How Do I Create and Modify Custom Surveys in HubSpot?

Introduction

Custom surveys are a powerful tool for gathering valuable customer feedback, measuring satisfaction, and collecting data that can drive your business decisions. HubSpot's survey functionality makes it easy for non-technical users to create professional, branded surveys without coding knowledge. Whether you're looking to gauge customer satisfaction, collect product feedback, or understand client needs better, this comprehensive guide will walk you through every step of creating, distributing, and modifying custom surveys in HubSpot.

Requirements Before Starting

• An active HubSpot account (Service Hub Professional or Enterprise subscription)
• Access permissions to create and edit surveys
• Basic understanding of what information you want to collect

Step 1: Access the Surveys Tool

1. Log in to your HubSpot account
2. Click on the main navigation menu (top right)
3. Go to "Service" → "Feedback Surveys"
4. Click the "Create survey" button in the upper right corner

Step 2: Choose Your Survey Type

1. Select "Custom Survey" from the options
2. Click "Next" to proceed

Step 3: Configure Basic Survey Settings

1. Enter a name for your survey (only visible internally)
2. Set your survey language
3. Choose display options:
   • Branding (show/hide HubSpot branding)
   • Progress bar (show/hide)
   • Question numbering (enable/disable)
4. Click "Next" to continue

Step 4: Design Your Survey Questions

This is where you'll create the questions to collect the information you need:

1. Click "Add question" to begin building your survey
2. For each question:
   • Select a question type (multiple choice, rating, text, etc.)
   • Type your question text
   • Set whether the question is required or optional
   • Add any helper text if needed

About Properties vs. Non-Properties

When creating questions, you have two options:

Using Existing Properties:

• Click "Use existing property" when adding a question
• Select from available contact, company, or deal properties
• Responses will update these properties in your HubSpot database

Creating New Properties:

• If you select "Create a new property" when adding a question
• Name your property (this will store response data)
• The new property will be created in your HubSpot database
• Responses will be saved to this new property

Non-Property Questions:

• If you uncheck "Store as a property" for a question
• Responses will only be visible in survey results
• Data won't be mapped to contacts in your database

Step 5: Customize the Survey Experience

1. Design your welcome page:
   • Add a title
   • Include a description of the survey's purpose
   • Customize the "Start" button text
2. Design your thank you page:
   • Add a thank you message
   • Include follow-up information if needed
   • Add a redirect URL (optional)

Step 6: Set Up Distribution

1. Click "Next" to go to the Distribution tab
2. Choose how you'll share your survey:
   • Link (to share via email, social media, etc.)
   • Embed (to add to your website)
   • Pop-up form (appears on your website)
3. Configure additional settings based on your distribution method

Step 7: Activate Your Survey

1. Review all settings and questions
2. Click "Publish" to make your survey live
3. Your survey is now ready to be shared!

How to Modify an Existing Survey

To edit a survey you've already created:

1. Go to "Service" → "Feedback Surveys"
2. Find your survey in the list
3. Click on the survey name to open it
4. Click "Edit" in the upper right corner
5. Make your desired changes:
   • Add, remove, or modify questions
   • Change survey settings
   • Update welcome or thank you pages
6. Click "Update" or "Save" when finished
7. Choose whether to:
   • Update the existing survey (all links remain the same)
   • Create a copy (generates a new survey with your changes)

Important Notes

• Published surveys with responses can't have questions removed without creating a new version
• Changing property mappings may affect your reporting
• Consider creating a new version if you need to make substantial changes

For comprehensive documentation and visual guides, you can follow this official HubSpot Knowledge Base article: Create a Custom Survey