Throttling

Throttling allows you to control how frequently a contact receives surveys within a defined period. This helps prevent over-surveying, reduces survey fatigue, and improves response quality.

SurveySensum supports three types of throttling:

• Global Throttling
  
  

• Group-level Throttling
  
  

• Survey-level Throttling

How to Access Throttling

You can configure throttling from two locations:

Method 1: From Account Settings

1. Log in to your account.
   
   

2. Click on Settings.
   
   

3. Select Throttling from the left navigation.
   

• Global Throttling
  
  

• Group-level Throttling
  
  

• Survey-level Throttling
  
  

This view allows centralized throttling management.

Method 2: From Survey Settings

1. Open the required survey.
   
   

2. Go to Survey Settings.
   
   

3. Configure Survey-level Throttling.
   

1. Global Throttling

Global Throttling applies a default throttling rule across all surveys in the account.

It ensures that a contact does not receive multiple surveys within the defined throttling period, regardless of survey or channel.

Key Points

• Default Setting: Enabled with a 30-day throttling period
  
  

• Scope: Applies across all surveys
  
  

• Channel Coverage: Works across all share channels (Email, Website Embed, In-App, SMS, WhatsApp, etc.)
  
  

• Centralized Management: Configured from Settings
  
  

• Visibility Option: Click “View surveys using Global Throttling” to see all surveys governed by the global rule
  
  

How It Works

If a contact receives any survey in the account:

• No other survey will be triggered for that contact until the global throttling period ends.
  
  

When to Use Global Throttling

Use Global Throttling when you want:

• A default safeguard across the entire account
  
  

• To prevent over-surveying across programs
  
  

• A simple, centralized frequency rule

2. Group-level Throttling

Group-level Throttling allows you to create groups of surveys and apply a shared throttling rule across those surveys.

It is ideal for managing survey frequency across programs, journeys, or always-on deployments.

It overrides Global Throttling.

What is Group-level Throttling?

Group-level Throttling allows you to:

• Create survey groups
  
  

• Add multiple surveys to a group
  
  

• Define a cool-off period (e.g., 30, 45, 60, 90 days or Custom)
  
  

• Prevent a contact from receiving another survey from the same group until the period ends
  
  

This applies regardless of survey completion.

Key Rules

• Once a survey from a group is triggered, the group is locked for that contact
  
  

• No other survey from that group will trigger during the lock period
  
  

• Throttling is calculated from the survey trigger date (not completion date)
  
  

• Applies even if the survey is not opened or completed
  
  

• Works across all deployment channels

How to Create a Throttling Group

1. Go to Settings → Throttling → Group-level Throttling
   
   

2. Click + Create Throttling Group
   
   

3. Enter a group name
   
   

4. Select surveys to include
   
   

5. Set throttling duration
   
   

6. Create Group
   
   

You can edit or delete groups anytime.

Prevent Group Overlap

When a contact belongs to multiple groups, surveys from different groups may become eligible around the same time.

To prevent this:

• Enable Prevent Group Overlap
  
  

• Define overlapping days
  
  

Overlap Example

• Contact belongs to Group A (45 days)
  
  

• Contact belongs to Group B (30 days)
  
  

• Overlap buffer: 4 days
  
  

Day 0: Survey from Group A is triggered
Group A is locked for 45 days

Group B becomes eligible only after the defined overlap buffer.

Result:
No simultaneous or back-to-back surveys from different groups.

Group-level Use Cases

1. Multi-Program Control

Prevents contacts enrolled in multiple programs from receiving surveys too close together.

2. Website Embed (Always-On Surveys)

Ensures users do not repeatedly see surveys even if they:

• Do not open
  
  

• Do not respond
  
  

• Do not complete
  
  

The group lock still applies.

3. Completion vs Non-Completion

Throttling does not depend on completion.

If a survey is triggered, the group lock applies for the full configured duration.

Benefits

• Prevents survey fatigue
  
  

• Ensures controlled survey exposure
  
  

• Improves customer experience
  
  

• Improves response quality
  
  

• Ideal for always-on and multi-channel deployments

3. Survey-level Throttling

Survey-level Throttling applies throttling rules to individual surveys.

It overrides both Global and Group-level Throttling.

Key Points

• Scope: Applies only to the selected survey
  
  

• Highest Priority: Overrides Global and Group-level rules
  
  

• Granular Control: Configure unique throttling days per survey
  
  

• Trigger-based Calculation: Based on survey trigger date
  
  

How It Works

If Survey A has a 30-day Survey-level throttling rule:

• Survey A cannot be triggered again for 30 days
  
  

• Other surveys may still trigger (subject to Group or Global rules)
  
  

How to Enable Survey-level Throttling

From Settings

1. Go to Settings → Throttling → Survey-level Throttling
   
   

2. Click + Add Survey
   
   

3. Select the survey you want to configure
   
   

4. Enter the throttling duration (in days)
   

5. Click the ✓ (check icon) to save changes

   • Click ✕ (cross icon) to cancel

   • Use the delete icon to remove the throttling rule

   
   

Throttling Priority

When multiple throttling rules apply, the system follows this order:

Survey-level > Group-level > Global

This means:

1. If Survey-level throttling exists, it takes priority
   
   

2. If not, Group-level throttling is checked
   
   

3. If neither applies, Global throttling is enforced
   
   

This layered approach ensures maximum flexibility while preventing over-surveying.