If you want to improve your customer service, you need to collect feedback from your customers. But how do you design effective survey questions that will give you the insights you need? In this article, we will share some tips on how to refine your survey questions before you launch them.
Before you start writing your survey questions, you need to have a clear idea of what you want to learn from your customers. What are the main objectives of your survey? What are the key metrics you want to measure? How will you use the feedback to improve your service? Having a clear goal will help you focus your questions on the most relevant and actionable topics.
One of the multitude of things which had been learned in graduate school: Anything can be proven with numbers. Question posed here is: What is management, marketing customer service coalescing task team(s) looking to demonstrate ? Truths- and part- truths can be illustrated with numbers. Are JD Power, as an example, focus groups, well-compensated consultants, may well be best to placate organizational self-fulfillling prophecies. Underlying primary concern: How much change is budgeted for future purposes - or lack thereof ?
Although there is great value in the short one or two question surveys aimed at measuring NPS, I prefer surveys that are 5-10 questions long. In a healthcare setting I like to ask the survey questions in an order that follows the patient journey. From initial phone call to arriving at the clinic and registering, going into the back office, interacting with support staff, meeting with the clinician and finally discharge and any follow up. Asking for quick ratings for each of these critical steps helps identify the strengths and weaknesses of the various components of the overall patient experience. Which you don't get with only one or two questions. It's also much easier to fine tune a specific area than guessing at the whole thing.
Depending on your goal, you may want to use different types of survey questions. For example, you can use closed-ended questions, such as multiple choice or rating scales, to get quantitative data that is easy to analyze and compare. Or you can use open-ended questions, such as text boxes or comment fields, to get qualitative data that is more detailed and nuanced. You can also use a mix of both formats to get a balanced view of your customers' opinions and experiences.
The survey templates will vary upon the time element and sophistication of the customer base. Exceedingly simple responses elicited from customers can very easily be misrepresented by the ones who answer. Usually their issued opinion without incentive might err on the minus side, or even demonstrate derogatorily. The composite, conclusive results can be weighted or skewed by the teams given the authority. This way, management can meld the resulting summary data to most any way they find advantageous.
Before you launch your survey, you need to test your questions to make sure they are clear, unbiased, and relevant. You can do this by conducting a pilot survey with a small sample of your target audience. You can also ask a colleague or a friend to review your questions and give you feedback. Testing your questions will help you identify and fix any problems, such as confusing wording, leading questions, or irrelevant options.
To optimize your survey and increase your response rate and quality, it's important to keep your survey short and simple. Use clear and concise language that avoids jargon, acronyms, or technical terms. Additionally, use logic and branching to show or hide questions based on the previous answers. This will make your survey more personalized and relevant to each customer. Offering incentives, such as discounts, coupons, or rewards, can also motivate customers to complete the survey. Finally, thank them for their time and feedback at the end of the survey. By following these best practices, you can refine your survey questions and launch a successful customer feedback survey that will help you improve your customer service.
Always remember that your survey is part of your customer's experience. Do you enjoy completing customer service surveys? Chances are you don't. And your customers feel the same way. They're tired of endless requests to take surveys, some of which take 10 minutes or longer to complete. Avoid surveys whenever possible. There are often alternative ways to get feedback. For example, the conversations you're already having directly with customers. When a survey is absolutely necessary, keep questions to three or fewer. The easier you make the survey, the better you make the experience.