Customer surveys are a tried and tested method that can be used to obtain valuable feedback. However, the quality of the survey and its timing make all the difference. If customers feel inconvenient or unable to remember the details of the experience related to your brand, they are unlikely to provide you with the insights you need. Today, with so many customers using multiple digital channels, it is especially important to design the best surveys that can be effectively delivered on the customer’s preferred channel. In order to get the most meaningful feedback on brand improvement, please avoid the following six customer survey errors.

Lack of incentive for the customer

If customers don’t understand the direct benefits of conducting surveys, they won’t participate at all. Investigations take time, and skeptical customers may think their answers are irrelevant. Be sure to communicate how you intend to use their feedback and give examples of how past feedback has led to direct brand improvements. You can also consider offering some kind of reward after completing the survey, such as loyalty points or discounts.

Confusing content

If your question is not accurate, it will only frustrate the customer or give you incorrect answers. Make your question as specific as possible and make sure that the answer scale is easy to understand. It’s also important to remember that although common questions are easy to understand, they don’t provide the insights your brand needs. Consider dividing the survey into parts that clearly correspond to different steps in the customer journey. For example, in three different sections, you might ask whether the brand website is easy to navigate before making a purchase, whether the checkout process is seamless, and whether you receive an order confirmation promptly after the purchase

Lack of a free-response section

Many times, customers will provide other input, but the survey questions limit their answers. Therefore, it is crucial to provide a free-response section at the end to invite customers to elaborate on the points they consider most relevant. If a customer leaves a particularly important comment, your brand must follow up separately to ensure that the customer takes his opinion seriously. Customer reviews can provide valuable information, and your problem may not be solved.

Poor timing

In customer service, time is everything. This is why the questionnaire should be sent in time after the purchase before the customer forgets the details of the experience time and has no time to communicate. A few days after purchase is an ideal choice, enabling customers to reflect and provide an honest response without being too anxious. Sending surveys too frequently can also cause problems because customers shouldn’t be annoyed. Continuous requests for information may cause your customers to unsubscribe from newsletters or otherwise leave your brand.

Long surveys

No one wants to spend more time on investigations than they do, and some people don’t want to answer at all. This is why you need to be extra careful when designing a survey, as length can become a major issue. Keep your surveys concise and to the point, and make sure to format them in an easy-to-read way. Your customers will be more likely to respond.

Ignoring the customer’s preferred channel

If your brand always sends questionnaires on a single channel (e.g. email), you have made a big mistake. E-mail may be convenient for some people, but every customer has their own preferences. The best strategy is to send questionnaires through the channels that customers like. Customers prefer convenience, and receiving communications on the channels they already use makes interaction easier.

Survey Monkey estimates that it collects more than 2 million responses for the company every day, indicating that customers are indeed willing to interact further with the brand. However, as these consumers continue to be favored by the many brands they support, it is important to make your survey stand out so that customers really have the questions they are forced to answer. In order to provide the best customer experience, please learn about Contact Center Live, which is the leading active call center software solution and advanced omni-channel customer interaction platform.

Source: Vocalcom