What’s the best way to get information about how customers perceive a business? How about going straight to the consumer? With the advances in technology and data collection, any business can send off a simple survey to their email list to get fast feedback on any number of issues.
The key to a successful customer survey is insightful questions that provoke an honest response.
Identify The Goal And Write Accordingly
Surveys need to be short in order to compile answers from as many people as possible. Before writing the questions, be sure to identify the purpose of the survey and make sure every question relates to that end goal.
It may be tempting to sneak in a bunch of questions that don’t relate to the end goal, but the additional questions can put off too many people and a longer survey can lead to impatient readers lying on the last half in order to finish sooner.
Refrain From Using Loaded Questions
The purpose of a customer survey is to collect useful data from the people who actively use a service, allowing a business to see what they are doing right and what they are doing wrong. Loaded or leading questions achieve the exact opposite and result in misleading answers that only tell the business what they want to hear.
“Now that our website redesign is complete, what do you think of our store’s new state-of-the-art interface?” is a question that tells the reader that the business loves the new store and only want to hear positive feedback.
“What are your thoughts on the recent site redesign?” is a simple question that tells the reader the business wants useful feedback on the new website and are willing to listen to criticism. It’s a simple change, but one that achieves the goal of receiving honest answers.
Start With Yes Or No Questions And End With An Open-Ended One
Open-ended questions where the reader can write down their thoughts may receive the most detailed answers, but too many of them look like work where the survey should look easy. Write the most critical open-ended question and place it at the very end of the survey so that it doesn’t overwhelm recipients early on.
Starting with yes or no questions is a great way to ease readers into the survey with simple questions that can be answered quickly, while still providing necessary information. “Have you made a purchase at the store in the last month?” allows a business to identify which answers are coming from recent customers and is a simple answer for any reader.