The new year is a time to reset things. For many, it’s a fresh start – the time to make some life changes. For retailers and brands, it’s also a time to engage with customers by asking what their New Year’s resolution will be. The best way to do that? An online survey, of course! Here’s how to create a New Year’s resolution quiz, and the many benefits of doing so.
Create your FREE New Year’s Resolution Quiz, Poll, Survey, or Questionnaire now!
History of the New Year’s Resolution
It’s hard to believe, but people have been making some form of a New Year’s resolution for about 4,000 years. History.com reveals that the ancient Babylonians were the first people to make New Year’s resolutions (although for them the year began in March, not January). They believed that if they kept to their word, or resolution, the gods would bestow favor on them for the coming year.
A similar practice took place in ancient Rome, when emperor Julius Caesar established January 1st as the beginning of the new year. The Romans offered sacrifices to the deity and made promises of good conduct for the coming year.
For early Christians in the 1700s, the first day of the new year became a time to reflect upon past mistakes and resolve to do and be better in the future. This turned into “watch nights,” in which various denominations and congregations pray and make resolutions for the coming year.
Despite the tradition’s religious roots, New Year’s resolutions are now mostly a secular activity. Rather than making promises to gods, people make resolutions to themselves, usually focusing on self-improvement.
What is the Most Common New Year’s Resolution?
While some people have unique New Year’s resolutions, there are some fairly common ones. According to Statista, here is what most people are vowing to do (data does not add up to 100% as respondents were allowed to chose more than one resolution).
So, how many New Year’s resolutions fail? Inc.com reveals that only 9% of people will achieve their New Year’s resolution. But, they list some traits of those that do manage to reach their goal have in common:
- Setting specific and challenging goals
- Setting goals they truly want to pursue
- Getting a support system
- Focusing on smaller goals to hit the bigger goals
Why Brands and Retailers Love New Year’s Resolution Surveys and Quizzes
Sure, it’s interesting to learn what people resolve to do in the New Year. However, that’s not why brands and retailers love New Year’s resolution surveys and quizzes… they love them because they can increase engagement and sales!
Many brands and retailers will survey their customers as to what they intend to do (or stop doing) when the New Year rolls around. Based on responses, they can direct that customer to a page with products that may help them achieve their goal. Or, if the customer has opted in to correspondence, they may send them information via email.
For example, if a respondent says they are interested in exercising more, a retailer may direct them to a page with work-out gear or equipment. If they say they are interested in traveling, they may direct them to deals on flights, hotels, or cruises. And if they say they want to quit smoking, they may turn them on to products designed to assist in quitting, such as nicotine patches. It’s a win-win; the retailer makes more sales, and the respondent receives help with their resolution.
Be sure to check out our blog on the 7 Benefits of Survey Quizzes for more on how they can improve sales, engagement, social media interaction, SEO, email sign-ups, and more.
Examples of a New Year’s Resolution Survey or Quiz
In order to engage with people, it’s important that your New Year’s resolution survey or quiz looks good. You’re in luck – SurveyLegend allows you to create beautiful online surveys for free! Plus, you can create surveys with images to further increase engagement and response rate (read why picture surveys perform better in our blog 7 Benefits of Using a Picture Survey).
Below is an example of a SurveyLegend survey with images, giving respondents the option to select their top resolution from the list of common resolutions provided by Statista.
Of course, SurveyLegend allows you to create any type of survey you want. Another great option is a Matrix Survey, which allows you to ask one main question (“Which of the following do you plan to do in the New Year?”) across many possible answers that participants can easily respond to. It’s a great way to survey about many things at once, without it feeling overwhelming to the respondent.
NOTE: The Matrix Survey below is live – try it for yourself and see how easy it is to use!
How to Create Your New Year’s Resolution Survey or Quiz with SurveyLegend
To make your New Year’s resolution survey to engage with readers or customers, simply follow this step-by-step guide after creating your free SurveyLegend account. Below are instructions for a picture survey, but creating a matrix survey or any other of our 12 types of surveys is just as easy!
- Login to your account
- Add a new survey, and navigate to the CREATE step.
- Use our picture-based question type (“Picture Selection”) by clicking on it.
- Click on the picture selection question that was just added, and then click on the “upload” button.
- Select all of your pictures at once from your computer, and then hit upload. Wait until the upload process is complete for all images.
- If you like, change the layout and size of holiday display photos using the settings on the left-hand side. You can also choose whichever voting type you prefer. People usually use the “Ranking” voting type and let people vote for their top 3 favorites.
- Go to the DESIGN step to change the look and feel of your survey (for example, you can choose a dark theme or upload your own background).
- Go to the CONFIGURE step and give your New Year’s resolution survey a good name so that you remember it. Also make sure you have this setting ON: “Limit number of participations” which will make sure people cannot vote multiple times.
- Finally, continue to the SHARE step, copy your competition link, and send it to your audience using SMS, Email, Facebook, Slack or whatever platform you like.
- When the distribution of your New Year’s resolution poll is done, go to Live Analytics and watch as the results come in.
Start Creating Your New Year’s Resolution Quiz or Survey Today
Ready to create your New Year’s resolution quiz, survey, questionnaire, form, or poll? We’ve got you covered! Our surveys render beautifully on any screen, are customizable to your design preferences, and provide awesome analytics. They can also be made anonymous in case anyone is hesitant about revealing their vices (and plans to quit them). So start now with SurveyLegend and find out how your customers are planning to improve their lives in 2023!
What’s your New Year’s resolution? Ours is to continue to deliver great content and provide you with quality surveys, questionnaires, forms, quizzes, and polls. Happy New Year!
Create your FREE New Year’s Resolution Quiz, Poll, Survey, or Questionnaire now!
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Less than 10% of people realize their New Year’s resolution. Those that do achieve their goal tend to set specific and challenging goals that they truly want to pursue, rally together a support system, and focus on smaller goals to hit the bigger goals.
The most popular New Year’s resolutions are to live healthier, find happiness, lose weight, find a new job, improve finances, improve relationships, travel or move, exercise more, stop smoking, and reduce drinking.
These types of quizzes not only engage their audience, but they offer a chance for the brand or retailer to direct the respondent to products or services that would help them achieve their resolution goals, boosting sales.
