedback represents an opportunity to make your customer interactions more impactful. By centralising insights in your CRM software, you can turn standard customer touchpoints into personalised experiences that demonstrate you’re not just collecting feedback; you’re acting on it.

Here’s how to put insights into action:

The success of CRM surveys depends on ensuring thoughtful execution. Getting the timing right, personalising the experience and making surveys accessible can significantly boost response rates and data quality. Here’s how to optimise each aspect:

The timing of your surveys is just as important as the questions that you ask in them. You should deploy them at strategic moments in the customer journey, such as during the sales process, and be mindful of their frequency to maintain high response rates. 

Here are four timing guidelines showing when you should send surveys:

Every survey is a chance to demonstrate that you value each and every customer’s individual relationship with your business.

“The survey should reflect your brand; if you put thought and care into how well you know the customer, as well as how your message looks, customers will care about giving their voice,” Shroff says. CRM administrators can boost response rates by using smart personalisation:

An effective CRM survey strategy prioritises convenience and accessibility for your respondents.

“Meet customers where they are,” advises Shroff. “If you have global customers, consider multilingual surveys. For those on the go, leverage SMS.” 

Before implementing CRM surveys, it’s important to understand both their benefits and weaknesses. Although they can indeed transform your customer relationship management strategy, they also require careful planning and resource allocation in order to be effective.

You should consider the following information before setting up CRM surveys:

Not all survey tools are built to handle CRM integration and customer data management. Your survey platform should not only collect responses effectively but also make it easy to turn your results into actionable data within your CRM system.

When evaluating options, you should prioritise these essential features:

Net Promoter, Net Promoter Score and NPS are trademarks of Satmetrix Systems, Inc., Bain & Company, Inc. and Fred Reichheld.