Multilingual Surveys: Unlock Global Customer Insights Effortlessly

“The limits of my language mean the limits of my world.” Ludwig Wittgenstein

Just using English—or any one language—for your surveys isn’t enough to open the door to true connection. 1.5 billion people may get English, but what about the billions who don’t? 

With over 6,500 languages spoken worldwide, relying on a single language for your surveys means missing out on truly understanding your audience.

Every unclear word, every ambiguous phrase gets chipped away at the accuracy of your data. 

Worse, it skews the insights you’re banking on to make decisions. 

The solution? Multilingual surveys.

To truly understand the value, let’s first dive into what multilingual surveys are and how they work.

What Is a Multilingual Survey?

A multilingual survey is designed to gather feedback from diverse audiences by offering the questionnaire in multiple languages. 

For instance, if you’re conducting a CSAT survey across the United States and Mexico, your survey needs to be bilingual—available in both English and Spanish. When a respondent opens the survey, they should see the survey in the language as per their region. 

Think of it as a tool that speaks your audience’s language—literally and figuratively—breaking down communication barriers and inviting genuine, thoughtful feedback from every corner of the globe.

Now that you understand how multilingual surveys work, let’s talk about who can benefit from them.

Who Are Multilingual Surveys For?

If you have customers in one or more countries or anywhere around the world, the days of these surveys being an option are over. Multilingual surveys are great whether you’re a multinational corporation, a growing startup, or a non-profit with a global presence, allowing your feedback to be accurate and reliable but tailored to a different language preference.

Take, for example, a retail brand with customers in the U.S., Spain, and Japan. By offering the same survey in English, Spanish, and Japanese, the brand can collect feedback that truly reflects the preferences of each market. This isn’t just about gathering responses—it’s about gathering the right responses, in the language that best represents the customer’s voice. 

Now, let’s explore how multilingual surveys can transform your data collection and analysis on a global scale.

Why You Should Run Multilingual Surveys?

Multilingual surveys are no longer just an option for businesses with international reach—they’re essential for capturing accurate, actionable insights from a diverse customer base. Here are the key benefits you’ll gain from running multilingual surveys:

1. Get a Complete View of Your Audience

By using multilingual surveys, you can aggregate the responses from respondents in multiple languages and create a single global score. It gives you a complete picture of your audience, even when the audience isn’t located where you live or speak the language you do. You’ll no longer need to waste time sorting through separate reports for each language. Instead, you can gather data from a diverse set of respondents and analyze it all in one place, giving you a true, unified view of your global customer base.

For example, if you’re running a customer satisfaction survey in North America, Europe, and Asia, multilingual surveys allow you to merge responses from each region, even if they’re in different languages, and generate a cohesive report. The result is a clearer, more actionable picture of your customers’ sentiments across the globe.

2. Understand How Your Brand Performs in Different Markets

Running multilingual surveys helps you gauge how your brand is perceived across various markets. With language-specific results, you can easily filter responses to understand regional trends and adjust your strategy accordingly.

For instance, if your product is well-received in Germany but is falling flat in Spain, you’ll be able to pinpoint exactly what resonates with your German audience and what might need improvement for your Spanish-speaking customers. This insight lets you tailor your messaging and offerings based on actual data from each market, helping you stay competitive globally.

3. Improve Data Quality and Boost Response Rates

Here’s a critical question—how many potential insights are lost when respondents abandon your surveys due to language barriers? Multilingual surveys dramatically reduce this risk by making surveys more accessible and understandable. When respondents take the survey in their native language, they’re far more likely to understand your questions clearly, leading to more reliable feedback.

In fact, according to consumer insights, 29% of users say they feel more confident communicating with brands that speak their language. This confidence translates directly into higher response rates and more accurate feedback. When respondents feel understood, they’re more likely to engage meaningfully and provide richer, more insightful responses. Better quality data means better decisions for your business.

4. Stand Out in the Market and Reduce Churn

Did you know that 29% of businesses lose customers simply because they don’t offer multilingual support? This is a huge missed opportunity, especially when 75% of consumers report stronger satisfaction when interacting with brands in their native language. Additionally, 64% of customers are willing to pay a higher price for that convenience. Offering multilingual surveys helps you tap into a wider audience and create more meaningful connections with your customers.

When customers feel understood in their language, their loyalty increases—over half of consumers say they’re more likely to stick with a brand that provides support in their native language. So, by providing multilingual options in your surveys, you’re not just increasing satisfaction; you’re also reducing churn and solidifying long-term relationships.

5. Boost Customer Loyalty with Personalization

Have you ever felt more connected to a brand simply because they spoke your language? You’re not alone. In fact, 68% of consumers prefer brands that communicate in their native language, and 70% of users feel more loyal to companies that cater to their native language. When you offer multilingual surveys, you’re not just collecting data—you’re showing customers you value their preferences. This level of personalization builds stronger loyalty and boosts satisfaction, ensuring your customers feel heard and appreciated. 

Who doesn’t love feeling understood? When you offer a multilingual survey, you’re giving your respondents the chance to engage in the language they feel most comfortable with. And when people feel heard, they’re more likely to engage with you in the future, which can significantly boost loyalty and help you retain your audience.

With all these benefits, you’re not only improving data accuracy but also building stronger relationships. Now, let’s dive into how you can create your multilingual survey.

How to Create Your Multilingual Survey with SurveySensum?

Crafting a multilingual survey isn’t just about translation—it’s about creating a meaningful experience that resonates with diverse audiences. With SurveySensum’s powerful Translation feature, you can break language barriers and connect with respondents in their preferred language. 

Step 1: Select or Create Your Survey

Start with your default language and add multiple translations seamlessly to your survey. With SurveySensum, it’s as simple as selecting an existing survey or creating a new one. Once you’re set, choose your Default Language (English is pre-set but fully customizable). This base language will serve as the foundation for all your multilingual translations, ensuring consistency and accuracy across every version.

Step 2: Add Survey Questions

Effortlessly design engaging surveys tailored to captivate your audience. Start by adding all your questions and personalized messages—these elements form the foundation of your multilingual survey. SurveySensum’s survey builder ensures that each question is not only relevant but also visually appealing and easy to follow.

Step 3: Navigate to the Translations Page

Once your survey questions are ready, locate the Translations button in the left-hand sidebar. Clicking on it takes you to the Translations Page, where you’ll manage language settings for your survey. This simple feature streamlines the process, allowing you to easily cater to a diverse audience, ensuring higher response rates.

Step 4: Add New Languages

Under the Other Languages section, click on Add Language. A list of 54 supported languages will appear, giving you the flexibility to cater to a wide range of audiences. For example, if you’re targeting French and Thai-speaking users, just select those languages from the list. This streamlined process ensures that every respondent receives the survey in a language they are most comfortable with, helping you gather high-quality insights across regions.

Step 5: Download the Import Template

To begin the translation process, click on Download Import Template. This template contains columns for the default language (English) and the additional languages you selected.

Step 6: Translate Survey Content

Open the downloaded file using a text editor or spreadsheet application (e.g., Notepad, Google Sheets). The template includes:

• ID Column: A unique identifier for each question or element.
• Default Language Column: The original text in your survey’s base language.
• Additional Language Columns: Empty fields for translations in the selected languages.

Manually input translations into these columns. Ensure that text entries are enclosed in double quotes and separated by commas, maintaining the file’s structural integrity.

Step 7: Handle Custom Translations

If any double quotes are left empty in the template, you must manually add translations for those specific elements, including buttons and custom messages. This ensures complete localization of your survey.

Step 8: Save and Import the Template

Once you’ve completed the translations, save the file. Return to SurveySensum and click Import Translations. Upload the edited template to integrate the translations into your survey.

Step 9: Review Translations

After a successful upload, translations will be automatically enabled for your survey. Use the Editor tab to review and verify the translated versions. You can switch between languages via the dropdown menu located in the top-right corner of the Survey Runner page.

Step 10: Update Translations When Required

If you add or update survey questions later, you’ll need to download an updated Import Template, repeat the translation process for the new content, and re-upload the file to ensure consistency.

Now that we’ve covered the ‘how.’ Let’s dive into some of SurveySensum’s expert-backed best practices to ensure your multilingual surveys hit the sweet spot.

Speak Their Language: Best Practices for Multilingual Surveys

A well-designed multilingual survey accounts for cultural nuances, technical challenges, and respondent comfort, leading to higher engagement and more accurate insights.

However, achieving this requires a strategic approach. From fine-tuning translations to tailoring designs for different languages, every detail matters. Let’s explore some best practices that can elevate your multilingual surveys and make them truly impactful.

1. Set Clear Goals

Define your objective upfront. Are you exploring cultural preferences in a new market or measuring satisfaction? Focused goals ensure actionable insights. For example, ask:

• “What features do you value most in [product/service]?”
• “How can we make [this service] more accessible to you?”

Align every question with your goal for meaningful insights.

2. Use Neutral Tone in Questions

Avoid idioms, slang, or cultural references that may not translate well across languages. A neutral tone ensures your questions are universally understood without causing confusion.

3. Localize Beyond Translation

Translation isn’t enough. Localize your survey by tailoring examples, imagery, and even date or currency formats to fit the cultural context of each demographic.

4. Test for Language Accuracy

Run your survey through native speakers for accuracy and clarity. Automated translation tools might miss nuances, leading to misinterpretations that can skew results.

For instance, in a Spanish-language survey, a native Spanish speaker can verify that terms like “customer satisfaction” aren’t misinterpreted as “customer happiness” (which might sound more informal or unprofessional in certain contexts).

5. Include a Language Switch Option

Let respondents toggle between languages mid-survey. This small feature can enhance accessibility, especially for bilingual respondents who may prefer answering in different languages for different sections.

For example, if a person starts filling out the survey in English but feels more comfortable answering questions in Spanish halfway through, they should be able to click a simple language toggle to switch to Spanish without losing their previous responses.

6. Keep Open-Ended Questions Simple

Complex phrasing in open-ended questions can be difficult to interpret when translated. Keep them concise to ensure responses are clear and easier to analyze with text analytics tools.

7. Adapt for Left-to-Right and Right-to-Left Languages

Make sure your survey design accommodates languages like Arabic or Hebrew, ensuring proper alignment and readability for a seamless experience.

8. Provide a Preview in the Respondent’s Language

Before starting the survey, show a brief preview or intro in the selected language. This helps respondents feel assured about the quality and relevance of the survey.

9. Simplify Technical Terminology

For industry-specific surveys, ensure technical jargon is simplified or explained. Terms might not directly translate or carry the same meaning across languages.

10.  Choose the Right Survey Platform

Your platform should simplify multilingual survey creation and analysis. When you’re selecting your platform, check for the following:

• Language analytics: Can you view and compare data across languages? For example, are Spanish-speaking customers more satisfied than English-speaking ones?
• Ease of customization: Can you tweak the design for specific languages or audiences without rebuilding the survey?
• CRM Integration: Does the platform integrate with your customer management tools to enrich your data?

Wrapping Up

In a world where borders are shrinking and businesses are going global, if you’re not speaking your customer’s language, you’re leaving opportunities on the table. 

The right platform can do the heavy lifting for you. No need to struggle with language barriers or complex translations on your own. With the right tools, you can reach your global audience and truly understand what they’re saying.

With SurveySensum, you gain the ability to easily create surveys in any language, breaking down language barriers and allowing you to engage with a global audience. Whether you’re running a survey in English, Spanish, Mandarin, or any other language, SurveySensum lets you create seamless, multilingual surveys in one place, ensuring that your message reaches people on their terms.

But that’s not all. SurveySensum’s multilingual text analytics capabilities take it a step further. Powered by advanced natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning, the platform doesn’t just translate—it analyzes the sentiment, intent, and context behind every response.