Oh joy, yet another customer satisfaction survey email in your Inbox. I mean, who has the time for all those, right?
Well, perhaps if you knew a bit more about the role that these surveys actually play, you may be more willing to make the time. Truth be told, surveys can play a large part in shaping the quality of your experience with some of your favorite brands. In that regard, surveys are actually more integral than you might think—all in exchange for your thoughts and a brief amount of time.
What are they actually measuring, anyway?
So, what are most surveys trying to accomplish? For one, surveys are good for measuring transactional aspects of a business relationship, like rating the benefit of a product or service you recently purchased. But their greatest value is measuring satisfaction. Companies that listen to this “voice of the customer” tend to have the highest satisfaction ratings. Not surprisingly, smart businesses give enormous weight to these opinions. That “voice” is a key indicator of brand loyalty and, in a universe of choices, retaining your loyalty is the name of the game.
There’s an old saying in business, “Make a customer happy, and he or she may tell one friend. But make a customer unhappy, and he or she will tell everyone they know.” Today, that’s especially true with social media. So, it’s critical that companies stay on the “front line” for customer perceptions—because no amount of after-the-fact massaging will change someone’s perceptions about a bad experience with a brand’s products.
What’s in it for you?
Assuming the transactional experience was positive, however, there are big benefits to customers and vendors alike for evaluating these encounters. Email is a great way to do this because it’s convenient, quick, and data can be collected efficiently from thousands of transactions. Companies can then slice and dice that information, looking for ways to make small improvements that have a big impact.
Another way surveys are incredibly valuable is among customers who are members of a rewards program. The best of these programs not only awards points for consistent buying activity, but also asks members’ opinions on a regular basis. Opinion polls and similar feedback mechanisms are a cornerstone in ongoing refinements to products and services, which is hugely beneficial to end-users.
As global management consulting firm McKinsey & Company says, “A company’s brand is driven by more than the combination of promises made and promises kept. What’s also critical is ensuring customers recognize the delivery of those promises.”
Put another way, a company has to do more than its job; it has to make sure you had a great experience—and it has to constantly improve that experience. Voice of the customer surveys are perhaps the best tool that companies have at their disposal for constantly refining what they do and keeping their best customers happy.
So, the next time you see that customer satisfaction survey from your favorite brand, make the time for it—because you deserve the best customer experience possible.
