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> News of the day < I’m not happy. My chair has just broken and the printer has still not been fixed. The problem with the company is that it is going to the dogs. The boss really doesn’t seem to have a clue as to what is really going on. |
Good customer service is the life blood of any business. Although new customers are important good customer service will help generate customer loyalty and repeat business. With each satisfied customer your business is likely to win many more customers through recommendations and remember, if you are not taking care of your customers, your competition will.
Online customer satisfaction surveys will help you not only identify problem areas but will also demonstrate to your customers that you care and are proactive in looking for ways to improve the service that you provide.
Objective - As a first step decide what the main objectives of the survey are, in that way you will be able to retain focus and find it easier to decide what questions to ask.
Analysis - Once the survey has been completed consider how you will analyse the answers.
Keep in mind that ‘closed’ questions (where a respondent is asked to choose from a limited number of responses) are much easier to analyze than ‘open’ questions (where the respondent can reply in anyway they want).
Much will depend on the predicted volume of respondents, the higher the volume the more important it is to have an easy method of analyzing the results.
Opportunity – As well as obtaining valuable market research data keep in mind that customer surveys are also a good way to advertise areas of your service that your customers may not be aware of.
After you have drafted your survey read through the survey from a market research view point and check that you are asking the right questions in the right way and that with the feedback information you will be able to properly analyze the data allowing you to make informed decisions.
Then, from a marketing view point read through the survey, confirm that you have phrased each question so that every opportunity has been taken to promote your business?
The ideal question will perform the following three functions:-
For example:- Do you find the in-store baby changing facilities useful?
In asking this question the store will hopefully not only receive useful feedback on the baby changing facility but they will also promote the store as being child-friendly even beyond the customers who actually require the facility.
Warts and all – to benefit most from a customer survey you need to be prepared to accept criticism.
A customer satisfaction survey should be designed to highlight problems so that they can be addressed; regular customer satisfaction will prevent complacency and will also give early warning on where your competitors initiatives may be losing you business.
Although it is a given that each business is likely to have specific and unique factors that are important in providing good customer services there are common areas that are relevant to all businesses be they a physical store, online internet store or a service industry. The following are key areas to providing good customer service.
Communication - Are you confident that you make it easy for your customers to contact you?
When customers telephone are their calls answered quickly; are their enquiries about products or services handled properly? Good businesses will make every effort to ensure that whatever the customers query it is resolved by the right person, quickly, politely and fairly.
If a problem is not resolvable immediately do you promise to respond in a given time period and do you deliver on your promise?
Use a customer satisfaction survey to ensure that all your staff are considered by your customers to be courteous, helpful and knowledgeable.
Location – Are you doing everything you can to ensure that your customers find it easy to visit you, if a physical store, does it have good access and is it conveniently located?
Making it pleasant, making it easy - For an internet business it is important to ensure that your website is aesthetically pleasing and easy to use.
Regardless of the store being a bricks and mortar or purely online web based store, is the store properly laid out and can your customers find what they need and is there sufficient detailed information and help on hand to explain how a particular product works?
The right quality products – You should not only measure the quality of the service that you provide but you should also monitor that the products and services that you market are what the customer wants and closely match their expectations.
Value for money – Cheap or expensive is rarely a good measure, value for money is.
Do your current customers consider your services as value for money, if not, why not?
Speed and attention – The majority of customers will want to be dealt with quickly but attentively.
Are you doing everything you can to avoid delays?
Customers like to be treated as individuals, how do you treat your customers? Attention is appreciated but it needs to be followed up with a quick and satisfactory resolution to the query.
Demographics and Specific issues – Take the opportunity to profile your customers, for example what is their age group and where do they live?
By understanding your customers more, the better your chances of correctly targeting your business.
Allow customers to state any concerns that they may have and the opportunity to provide their contact details so that any problems that are raised can be followed up.
Once the survey has been completed analyse the results.
Trends – Identify specific and common areas where the service needs improving.
Ask yourself if any criticism is valid and is there anything that can be done to resolve or minimise the problem?
Training – Are the staff properly trained and do they have sufficient knowledge?
Where employee training programmes have been implemented have they made a positive contribution to the business and improved the customer service?
Follow-up – If a customer has raised a specific issue through completing a survey ensure that they are contacted and that their complaint is properly addressed.
Do not waste an opportunity to resolve a problem and keep a customer.
Continuously Monitor - Make changes based on the survey results and then re-measure by issuing follow up surveys.
If you are interested in tracking customer satisfaction and would like to see a sample survey for a store that demonstrates some of the above advice please view the following example that can be used as a customer satisfaction survey template.
If a building’s broken window is not repaired promptly it doesn’t take long for many of the building’s other windows to be broken. Resolving problems when they are small will prevent them from developing into serious problems.
The same is true when considering the level of employee satisfaction. Dissatisfaction spreads like wildfire and in a surprisingly short period of time you’ve got morale problems of the kind that are notoriously hard to fix.
To ensure that your employees are happy you need to understand what their problems and concerns are and it is important to deal with them early on. Keeping the initiative is really important and the secret is that it is better to give a little and often.
This turns out be a vicious circle. Fixing the problem when it’s small is also when it’s easiest and when it’s cheapest. Most employees would prefer their management to take the initiative with any prompting and if the do management can then operate from a strong position. Employees look for strong, confident management and having a proactive approach and taking time to understand the employees’ issues will gain the respect of the workforce.
Compare that with those managers who are out of touch. They arrive late at a problem so they are on the defensive, and with their credibility eroded they have to concede to demands which in turn could lead to further and less reasonable demands. It is neither big nor clever.
The question is how one goes about monitoring the morale of a company without throwing money at the problem and without the luxury of having spare time?
An online employee survey. They’re quick, easy to use, and a low cost solution. Instead of weeks and months surveys can now be designed and published in hours and minutes, by harnessing the power of the internet invitations can be sent out instantly and free of charge using email, links on websites and postings on social networks; the results are collated in real-time and can be automatically displayed as charts.
The ideal delivery platform is the corporate internet.
By linking through to an online survey website a company can regularly conduct surveys so they become part and parcel of the daily operations.
With the ability of an online survey to produce real-time results the mood of the workforce can instantly gauged, concerns highlighted both on a collective and individual level.
Organisations can use survey results to identify problem areas and then use follow-up surveys to target specific areas of concern. With good information managers are able to identify specific problems and prepare a considered response.
By conducting regular surveys a company is able to address small problems before they grow into much bigger problems that are then more difficult to address.
When management show willingness to consult with the workforce it is appreciated by most employees, not viewed as a sign of weakness but an indicator of good decision making.
Every now and then management problems can be solved with something that is quick, easy and won’t break the bank; enjoy.
Designing surveys is easy; or is it? The reality is that writing surveys is easy but writing surveys that will be effective is a little bit more difficult. The following are twenty tips that if followed will help you with your survey questionnaire design and help you write effective surveys.
1. What is the survey’s purpose?
Surveys are conducted for many reasons. By correctly phrasing the questions and structuring the answers surveys can be used in a multitude of ways and for a variety of reasons. When designing a survey do not lose sight of its purpose.
2. Give the survey a good title
The survey title is key and an opportunity to instantly summarise a survey’s objective and grab the attention of invited respondents. Respondents are going to invest time in completing the survey so make them feel that their investment is worthwhile.
3. Don’t make the survey any longer than it needs to be
Every question that is asked should be asked for a reason. Concentrate on the ‘need to know’ questions and minimise ‘nice to know’ information.
4. Use plain English, maintain consistency, avoid jargon and acronyms and don’t ask questions that may result in ambiguous answers
Be careful when wording the question. If a question can be interpreted in more ways than one then there is a risk that any analysis of the survey results will be worthless or at the very least suspect.
5. Avoid long questions
Use succinct sentences wherever possible. Long questions tend to cause respondents discomfort and can lead to a higher level of incidents where respondents abandon a survey.
6. Ask one question at a time
Avoid confusing the respondent with a question like ‘Do you like tennis and golf?’
7. Avoid influencing the answer
Avoid loading the question. ‘Should irresponsible shop keepers who sell tobacco to minors be prosecuted?’ is likely to have no value.
8. Ensure that the answer format used allows the respondent to answer the question being asked
Ensure that the respondent is able to answer how they really feel or they may abandon the survey. As a last resort consider the benefit of including a “Can’t say”, “Don’t know” or similar response option.
9. At the same time that you compile the survey consider, when the survey is complete, how the compiled data is going be analysed
If a question is asked that allows a free text open ended response appreciate that such information is likely to be difficult to score and/or summarised. Consider grouping answers. For example “Indicate your length of service?” - ‘less than 3 year’, ‘between 3 and 8 years’ and ‘more than 8′.
10. Ensure that the questionnaire flows
Group the questions into clear categories as this makes the task of completing the survey easier for the participants.
11. Target your respondents
You may want to target a specific group, in others a cross section. If you can’t easily control the respondents consider including questions/answers that will allow you to filter out respondents that don’t match your target profile.
12. Allow the respondent to expand or make comments
By allowing respondents to make additional comments you will increase their satisfaction level and the comments will also give valuable feedback on the specific questions and/or the survey as a whole. Remember that for large sample collections that free text open ended responses may be difficult to analyse.
13. If you are conducting a confidential survey ensure that your pledge for confidentiality is upheld
If you have guaranteed the respondents that the survey is confidential ensure that the individual data is not to be shared with anyone and the information is not going to be used for any other purpose. Confidentiality must be maintained and any identifying information deleted after the survey is complete.
14. Consider the advantages and disadvantages of allowing respondents to be anonymous or identifiable
If your respondents are to be anonymous then appreciate that you will be unable to follow up or match “pre” or “post” surveys. There are advantages to allowing people to remain anonymous for example it would allow people to respond without possible peer pressure.
15. Consideration carefully the best response format
Being consistent with the format used for responses is good practice. When creating your survey keep in mind that when analysing the data radio buttons are easier to analyse than check boxes that offer the respondent multiple responses. If a radio response can be used do not use a check box.
16. Give the respondent an estimate as to how much time the survey will take
Respondent drop out can occur if the survey appears to be a stream of never ending questions. It is good practice to give an indication as to how long the survey is likely to take so the respondents can choose the best time to complete the survey.
17. Inform the respondents of the survey end date
Encourage your invited respondents to complete the survey as soon as possible but advise the respondents of the survey’s end date so that they have the opportunity to schedule the necessary time.
18. Trial the survey
Before publishing a live survey publish a small pilot survey to check for questions that are ambiguous or confusing and to ensure that the survey is aesthetically pleasing.
19. Before publishing the survey check the survey several times
Check more than once that the survey is grammatically correct and makes sense. If possible get someone else to proof read the survey before you publish, if you are unable to do this then take a break before checking again.
20. Thank your respondents
To complete surveys respondents have to devote their time and should be thanked at the end of completing the survey or in a follow up letter. You may even want to consider incentives such as a reward of some sort.
Getting started is easy and there are many survey software websites to choose from.