Recently, at least in the UK, it seems you literally cannot go anywhere or do anything without getting an email or a text message asking you to “Tell us about your experience so that we can do better.” I really don’t fancy rehashing my experiences about absolutely everything, from my hair cut and my phone call to my mobile phone provider to my recent visits to a concert or an exhibition…
What can you do to gain feedback from your customer/s? If you are among the companies that struggle to get a double-digit response rate, customer surveys can end up becoming a tick-box exercise, rather than a tool for collecting useful information.
Much of this is about the timing. You need to ask the customer shortly after the purchase has taken place while it is still fresh in mind. If you ask someone about their experience six months after they last purchased something from you, the likelihood of a reply is close to zero. There is a fine balance between asking for feedback and becoming a nuisance though. If it is a frequent purchase, don’t ask each time.
Unless the customer has had a really bad or a fantastic experience, he/she is not likely to give up his/her time to fill out a survey. Someone who has had a bad experience, in particular, is likely to let you know about it directly, either by speaking to you or letting the world know on social media.
Keep it short! I recently had to fill out a survey which was said it would take about ten minutes (way too long!). Of course, it then took longer than ten minutes and they even had the gall to include a question asking what I thought about the survey! Needless to say, I was not soft in my criticism on this particular question.
Also consider the suitability of the possible answers. If there is a drop-down list, you need to cover all eventualities and include a “Not Applicable” phrase or similar. If a customer finds out three questions in to your survey that there is not an answer that fits his/her experience, they are likely to stop filling it out.
If there is a time-limit say so. On several occasions I have thought to send feedback after a flight, only to find out when I get round to clicking on the link, it is no longer valid. If you only have one day to fill it out, clearly state so in the invitation to the survey.
There are also geographical and cultural differences in what is good feedback. In Japan, for instance, it would be very difficult to get the highest score on any survey. The Brits might grumble a lot and complain amongst each other, but they don’t always complain to the relevant person who could do something about this (slight generalisation, I know).
Professor Mark Ritson, founder of the Marketing Week Mini MBA, mentions in the same course that the only measure worth measuring is the Net Promoter Score, or NPS. I tend to agree with him on this. On a scale of 1 to 10, what is the likelihood you would recommend the company to your friends? By calculating the NPS, you also get a value you can compare year on year. With NPS, you can also easily see how many customers have had a really bad experience compared to a fantastic one.
No matter what shape your customer survey takes, the most important thing is to be prepared to act on the replies you get. There is absolutely no point in compiling the answers in a file, sharing it around the company and doing nothing about it.
To discuss this topic further, please get in touch!