Published on April 14th, 2025
By Opiniion

For property managers, the ability to understand how residents truly feel can be the difference between a thriving community and one struggling with retention. But too often, surveys fall flat—either because they’re too long, poorly structured, or just don’t ask the right questions.

When done right, surveys can become one of your most valuable tools. That’s why we created “Anatomy of a Survey”—the ultimate guide to creating engaging, insightful resident surveys that drive real improvements. Below, we’re breaking down the highlights from the guide to help you get started.

Step 1: Plan with Purpose

Before you can craft questions or choose a survey platform, you need to identify what you’re hoping to learn. Do you want to:

• Understand overall resident satisfaction?
  
• Evaluate the effectiveness of your maintenance team?
  
• Get feedback on community amenities?

By clearly defining your goal upfront, you can reverse-engineer your survey to align every question with that purpose. This focused approach increases your chances of collecting high-quality feedback that you can act on.

Tip: Resist the urge to ask about everything at once. Narrow, specific goals often yield more actionable insights.

Step 2: Pick the Right Tool

Just like you wouldn’t use a butter knife to chop wood, you shouldn’t use outdated or clunky tools to gather feedback. A great survey experience is seamless—for both the property manager and the resident.

Look for a platform that:

• Automates delivery and follow-up
  
• Makes the survey mobile-friendly
• Allows for easy data analysis and integration

At Opiniion, we’ve designed our platform to remove friction from the process. Residents can respond quickly, and you get real-time insights without drowning in spreadsheets.

Step 3: Ask Better Questions

Crafting a great survey isn’t just about what you ask—it’s also how you ask it. Poorly written questions can bias responses or confuse participants, which leads to unreliable data.

Here’s what to keep in mind:

Clarity & Brevity

Keep language simple and direct. Avoid jargon or overly complex phrasing. Remember, your residents are taking time out of their day—make it easy for them.

Relevance

Every question should directly relate to the goal of your survey. Don’t mix in questions about amenities when the survey is focused on move-in experience.

Neutrality

Don’t lead your residents toward a particular answer. “How much do you enjoy our perfect amenities?” is less helpful than “How would you rate the amenities in your community?”

Logical Flow

Start with broad or easy questions and gradually move toward more specific or personal ones. This helps build comfort and keeps participants engaged.

Variety in Question Types

Mix it up with:

• Rating scale questions (“How would you rate the cleanliness of common areas?”)
  
• Yes/No questions (“Would you recommend this community to a friend?”)
  
• Open-ended questions (“What can we do to improve your living experience?”)
  

Each type serves a purpose. Rating scales help track trends over time, while open-ended responses can uncover insights you hadn’t even considered.

Step 4: Analyze and Act

Once responses are in, it’s time to move from data to action. Don’t just look at the numbers—look for patterns.

• Are new residents consistently rating the move-in process poorly?
  
• Are there frequent mentions of maintenance delays in open-ended comments?
  

These are clues. Use them to ask better follow-up questions, improve internal processes, and ultimately enhance your community experience.

And don’t forget to celebrate wins, too. If residents love your on-site staff or appreciate recent improvements, that’s worth recognizing and reinforcing.

Make it Count

Creating a meaningful survey doesn’t have to be overwhelming. When done with care and intention, it becomes one of the most powerful tools in your resident engagement strategy.

Here’s the quick checklist:

• Define a clear goal
  
• Use the right platform
  
• Ask smart, unbiased questions
  
• Turn responses into action
  

Want to go deeper?

We’ve packed the full process—including sample survey questions and expert best practices—into our free guide: Download “Anatomy of a Survey.”

Whether you’re new to resident surveys or ready to level up your approach, this guide will show you how to make every question count.

AppFolio Property Manager & Opiniion

With AppFolio and Opiniion’s intuitive integration, it’s easy to measure and manage the resident experience, generate online reviews, and proactively respond to resident needs to increase retention and drive NOI.