One survey, many channels: track each audience separately, analyze the data together

Three target audiences. Four distribution channels. One survey.

It sounds simple until the responses start coming in. Which channel brought people in? Which audience answered? Where did each response come from?

Most teams solve this in one of two ways, and both create new problems.

Option 1: One link for everyone

The whole audience gets the same link, whether it goes out by email, SMS, a QR code on a poster or a post on social media. Collection is easy. Analysis is not:

• You can't tell which channel performed and which didn't.
• You can't compare response rates between audiences.
• Separating the data later means adding "Where did you hear about this survey?" questions, which respondents answer inconsistently, if at all.

Option 2: A copy of the survey for each channel

So teams duplicate the questionnaire: one copy per audience or channel. Tracking becomes clear, but the data splits apart:

• Every change to the questionnaire has to be made in every copy, and copies drift.
• Results live in several datasets that must be exported and merged before anyone can analyze them.
• Merging invites errors: mismatched columns, renamed answer options, lost records.

A third way: distribution at the project level

In Polyeda, distribution is managed at the project level, separately from the questionnaire.

You build the questionnaire once. Then you create as many distribution projects as you need, each using that same questionnaire, and each with its own link for a specific audience, campaign, department or channel.

• Track engagement separately. Each distribution project stays distinct, so you see how each audience and channel is performing.
• Analyze the responses together. Every response is saved in one shared dataset, together with its distribution source.

Where it helps

• Retail & Consumer Goods: one customer feedback survey for every campaign and touchpoint: a QR code at checkout, an SMS after purchase, a link in the newsletter or in a paid campaign, each measured on its own.
• Tech: the same product survey shared in-app, by email and by the customer success team, with every source kept separate.
• Research Firms: one study distributed to different panels or client lists, each tracked on its own.
• Academia: one research questionnaire sent to different samples, courses or recruitment channels, analyzed as a single dataset.
• Philanthropy: one beneficiary or grantee survey distributed separately to each program, partner organization or region.
• Healthcare: one patient experience survey per clinic, department or visit type, sent by SMS or through QR codes in waiting rooms.
• Public Sector: one resident survey sent to several neighborhoods or service users, through SMS, email and printed QR codes.
• Consulting: one survey distributed to several client organizations, stakeholder groups, departments, branches or campaigns, then compared side by side.
• Education: one survey for students, parents and staff, with a separate distribution for each school, grade or audience.

A quick checklist before you distribute

• One questionnaire, final and approved
• One distribution project per audience, channel, campaign or department
• Clear names for each distribution, so the source reads well in reports
• Engagement monitored per distribution while the survey is live
• Analysis run on the shared dataset, filtered or compared by distribution source

The bottom line

Separate distribution where it helps. Keep the data together where it matters.

No duplicate surveys. No merging files. No guessing where a response came from.