Customer Survey FAQ's
- What is the latest thinking about offering incentives to participants of customer satisfaction surveys? Certainly, incentives will improve response rate, but do they introduce unacceptable level of bias?
- If I want to do a customer survey, what are the kinds of things I should ask about besides just overall customer satisfaction?
- We've been sending our clients an online satisfaction survey of about 20 questions every 6 months, but find that response rates are below 15%. We’re a little disappointed. What is a realistic response rate for B2B satisfaction surveys these days? In your experience, what incentives work well in B2B environments?
- How do you get customers to fill out surveys? Most times they are always too busy or don’t give a detailed answer.
- I’m trying to determine the optimal frequency of conducting a client satisfaction survey. These would be B2B - we're a consulting company and would like to do a client satisfaction survey with our clients. Our current model is for us to conduct these two times a year, however, some people believe they only need to be done once a year. Any advice?
- What is an average online customer service survey response rate when the customer is being offered a financial incentive ($XX off next order, etc.)?
- What is the best timing of a customer survey? In your experience, do you get a better response rate depending on the month the survey is issued? For example, should we avoid July, August, and December?
- When using a 5 point Likert scale to measure quality of service, what are the best answer choices to use?
- How often should customers be surveyed online? Does it depend on the type of survey? How often should results be calculated?
- How effective is it to let customers know the results of a survey?
- How would you suggest improving the response rate to an online client survey? We already offer an incentive for each response, as well as entering them in a regular prize drawing.
- What is the optimal number of questions for a customer survey?
- For B2C surveys, how much of an increase in response rate do you believe would arise for an online survey as opposed to a postal one?
- Are very satisfied or very dissatisfied customers any more likely to respond to a customer satisfaction survey? In other words, are customer satisfaction survey responses biased based upon who decides to complete the survey?
A: We recommend that all customer survey clients offer some sort of incentive to respondents. We've found that even a modest incentive can increase response rates dramatically. Typical customer survey incentives include entry into a cash prize drawing or a nominal gift to every respondent. You want to be careful that your incentive will not introduce respondent bias into the study (i.e., some customer segments become more likely than others to complete the survey.) The trick here is to offer an incentive with universal appeal that all customers may find equally attractive.
Q: If I want to do a customer survey, what are the kinds of things I should ask about besides just overall customer satisfaction?
A: A good customer satisfaction survey should cover a lot more than overall customer satisfaction. Common topics of interest to our clients include quality of customer service, pricing vs. competitors, product-level satisfaction, likelihood to recommend, and likelihood to repurchase. Another great topic to cover in a customer survey is interest in new products and services, which can help you strategically by better understanding where your market is heading.
Q: We've been sending our clients an online satisfaction survey of about 20 questions every 6 months, but find that response rates are below 15%. We're a little disappointed. What is a realistic response rate for B2B satisfaction surveys these days? In your experience, what incentives work well in B2B environments?
A: We see response rates for B2B customer satisfaction surveys usually ranging from 10-25%. The most significant factors affecting response rates are (a) the nature of the relationship that customers have with your company (transactional vs. ongoing), (b) the length of the survey itself, and (c) the response incentive that is offered.
To give a couple examples, we are currently conducting an ongoing post-service survey for a major photocopier repair client which achieves an average monthly response rate around 12%. We also conduct an annual online customer satisfaction survey for an IT consulting firm, which achieves an average response rate closer to 25-30% due to the more involved relationships that they have with clients.
When incentives are offered for B2B customer surveys, we prefer a small gift for every survey respondent over a cash prize drawing (which is still effective for B2C surveys.) This can be a promotional item with your corporate logo, which not only encourages survey participation but also has a marketing and brand awareness advantage. It could also be a small discount on their next purchase, or access to a white paper published by your firm. Incentives need not always be given with B2B customer surveys, however, as when customers feel they have an important stake in the quality of service that your firm offers they will often take the survey simply because it's in their own long-term best interest.
Q: How do you get customers to fill out surveys? Most times they are always too busy or don't give a detailed answer.
A: Motivating customers to complete an online customer survey is always a challenge, but certain "best practices" can improve survey response rates dramatically. Communicating the importance of the survey along with how the results will benefit customers directly is an important first step. We recommend an introductory letter from the company CEO, which demonstrates to customers how seriously you take the customer survey initiative. A proper incentive should also be offered to encourage participation (see question on incentives in previous answer.) To encourage more detailed survey responses, open-ended survey questions must be worded properly. For example, it's better to ask, "What are three ways that Company XYZ can serve you better?" than "How can Company XYZ serve you better?" Following these best practices can assure an above-average survey response rate and actionable survey results data.
Q: I'm trying to determine the optimal frequency of conducting a client satisfaction survey. These would be B2B - we're a consulting company and would like to do a client satisfaction survey with our clients. Our current model is for us to conduct these two times a year, however, some people believe they only need to be done once a year. Any advice?
A: We recommend that our clients conduct a customer satisfaction survey on either a semi-annual (twice per year) or an annual basis. The former is ideal, though the latter is sometimes more feasible from a cost perspective. Customer surveys should be conducted frequently enough to keep a "pulse" on customer sentiments, thus allowing you to make improvements to customer processes on a continual basis. Some of our consulting clients conduct a survey after each engagement while the experience is still fresh on customers' minds, although they only examine survey results in aggregate on a semi-annual basis.
Q: What is an average online customer service survey response rate when the customer is being offered a financial incentive ($XX off next order, etc.)?
A: In the case of online customer service surveys, we typically see response rates around 12-14% without any incentive offered, though the response rate can increase to 18-22% if a financial incentive is thrown into the mix. Please see our previous answer for a more detailed analysis of the factors affecting response rates in online customer surveys.
Q: What is the best timing of a customer survey? In your experience, do you get a better response rate depending on the month the survey is issued? For example, should we avoid July, August, and December?
A: We advise B2B customer survey clients to avoid administering a one-time customer survey during peak holiday seasons such as late December since response rates decrease when customers are out of the office. We consider summertime survey administrations acceptable since even though some customers are traveling, the majority is still in the office in any given time (in the United States .) As for ongoing customer surveys, they may remain in the field throughout the year.
Q: When using a 5 point Likert scale to measure quality of service, what are the best answer choices to use?
A: For customer surveys incorporating a 5-point Likert scale (or "category identifier") we usually use the following scale: (5) Very satisfied, (4) Somewhat satisfied, (3) Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied, (2) Somewhat dissatisfied, (1) Very dissatisfied. The key features of this scale are that it's symmetrical and avoids descriptors with strong emotional connotations. We use a similar scale to measure agreement with certain statements or likelihood to take certain future behaviors.
Q: How often should customers be surveyed online? Does it depend on the type of survey? How often should results be calculated?
A: We recommend that online customer surveys are conducted on an annual or semi-annual basis. If your product or service is more transactional in nature, you may consider a survey that is perpetually in the field which respondents are asked to complete immediately after a transaction. Regardless of the survey administration frequency, no single respondent should be asked to participate more than once per quarter to avoid respondent fatigue. In the case ongoing customer surveys, we usually report results monthly. For clients who receive basic monthly reports we also offer an annual "comprehensive" report including trend analysis, regression analysis, and results broken down by customer segment subgroups.
Q: How effective is it to let customers know the results of a survey?
A: Customer survey results are usually not distributed to customers. Most companies consider their survey results confidential information and therefore feel uncomfortable releasing this data publicly. Also, any negative survey results may damage customers' perceptions of the firm.
Q: How would you suggest improving the response rate to an online client survey? We already offer an incentive for each response, as well as entering them in a regular prize drawing.
A: There are three main factors which impact your survey response rate: 1) Survey length, 2) Incentives, and 3) Communications. Since you are already offering a dual incentive to respondents, you should probably focus on #1 and #3 above. There is a strong inverse relationship between survey length and response rates, so if you can shorten the length of your survey that will likely help your cause. You should also send succinct, professional communications to your customers outlining the purpose of the survey of how much you value their response. These communications should remind customers that you will pay sharp attention to the survey results and act upon the findings.
Q: What is the optimal number of questions for a customer survey?
A: We usually recommend that customer surveys are no longer than 25 questions in length which translates into about 5-7 minutes. However, that assumes a variety of different question formats dealing with separate aspects of the customer experience, but if the questions are all in a similar format and can be completed more quickly you can get away with a longer questionnaire. What really matters is the survey completion time.
Q: For B2C surveys, how much of an increase in response rate do you believe would arise for an online survey as opposed to a postal one?
A: These days we typically see better response rates for online surveys than paper surveys thanks to strong Internet penetration and consumers more technically savvy than ever before. Respondents usually prefer the online format due to convenience, easy of survey completion, and lower time requirements. As for the actual boost you would see in your survey response rate going from paper to online, it really depends upon your target audience. For example, if you're surveying 18-26 year old males you would see a much larger boost than you would if you're surveying the elderly.
Q: Are very satisfied or very dissatisfied customers any more likely to respond to a customer satisfaction survey? In other words, are customer satisfaction survey responses biased based upon who decides to complete the survey?
A: There is a observed response bias in customer satisfaction surveys towards the customers on either extreme of the satisfaction scale, particularly those who are very dissatisfied. In other words, very satisfied or dissatisfied customers are more likely to respond to a survey invitation than those more towards the middle. The best way to combat the resulting "polarization" of customer survey data is to assure the maximum survey response rate possible, thus capturing more of the ambivalent customers and making the customer survey responses more representative of the overall customer base.
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