How to Design a Customer Survey for Your Business.
Let us imagine you do not have a clue about how to start to put together a Customer Survey and are focused on all things that could go wrong. Have no fear, you are not alone.
According to the latest HubSpot research - 42% of companies do not survey their customers or collect feedback. So do not feel bad, there is time to turn this around.
As a business owner it is important to understand that we are living in the information age. Customers are much more savvy about what they expect from companies. The benefits of stretching outside your comfort zone to commit to conducting a survey means you will be able to use the data to better align your business goals towards your vision.
Think about it. If you do not know what your customers and suppliers think about your company, how will your business strategically grow and prosper in the future. Undertaking surveys will help you to get greater clarity on your customers’ experience and expectations around your products and services.
Dependent on the size of your business and resources, be prepared to take the time to plan for not just now but the long haul.
There is no reason to have a badly designed survey, just keep it simple.
Here are some simple tips to get you started.
What is the motivation for creating a survey?
First and foremost, you must understand exactly why you want to survey your customers and how this will influence your core business goals and decisions.
For example, are you looking to increase customer retention, sales effectiveness or reducing costs? Greater clarity about your intentions means a more effective survey which gives you the answers you need to feed into your overall business and marketing goals. Be clear about your objective and purpose.
What is your survey looking for? Is it: -
Feedback data
Satisfaction data
Evaluation data
Employer engagement
Post event data
Website feedback
Political data
Demographic data
Brand awareness data
Marketing data
Other data
Once you are ready to go, mind your language.
The language, tone and cultural considerations of your survey are critical. It should be plain, avoid ambiguity and social desirability bias. Another audience turn off is the use of insider, industry specific jargon. Avoid it where possible unless your survey is sector specific.
Knowing your demographic means your survey will be more representative of the population you are targeting and more likely to be completed. Think about it. As well as collecting useful data, you should be trying to build trust with the respondent. So be careful that your questions are not personally intrusive. Yes, be empathetic but not offensive.
Also, this is a time strapped generation, so your survey should not be a biography.
Research shows the longer the survey is, the higher the likelihood that your respondent will drop off due to ‘survey fatigue’. Brevity is king!
If your audience does not respond to your survey, do not hassle them. A reminder yes, but not an onslaught of messages to irritate them and potentially force them to unsubscribe, which will be counterproductive to the survey’s needs.
Keep the Questions and Ratings Spectrum Small
Understanding your audience means that your questions will be more targeted, specific and relevant. Design your survey so that every respondent will interpret it in the same manner because the type of questions you use will produce different kinds of data.
If you want your survey to be effective, it needs to be balanced and structured to include both positive and negative responses.
Understanding the difference between attitude and factual questions will ensure you produce meaningful data from your survey.
For example, if you are running a specialist bakery and you want your customers to return for repeat purchases. You need to understand their experience and attitude towards your store and products e.g. customer service, variety of products, ability to supply for birthdays, weddings, faith and other occasions.
Answers to this survey will allow you to plan for repeat purchases in a more personal but strategic way.
By being clear of your purpose and perceived outcomes, you will design a better survey. If you need to understand their experience, this needs to be done sooner rather than later to capitalise on their feelings. If it is feedback about a product, then you can be more flexible in terms of timelines.
When structuring your questions use open and closed questions. Open ended questions tend to be ‘what are you watching today?’ or ‘how are you feeling today?
Closed questions tend to be one word answers and tend to be ‘yes’ or ‘no’. Your questions should expect ONE answer. No double barrelled questions like ‘do you want to be slim and pretty?’ This causes confusion as to how to answer both or part of the question.
Popular surveys tend to use rating questions. If you are able to ask questions that only require ratings from 1-5 rather than 1-10 will get you a better understanding of your clients’ needs and the data is more valid. What does scores 6-9 really mean? The key is that you want data that you can act on.
Another popular rating system is multiple choice. Easy to hide the real answer amongst the choices and this tends to be used for various tests and quizzes.
Another tip is, even though you have a why, leave space for spontaneous answers which might give you an unexpected response.
Deciding Which Survey Platform To Use
This is crucial to the success of your survey needs.
Decide if this be online; phone interview; email; in person focus group or a tablet or paper based questionnaire. Facebook Polls, Twitter Chat and corporate social accounts (to name a few) are becoming just as popular. However, you have to take into consideration if this is right format for your audience.
Before going live, its best to do a test to ensure it is presented well; functions correctly and meets your testing checklist criteria. This could be sent to yourself or a test group of family, friends or trusted customers. This gives you an opportunity to avoid your data suffering when you launch your survey.
Do not neglect the governing factors of your audience for example:
Age
Gender
Race
Occupation
Location
Politics
interests etc.
This will have an impact on the day and time you send out your survey. By understanding your optimum survey timing factors you will be able to determine what works best for your business.
Yee ah! It’s time to publish, so which survey builder will suit your business needs. Just to give you a push, here are 10 of the most popular survey tools and apps on the market: -
Survey Monkey
Google Forms
Hobspot
TypeForm
Surveybot
SoGoSurvery
Alchemer
Mailchimp
Microsoft Forms
Constant Contact
Don’t just take my word for it. Do your research to ensure that the survey builder meets your business objectives and purpose.
Responding to Negative Feedback
So the results are in and some of the data and parts of it did not meet your expectations. Not everything will go your way so if you do get unexpected responses ensure that processes are in place in order to respond in a timely manner. Taking it personally will be reflected in your response and you may miss the learning opportunity.
Not responding in a timely manner gives the customer freedom to express their frustration on social media. Never good for your brand. Follow up on why they feel your business has fell short and address their concerns or problems.
However, if you get positive reviews, use this information to kick start a formal customer advocacy programme to build social proof of all the good work your business is doing.
Finally
Today customers expect more, are impressed less and have more options to let their voices be heard. They are empowered and demanding!
Thank them for completing the survey, you never know when you need to ask them again. Your consideration of their time affirms that their efforts are contributing to the success of your business.
An Investment In Your Future
The National Black Women’s Network provides a number of workshops, blogs, expert interviews and webinars (to name a few) to help your business become more productive, more profitable and more connected. You will have access to business programmes, webinars, blogs, advice and support. Learn more HERE
Explore our inspirational stories from business leaders and professional experts by reading our Spotlight section where they share their journey, tips and ideas to help you achieve business success.
Read more HERE
