A good customer understanding can be seen as the cornerstone of customer experience. Customer surveys are by far the most used tool to get customer feedback. And while these surveys hold immense potential for understanding customer preferences and improving products or services, they are not without their pitfalls. Here we share some pitfalls every business should be aware of before sending out a customer survey:
1. Survey Fatigue
There are too many surveys with too many questions. An access of surveys can lead to low response rates and rushed and inaccurate responses.
2. Surveys dissatisfy customers
Surveys are often the last touchpoint in the customer journey. If you ask irrelevant questions, it might annoy your customers, leaving a negative last impression of your brand.
3. The wrong customers answers
If surveys are only sent to or being answered by a specific group of customers, the data collected may not be representative of the entire customer base. This can lead to skewed insights and misguided decisions.
4. The wrong questions are asked
Leading, irrelevant or misunderstood questions, lack of context, limited response options; making a good questionnaire is a profession! Asking the wrong questions can lead to unactionable date, the wrong insights and decisions.
5. No follow up is given
Although almost all companies collect some form of customer feedback, just a small percentage structurally puts it into action and closes all feedback loops! Some surveys are just marketing campaigns in disguise and only have the objective to show the outside world how good the company is doing.
6. Gaming and manipulation
If employee rewards depend on customer survey scores, you will have the risk that surveys will only be shared with happy customers or customers will even be asked to rate a 9 or 10. The metric itself becomes the target, not the improvement of customer insight or the customer experience.