Ah, the customer survey. Communicators always start out with high hopes for their customer surveys. They’re excited to ask customers a bunch of questions, and are prepared to be enlightened. Time and money are invested into even the shortest, simplest surveys. But when results come back muddled and jumbled, it makes you wonder why you even bothered in the first place.
On the other hand, some organizational leaders don't dare make a move without first checking the results of their latest survey. For them, if a topic isn't covered in the survey, it doesn't get a place in the strategic plan. These leaders live and die by each perfect score and each failing grade.
Assuming surveys are a joke is no better than assuming they are the holy grail of business success. This begs the question: Is there a happy medium? Fortunately, yes. But the happy medium comes as a result of having educated expectations.
You'll win a few and lose a few
Really dissatisfied customers and passionately loyal customers are the most likely to respond to surveys. This often explains why some organizations love surveying customers and others dislike it with a passion. Most organizations, however, will experience both extremes in survey responses. This creates a series of problems, including the following.
1. A false sense of security. It's wonderful to have incredibly positive survey responses. But if that's all you're getting, double check your sample. How many people have responded and do they represent the greater whole that is your target customer group? These people may be thrilled with you (and that's wonderful), but if they represent only a small percentage of your customer base, it's time to reach out to the in-betweens.
2. A false sense of insecurity. If a small percentage of people say they dislike nearly everything about your organization, take a look first at what they dislike. If it is the same thing across the board, you either have an opportunity for improvement or you're targeting the wrong audience. Before you beat yourself up, review your customer base and the sample size you used for your survey. The sample may not always represent the whole.
3. A muddled middle. When these extremes are aggregated together, the numerical average is often somewhere in the middle. For the organization that was hoping for enlightening results, an average response is often a major disappointment. In such cases, combing through data from a few surveys can shed light on your company's performance.
Surveys have their limitations. Rather than hope and pray for major outcomes, look for trends within the surveys themselves. Be willing to identify kernels of knowledge (such as handwritten suggestions or other open-ended answers) that may only show up on a few surveys but have a major impact on your organization's direction. Those moments of clarity are what make surveys fun.
You'll often get what you want to hear
Even though surveys are often meant to be anonymous, customers still worry that you will identify their answers in the pile of surveys that now sit on your desk. They don't want to be the ones to give honest, constructive feedback that might ruin your day. As a result, they give answers they think you want to hear. This means professional communicators run the risk of developing products and consumer outreach efforts based on inaccurate information.
Although you can't control how other people respond to surveys, you can develop surveys that encourage honest feedback. For example:
1. Explain the reason for the survey. Explain to customers why you want their input. Let them know how the information will be used. Explain that their answers are voluntary and confidential.
2. Have a simple purpose for the survey. Many surveys are too broad (and lengthy), leaving customers weary, frazzled and uninterested in responding. Are you developing a product or wanting to improve on a service? Then don’t ask about what content they want to see in company newsletters. That's a separate survey altogether.
3. Keep it short. This doesn't mean you can't ask a few open-ended questions, as these types of questions often provide the best information. Do make sure to ask only what you really need to know. Since most consumers have better things to do than fill out surveys, keeping yours short and focused demonstrates a respect for their time and energy.
Customer wants
A third survey issue arises with consumer wants. If you've ever felt like you knew what you didn't want but had no clue what you did want, then you know what it's like to be a customer. Many consumers simply do not know what they want from an organization. But they definitely know what they don't want!
This makes the survey process difficult. For example, you can ask all the right questions and still walk away empty-handed because the consumer can't make up his or her mind. Additionally, you can ask well-intended questions that do not address what the consumer unknowingly really wants. The consumer answers honestly, but the answers don't provide any real value.
Before you set fire to all customer surveys, remember there are numerous advantages to using them. Consumers do want to give feedback, and they do want to be heard. If you're willing to act on their suggestions, this shows you care. The key is to isolate those kernels of knowledge and insight that come from a few thoughtful responses and implement them in your organization.
Having informal communication throughout the year is also helpful. Rather than wait for the comprehensive annual survey to check in with customers, communicate with them every day on social media sites, on the company blog, at tradeshows, and countless other places. This eliminates many of the problems surrounding surveys, thereby making them more effective when they are used. The organization learns what issues are of importance to the customer, and the customer learns that honest feedback is valued by the communicator. This establishes a trusting bond that allows the organization-customer relationship to flourish—even outside of the coveted survey itself.
