How do you create an effective aftersales survey?

1 Define your goals

Before you start crafting your questions, you need to have a clear idea of what you want to achieve with your survey. What are the main objectives and outcomes you are looking for? How will you use the data to improve your products, services, or processes? How will you measure the success of your survey? Having a specific and realistic goal will help you focus your survey and avoid irrelevant or redundant questions.

2 Choose your method

There are different ways to conduct an aftersales survey, such as email, phone, web, or SMS. Each method has its advantages and disadvantages, depending on your target audience, budget, and time frame. For example, email surveys are easy to send and track, but they may have low response rates or end up in spam folders. Phone surveys can offer more personal interaction and higher completion rates, but they may be intrusive or expensive. Web surveys can be embedded on your website or social media, but they may require more technical skills or incentives. SMS surveys can be quick and convenient, but they may have limited space or functionality. You need to choose the method that best suits your goals, resources, and customers.

3 Write your questions

The quality of your questions will determine the quality of your responses, so it's important to ask questions that are clear, concise, relevant, and unbiased. Use simple and direct language that your customers can understand; avoid jargon, acronyms, or technical terms. Additionally, limit the number and length of your questions to avoid survey fatigue. A mix of open-ended and closed-ended questions is ideal for balancing quantitative and qualitative data. Rating scales or multiple-choice options make it easy for customers to answer and for you to analyze; however, avoid using too many options or leading questions that may influence their answers. Finally, use skip logic or branching to customize your survey based on previous answers in order to avoid irrelevant or repetitive questions and keep your customers engaged.

4 Test your survey

Before you launch your survey, you need to test it thoroughly to ensure that it works properly and meets your goals. Check for spelling, grammar, or formatting errors that may affect its readability and credibility. Additionally, review your questions for clarity, relevance, and bias. Make sure they are aligned with your objectives and do not suggest a desired answer or outcome. Test your survey on different devices, browsers, and platforms to ensure that it is compatible and user-friendly. Also, ask a sample of your customers or colleagues to take your survey and provide feedback so you can gauge their reactions and identify any problems or issues that need adjustments.

5 Analyze and act on your results

Once you have collected your responses, you need to analyze them and use them to improve your aftersales performance. Software or tools can be used to organize, visualize, and interpret your data, such as through graphs, charts, tables, or dashboards. Additionally, segmenting your data by different criteria can help identify patterns or opportunities among customers. Comparing your results with goals, benchmarks, or industry standards is an effective way to evaluate strengths and weaknesses and measure progress. Sharing your results and insights with stakeholders is also important for communicating value and addressing any concerns or complaints. Finally, taking action based on your results and insights is essential for improving products, services, or processes; rewarding loyal customers; and reaching out to dissatisfied customers.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?