- How to encourage a healthy survey response rate that allows them to accurately interpret the customer journey.
- How to uncover the root-cause of customer issues.
Given that a recent Forbes interview with a survey expert indicates that response rates are down to an all-time low of less than 2%, brands could be forgiven for thinking their customers don’t want to talk to them. However, the rise in the number of people using social media to contact brands would suggest otherwise. It is simply that they have survey fatigue, and the flaws in many survey programs are putting customers off from the start.
Too many surveys are long and complicated. Research from Stanford University shows that the quality of data deteriorates as respondents spend more time in a survey. And if this wasn’t bad enough, traditional surveys don’t necessarily produce the results that brands are looking for. This is because they cover only the topics that brands think to ask about, collect data only from the people who choose to respond, and rely on customers to have accurate memories about what happened, in some cases a long time after the experience.
Because of these shortcomings, surveys cannot provide all of the deep customer insights that lead to action. In addition, if the response rate is too low, the survey results can misrepresent the real feelings of the larger customer base, which could lead brands to jump to the wrong conclusions.
They need a way to use the survey results they do receive, interpret the results correctly, and even more importantly, ensure that after canvassing customer views, these can be interpreted into insight that can be acted upon.
