Case Study: SurveyMonkey’s Viral Marketing: How Surveys Became the Key to User Growth and Engagement

Introduction

SurveyMonkey’s rise to prominence as one of the leading online survey platforms is a prime example of how leveraging viral marketing can drive user growth and engagement. Rather than relying solely on traditional advertising or paid channels, SurveyMonkey tapped into the core value of its product—surveys—to fuel a viral marketing strategy. By making the survey creation and completion process a natural introduction to the platform, SurveyMonkey turned each user into both a creator and a promoter of its service. This organic growth strategy helped the platform achieve widespread adoption and fostered high levels of user engagement.

In this case study, we will explore how SurveyMonkey used its survey tools as a vehicle for viral marketing, turning survey completions into both product introductions and powerful referral mechanisms, driving rapid user acquisition and sustained growth.

SurveyMonkey: Early Days and Identifying a Growth Opportunity

SurveyMonkey was founded in 1999 as a platform designed to simplify the process of creating and distributing surveys. While the tool initially targeted businesses and researchers who needed a way to gather feedback, the company soon recognized that the true power of the product lay in its ability to democratize surveys. By offering an easy-to-use interface and an accessible platform, SurveyMonkey could cater to a broad range of users—from small businesses to individuals creating casual surveys.

However, the challenge was clear: with so many competitors in the market, how could SurveyMonkey stand out and rapidly acquire users? In the early 2000s, online survey tools weren’t new, and users weren’t immediately aware of SurveyMonkey’s unique value proposition. To gain traction, SurveyMonkey needed to find a way to create a viral loop that would generate organic growth. This led to the development of its viral marketing strategy, which centered around user-generated surveys and the social sharing of survey links.

Viral Marketing Strategy: Surveys as Organic Product Introductions

SurveyMonkey’s viral marketing strategy hinged on the fact that the completion of a survey naturally led to new users being introduced to the platform. Here’s how it worked:

1. Creating Surveys with Ease: The Gateway to the Platform

SurveyMonkey positioned itself as a user-friendly tool, allowing anyone—from businesses to students—to quickly create and distribute surveys. The platform was simple enough for someone with no technical experience to use, which meant that new users could start creating surveys almost immediately.

When someone created a survey on SurveyMonkey, they would typically distribute it to their target audience—whether it was for market research, event planning, or casual feedback. However, the key to SurveyMonkey’s viral success was that the process of completing a survey was often the first touchpoint for many new users. This was especially true for respondents who had never heard of SurveyMonkey before.

As respondents filled out surveys, they were introduced to the platform through branded links, custom-designed surveys, and a seamless experience that subtly encouraged them to sign up for their own accounts. The experience of completing a survey was both a soft introduction to the product and an opportunity for the respondent to directly engage with SurveyMonkey.

2. A Natural Path to User Acquisition through Survey Distribution

SurveyMonkey’s viral loop was driven by the fact that completing a survey often led to the creation of new surveys. When respondents had a positive experience filling out a survey, they were more likely to think about creating their own. The process of sharing a survey—whether with colleagues, friends, or on social media—helped introduce SurveyMonkey to new users. Essentially, survey distribution became a referral marketing tool that expanded the platform’s reach with minimal effort.

• Word-of-mouth marketing: Survey respondents often shared the surveys they completed within their own social circles, introducing SurveyMonkey to a broader audience. Because these surveys were often personal or relevant to specific communities (like event planning or product feedback), they were easily shared with others, creating a network effect.

• Referral incentives: Although SurveyMonkey’s viral marketing started organically, the company also used referral incentives to further encourage survey sharing. Users who invited others to create surveys or completed their first survey were sometimes offered premium features or additional survey responses. This incentivization deepened user engagement and encouraged referrals.

3. High Engagement with Seamless Social Sharing

SurveyMonkey leveraged social media integration as part of its viral marketing approach. Each survey created on the platform was designed to be shareable across social media, email, and other digital channels. By embedding easy-to-use share buttons and generating branded survey links, SurveyMonkey enabled users to promote their surveys organically without additional effort.

This was particularly powerful because, in the process of sharing a survey, SurveyMonkey users inadvertently spread awareness of the platform itself. People who filled out a survey or saw the results shared online would often visit SurveyMonkey to try it for themselves.

This integration with social media and easy distribution methods helped turn every survey completed into a potential lead generation channel. It didn’t require extra marketing dollars, but instead relied on user-generated content to fuel organic growth.

The Impact of Viral Marketing on SurveyMonkey’s Growth

SurveyMonkey’s viral marketing strategy significantly impacted the company’s user acquisition, engagement, and retention. Some of the key results from this approach include:

1. Exponential User Growth

SurveyMonkey’s viral strategy led to rapid user growth, particularly in the early days. As more users created and shared surveys, the number of people completing surveys and subsequently signing up for their own accounts increased. The viral loop kept feeding itself, with each new user driving further growth. Over time, SurveyMonkey became synonymous with online surveys, a result of its ability to harness viral marketing to create an ecosystem of engaged users.

2. High Engagement and Retention

By tying engagement to the core activity of survey creation, SurveyMonkey ensured that users remained actively involved with the platform. The completion of surveys wasn’t just a one-off task; it encouraged users to return and create their own surveys, building long-term engagement. With simple, no-frills user experience and easy-to-access features, users could quickly see the benefits of returning to SurveyMonkey for all their survey needs.

3. Cost-Efficient Growth

One of the most powerful aspects of SurveyMonkey’s viral marketing strategy was its cost-effectiveness. Instead of spending large amounts of money on advertising or outreach, SurveyMonkey relied on its existing users to promote the platform. This reduced the company’s customer acquisition costs (CAC) while ensuring that the growth was sustained through organic channels. As a result, SurveyMonkey was able to scale rapidly without significant financial investment in marketing campaigns.

Key Takeaways for Product Managers

SurveyMonkey’s viral marketing success offers valuable insights for product managers looking to leverage their own products for organic growth. Here are a few key lessons:

1. Incorporate Product Discovery into the User Journey

SurveyMonkey’s ability to use the act of completing a survey as an introduction to its platform shows the importance of designing products that facilitate organic discovery. By making the process of engaging with the product part of the experience itself, users naturally become aware of the product and are encouraged to explore more deeply.

2. Create Referral Mechanisms Within the Product

Incentivizing users to refer others is a powerful tool for growth. When designing a referral program, make sure it’s easy to use and aligned with the product’s value proposition. In SurveyMonkey’s case, completing a survey naturally led to the creation of new surveys, so referral marketing was built into the core user experience.

3. Enable Seamless Sharing

Ensuring that users can easily share their experiences and content on social media or with their networks is critical for creating viral loops. By embedding social sharing options and making survey distribution easy, SurveyMonkey tapped into the power of word-of-mouth and social proof, driving its organic growth.

Conclusion

SurveyMonkey’s viral marketing strategy is an outstanding example of how a product can use its core value—surveys in this case—to fuel user acquisition and engagement. By turning every survey completed into a product introduction and creating seamless sharing and referral pathways, SurveyMonkey was able to expand its user base rapidly without relying heavily on paid marketing channels.

For product managers, the key takeaway from SurveyMonkey’s approach is the power of creating viral loops that make product engagement a gateway to new user acquisition. By designing a product experience that naturally encourages sharing, referral marketing, and ongoing engagement, product managers can create a sustainable path to growth.