Free templates & examples
Membership survey templates, ready to copy.
Seven ready-to-use survey templates with the exact questions to ask — copy any question, or the whole survey, and adapt it to your members. Plus the question types and design rules that get real responses.
Seven templateswhen to send each
- 01Annual satisfactiononce a year, away from renewal3–4 MIN
- 02New member onboarding30–60 days after joiningUNDER 2 MIN
- 03Event feedbackwithin 24 hours of the eventUNDER 2 MIN
- 04Engagementannually, or when planning activity3 MIN
- 05Value / propositionbefore a pricing or benefits review2–3 MIN
- 06Exitimmediately after a member lapses2 MIN
- 07Quick pulsequarterly, or any timeUNDER A MINUTE
Every questionwritten for you
01/ start here
A membership survey is only as good as its questions.
The templates below give you the questions worth asking for each purpose — satisfaction, onboarding, events, engagement and more. Keep them short, ask only what you’ll act on, and the response rate and the insight both go up — the discipline we apply as a membership marketing agency.
Choosing which survey to run comes first, and our guide to membership surveys covers it. This page gives you the templates.
Illustrative guidance. Adapt every template to your sector, members and survey tool.
Copy a single question, or the whole satisfaction survey, onboarding survey, event survey, exit survey, pulse survey
02/ the template library
Seven membership survey templates.
Pick a template to see its full question set. Copy a single question, or the whole survey, and paste it into your survey tool. Every question is written and ready to adapt.
Annual Satisfaction Survey
Your yearly baseline: overall satisfaction, likelihood to recommend, benefit usage and value for money across the whole membership.
When to send
Once a year, away from renewal
Length
8–10 questions · 3–4 min
6 example questions · tap any question to copy
New Member Onboarding Survey
Check that new members are finding early value — the strongest predictor of whether they renew.
When to send
30–60 days after joining
Length
5 questions · under 2 min
5 example questions · tap any question to copy
Event & Webinar Feedback Survey
Capture reactions right after an event, while it is fresh — content, format, logistics and likelihood to attend again.
When to send
Within 24 hours of the event
Length
5–6 questions · under 2 min
6 example questions · tap any question to copy
Member Engagement Survey
Understand how members want to engage and how well you meet them there — the leading indicator of retention.
When to send
Annually, or when planning activity
Length
6–8 questions · 3 min
5 example questions · tap any question to copy
Value Proposition Survey
Test how compelling members find your value proposition and which benefits actually drive their decision to stay.
When to send
Before a pricing or benefits review
Length
6 questions · 2–3 min
6 example questions · tap any question to copy
Exit Survey
Capture why a lapsing member is leaving while it is fresh — the single richest source of retention insight.
When to send
Immediately after a member lapses
Length
5 questions · 2 min
5 example questions · tap any question to copy
Quick Pulse Survey
A single-minute check-in you can run any time to track sentiment between your bigger annual surveys.
When to send
Quarterly, or any time
Length
3 questions · under a minute
3 example questions · tap any question to copy
A starting point to adapt — not a fixed template. We tailor every survey to the organisation. See also our member retention survey guide.
03/ question types
The question types — and when to use each.
A good survey mixes question types on purpose: closed questions to measure and trend, open questions to understand. Here’s each type with a membership example.
→ Enough closed questions to benchmark, enough open ones to learn.
The recommend question has a fixed form. Bain’s Net Promoter System asks “How likely are you to recommend us to a friend or colleague?” on a zero-to-ten scale; 9–10 are promoters, 0–6 detractors, and the score is the percentage of promoters minus the percentage of detractors (Bain & Company).
Keep the wording and the scale if you want to compare years.
04/ survey design rules
Seven rules for a survey people finish.
A template only works if the survey around it is well designed. These are the rules that lift response rates and keep your data honest.
The rules rest on a large body of trials. A Cochrane review of 88 randomised trials of emailed and online questionnaires found response rose with a brief invitation rather than a detailed one, a shorter questionnaire, a personal approach, a deadline, and an offer to share the results (chart) (Cochrane, 2023).
The trials span patients, students and professionals, not members; read the direction, not the size.
Burden is what members feel, not just what the survey costs you.
Rule 1
Keep it short
Aim for under 2 minutes for pulse and onboarding surveys; 3–4 for annual. Response rates fall fast with length.
Rule 2
Ask only what you’ll act on
Every question should map to a decision. If an answer wouldn’t change anything, cut the question.
Rule 3
Lead with the easy questions
Open with a quick rating to build momentum; save open-text and demographics for the end.
Rule 4
One idea per question
Avoid "how satisfied are you with events and content?" — split double-barrelled questions in two.
Rule 5
Stay neutral
Don’t lead the answer. "How would you rate…" not "How great was…". Balance your scale labels.
Rule 6
Time it to the moment
Send onboarding surveys early, event feedback within a day, exit surveys the moment a member lapses.
Rule 7
Close the loop
Tell members what you changed as a result. In trials, offering people the results lifted response.
Before you send · 0/7 in place
Tick each rule your survey already follows.
What changed the odds of a response online
- Brief invitation, not detailed3.26×
- Shorter questionnaire1.51×
- Results offered1.36×
- Personalised1.24×
- A deadline1.18×
- “Survey” in the subject line0.81×
Government statisticians break perceived burden into four things: how often you contact people, how long it takes, how much effort it needs, and how stressful the questions are (Government Analysis Function) — a reason to consolidate surveys rather than send more.
And build it so every member can answer it. GOV.UK services must meet WCAG 2.2 level AA, which means, among other things, labels on every field, nothing signalled by colour alone, and controls large enough to hit (GOV.UK Service Manual) — a fair standard for a members’ survey too.
05/ satisfaction template
Member satisfaction survey template, ready to paste
The library’s annual survey gives you the questions. This is the whole thing: the opening screen, ten questions in five short sections with every scale point labelled, and the closing screen. Fill in your details and copy it into your survey tool.
The opening screen is where trust is won. The Market Research Society’s Code of Conduct lists what people should be told before they agree to take part: who is running it, the subject and purpose, the likely length in minutes, and that they can withdraw at any time.
It binds MRS members, not you, but it is the best checklist there is, and every item is in the opening screen here. If the survey collects personal data, UK GDPR expects the privacy information to be given at the time you collect it (ICO), which is why the opening screen points to your privacy notice.
Two choices follow the UK Government’s questionnaire design guidance: every scale point carries a label, not just the ends, and easy questions come first while the personal one comes last and is optional.
There are no agree/disagree statements; value is asked as a rating. For more questions by topic, see membership survey questions; which score to track and how to act on it is on member satisfaction survey.
Member satisfaction survey · fill in, then copy
[Organisation] member satisfaction survey
Opening screen
We’re asking every [Organisation] member what they think of their membership this year, so we can decide what to change. It takes about 4 minutes.
Taking part is voluntary: you can skip any question and stop at any time. Answers are reported in summary only and handled as our privacy notice describes. The survey closes on [closing date].
Overall
Value
Service and communication
In your own words
About you (optional)
Closing screen
Thank you. We’ll share what we heard, and what we’re changing because of it, by [month].
Tap any question to copy it alone. Response options are shown under each question and copied with it.
06/ invitation emails
Survey invitation and reminder emails, ready to send
The email decides whether anyone opens the survey. Four are worth writing once and reusing: the invitation, a reminder, a last call, and the “you said, we did” email that makes next year’s survey easier to fill.
Keep them research, not marketing. The ICO is clear that contacting people for genuine market research is not direct marketing — but if the message includes promotional material, or the research is used to send marketing later, it is, and PECR applies.
It even has a name: “sugging”, selling under the guise of research. So no event plug, offer or renewal nudge in these emails; consent for your other member emails is covered on member communications.
Reminders earn their place. In a large randomised experiment (chart), every reminder added responses, and a late extra one still reached people who had ignored three emails; changing the reminder’s wording made no real difference.
Survey emails · fill in, then copy
The invitation
Subject [Organisation] members: 4 minutes to shape next year, closes [closing date]
Dear [first name],
Each year we ask members what is working and what is not, and we use the answers to decide what [Organisation] changes next. This year’s survey takes about 4 minutes.
Take the survey: [survey link]
Taking part is voluntary, you can skip any question, and you can stop at any time. Your answers are [anonymous / linked to your membership record so we can follow up — keep the one that is true], and our privacy notice explains how we handle them.
The survey closes on [closing date]. Thank you for your time.
[Name], [role] [Organisation]
First reminder
Subject Reminder: have your say on [Organisation] by [closing date]
Dear [first name],
A short reminder: our members’ survey is open until [closing date] and takes about 4 minutes. If you have already taken part, thank you, and please ignore this email.
Take the survey: [survey link]
Taking part is voluntary, and your answers are used only to improve membership.
[Name], [role] [Organisation]
Final reminder
Subject Last few days to have your say on [Organisation]: closes [closing date]
Dear [first name],
Our members’ survey closes on [closing date]. If you have a spare 4 minutes, your answers will shape what we change this year.
Take the survey: [survey link]
If you have already taken part, thank you. This is the last email you will get about it.
[Name], [role] [Organisation]
Closing the loop
Subject What you told us, and what we are changing
Dear [first name],
Thank you to everyone who took part in this year’s members’ survey. Here is what you told us, and what [Organisation] is doing about it.
You said: [the top finding]. We are: [the change, and when].
You said: [the second finding]. We are: [the change, and when].
You said: [something we cannot change]. We can’t change this because [the reason], but we will [what we will do instead].
The full summary is here: [link].
[Name], [role] [Organisation]
Your details fill every email as you type. Replace anything in [square brackets] before sending.
Response added by each email
Is your survey email still research?
01Does it promote an event, offer, product or renewal?
02Will the answers be used to target members with marketing?
03Does it say who is running the survey, and why?
04Does it say how many minutes it takes?
05Does it say taking part is voluntary?
Answer the 5 questions to see where you stand.
Based on the ICO’s guide to PECR and the MRS Code of Conduct, rules 4 and 30. General information, not legal advice.
Send the same short reminder to people who have not replied, and afterwards tell everyone what changed.
The subject lines avoid one word. Across trials, mentioning “survey” in an email subject line lowered the odds of a response (Cochrane), so these ask members to have their say instead.
Written by Dan Keegan
07/ questions
Membership survey FAQs.
An exit survey asks the main reason for leaving and what would have kept them. Across all of them, mix closed questions you can measure and trend with one or two open questions that reveal the why — the seven templates on this page give a ready-to-use set for each purpose.
A randomised study in Public Opinion Quarterly found that the longer the stated length, the fewer people started and completed a questionnaire, and a member who abandons halfway tells you less than one who finishes a short survey. Ask only what you will act on.
The biggest levers are length, timing and trust: keep it short, send it at the right moment, and close the loop by telling members what you changed last time. A low response rate is usually a survey-design problem, not a member problem.
For a benchmark, the LTA’s guide for tennis clubs puts internal surveys at an average of 30–40% response against 10–15% for external ones — its published guidance, with no study cited (LTA).
Use a small number of open-text questions to understand the reasons behind the numbers, since that is where unexpected insight appears. The art is the mix: enough closed questions to benchmark, enough open ones to learn, and never so many that people abandon.
Over-surveying causes fatigue and falling response rates, so consolidate where you can and always be able to say why you are asking.
Then a handful of closed questions on overall satisfaction, likelihood to recommend, value and the benefits members use; one or two open questions; an optional question about the member; and a closing screen that says when you will share the results.
Label every point on each rating scale and keep it to around ten questions — the template on this page follows that shape.
Send it from a named person, keep it short, and leave out anything promotional: the ICO says genuine market research does not count as direct marketing, but a survey that includes promotional material is for direct marketing purposes and the PECR rules apply.
Follow up with a short reminder to people who have not replied, and afterwards tell members what you changed because of their answers.
Treat them as a strong starting point rather than a finished survey: the best surveys are tailored to the organisation, which is also what we help membership organisations do when a survey needs to turn into action.
15 minutes · video or phone
Turn survey answers into members who stay.
Free templates to start · specialist help to act on what they tell you.
- 0115 minutes, video or phone
- 02The survey your goal needs
- 03How to read the results
- 04A plain next step
Pick a day that suits · live availability
Work with us
Turn survey answers into members who stay.
A template gets you the data. Book a free consultation and we’ll help you design the survey, read the results, and turn them into action that cuts churn. From £1,500/month.
09/ sources
Every claim, and where it came from
Regulator, sector-body and peer-reviewed sources. The survey-design guidance on this page is ours unless a source is named.
- Information Commissioner’s Office — Identify direct marketing (updated 20 August 2025) — genuine market research is not direct marketing; promotion or later marketing makes it so (“sugging”)UK regulator
- Information Commissioner’s Office — Guide to PECR: electronic and telephone marketing — a survey with promotional material is for direct marketing purposesUK regulator
- Market Research Society — Code of Conduct 2023 — rule 30 (what participants are told before taking part) and rule 4 (no selling or fundraising under the guise of research)UK sector body code
- Government Analysis Function — Questionnaire design guidance — labelled scale points, easy questions firstUK government guidance
- Van Mol — “Improving web survey efficiency: the impact of an extra reminder and reminder content on web survey response”, International Journal of Social Research Methodology 20(4), 2017Peer-reviewed, Belgium (students)
- Galesic & Bosnjak — “Effects of Questionnaire Length on Participation and Indicators of Response Quality”, Public Opinion Quarterly 73(2), 2009Peer-reviewed
- Cochrane (Edwards et al.) — How can response to postal or web questionnaires be increased? Methodology review MR000008, 2023 (88 trials of electronic questionnaires; odds ratios charted)Systematic review of randomised trials
- Bain & Company — Measuring your Net Promoter Score (the 0–10 question; promoters 9–10, detractors 0–6)Publisher’s own method
- Government Analysis Function — Monitoring and reducing respondent burden (four factors of perceived burden)UK government guidance
- GOV.UK Service Manual — Understanding WCAG 2.2 (services must meet level AA)UK government standard
- Information Commissioner’s Office — When should we provide privacy information? (Article 13: at the time data are obtained)UK regulator guidance
- LTA — A self-service guide to membership surveys, 2020 (internal 30–40% vs external 10–15% response)Sector body guidance, no study cited