SurveyMonkey Connect: Streamlining Data Integration with No-Code AI, By Liwen Xu

SurveyMonkey, the world’s most popular platform for surveys and forms, recently announced Connect, a library of no-code quick actions to connect survey data with popular business apps. We connected with Liwen Xu, Product Marketing Manager, to discuss how no-code automation facilitates seamless data integration, enabling businesses to enhance customer feedback processes, overcome adoption challenges, and implement agile strategies.

1. How does no-code automation empower businesses to streamline data integration without relying on technical teams ?

No-code automation allows non-technical users to easily set up and configure simple workflows. Called Quick Actions, these workflows support core use cases such as sending a notification in Slack when you get a specific response, like a support request, updating Excel when a new response is received so you can stay up to date on registrations, or sharing feedback across your organization in the tools you use every day.

With Connect, anyone can search through the SurveyMonkey library of business app integrations and automate quick actions based on their survey results before their responses start rolling in. As a natural step of the survey creation flow, Connect allows users to easily automate survey-based actions (such as sending notifications) seamlessly while designing and sending out a survey. It also enables users to set conditions for each Quick Action so they can determine which feedback needs follow-up actions or what outcomes are next. This removes the complexity of multi-tool traditional integrations so that they can quickly and seamlessly get value out of their feedback.

2. What are the key advantages of seamless data integration for improving customer feedback loops ?

Connect is the easiest way to link SurveyMonkey with the business apps you use every day so that you can amplify the impact of survey responses and save time. These new apps make it easy to automatically send the right survey responses to the right people in real time, and you can set them up without leaving SurveyMonkey.

By setting up Quick Actions, you can set conditions so that you can focus different teams/stakeholders on the specific feedback that is most relevant to them and take action immediately. This not only reduces the risk of missing critical feedback that needs to be actioned on, but also keeps teams informed in real time so they can have a full view of the feedback provided. By feeding important feedback to those responsible, users are empowered to close the feedback loop quickly, driving higher satisfaction rates for your customers and employees. 

3. What are the biggest barriers companies face in adopting no-code tools, and how can they overcome them ?

Users are often wary to try an integration as many feel it will be too complicated and technical to set up. They can also be wary that the integration may not do what they expect if they take the time to set it up or are required to upgrade their plans to use it. 

When it comes to organizations, the default is to not allow employees to use an integration due to security concerns or not wanting to add additional burden on IT to support any issues that may arise. Employees could be gated when trying an app or integration even if it offers an opportunity to automate critical business processes, reduce errors, or save employees time.

To overcome these barriers, organizations need to reduce the barriers to adoption so their employees can take advantage of all the benefits offered. SurveyMonkey has focused on simplifying the setup, usage, and user flows so that employees will not require reliance on IT for support. We’ve ensured the scopes required for each app are the lowest available so that organizational security concerns are minimized. 

SurveyMonkey has also integrated Connect apps into the survey creation flow, driving awareness and making it easier for users to see opportunities to automate tasks based on feedback. Our goal is to allow more customers from Basic (free) to Teams/SME to have access to Connect apps so they can get value with most common tasks and upgrade for more advanced features.

4. How does SurveyMonkey Connect help organizations bridge the gap between survey data and enterprise systems ?  

Customers are dealing with disparate and disconnected solutions that house a variety of data related to their employees and customers, making it harder to collaborate, drive deeper insights, and "connect the dots" for better employee and customer experiences. Disparate solutions often mean tasks to move data or launch workflows are manual, time-consuming, and error prone - reducing efficiencies and effectiveness. Integrating survey data into frequented business tools by the team brings siloed systems together.

Connect provides users a native, easy-to-use set of Quick Actions that support the most critical use cases and third-party solutions that organizations use most. For example, it can be used to notify users of any feedback that needs to be actioned or shared. This can be done across multiple channels. Users can filter out irrelevant responses and define which response details are included in the message. We also know not all employees are SurveyMonkey users, but there is a need to access and analyze data in the solutions of their choice. Connect offers a flexible solution that allows anyone to determine which data to share so that any security or Personally Identifiable Information (PII) concerns are reduced. 

There are additional features to support marketing/email automation platforms, in addition to CRM platforms such as Klaviyo and Zendesk, that are coming soon. Stay tuned for more! 

5. What industries stand to benefit the most from no-code task automation, and why ? 

Any organization or employee who wants to take action on feedback as it is received or automate a manual process stands to benefit from Connect. From small organizations that may not have the same level of technical skills as a larger organization, to a larger organization that deals with a lot of feedback that needs to take action quickly and easily, any user that wants to collaborate with stakeholders on feedback being received and who are not in SurveyMonkey can no-code task automation. Additionally, any small business that wants a single source of truth for event registration, product feedback, and beyond can also benefit. The opportunities are unlimited!

6. How can businesses leverage real-time survey data to drive more agile marketing and customer experience strategies ?

There are many great examples! Marketers can easily automate sharing survey and form results with internal teams via collaborative notification tools like Slack, from event suggestions to new product ideas and more. With Excel exporting, analysis and detailed data-driven presentations for new launches, campaigns, and events can be leveraged. Connect eliminates the need to do a manual export/import of contact data and ensures survey data immediately enriches marketing efforts.

CX leaders can automate surfacing information so that customer-facing support and employees can be notified instantly on Slack or Teams and take action, whether that’s resolving complaints or walking through product questions. This closed-loop feedback approach empowers users to respond in real-time to customer input, which can dramatically improve customer experience (such as reaching out immediately to unhappy customers to prevent churn), or a positive response might trigger an upsell offer or referral request. Connect can help drive higher levels of customer satisfaction by enabling quick follow-ups to customer concerns via these instant notifications of survey responses. This reduces delays between feedback and action so that negative responses that need to be acted on don’t slip through the cracks.