7 Ways to Maximize your Customer Surveys

Running a successful business requires constantly gathering feedback and insights from your customers. One of the most effective ways to do this is through surveys. Creating effective surveys that provides you with the data and information you need however can be a challenge.

Get Organized

Every time you reach out to your base, you need to have a goal in mind. Before you begin writing your survey questions, ask yourself, "What am I trying to learn here?"

Before you start, make a note of:

• What you hope to accomplish

• What brand touchpoints your customer may have interacted with up to this point

• What business decisions you hope to impact

• Who needs to see the results, when and how

There's nothing worse than under-utilized, valuable data, so make sure you have a plan to implement your new-found customer insights.

Ensure You're Giving Out Your Survey In A Timely Manner

Depending on your product or service, the ideal time to wait before sending out your customer survey will vary, but being considerate of timing is always important. Ask your customers for feedback after they have had enough time to use or interact with your product, but before they forget what that first experience was like.

It's irritating to be asked for feedback too quickly or after too long. There's a good reason for that too! It's hard to remember things retrospectively, so asking when the experience is fresh in their mind is crucial.

If I asked you what you had for dinner last Wednesday, you probably couldn't even tell me (unless there was some special occasion).

On the contrary, if I ask you what you had for dinner later that same evening or the next day, the memory of that experience is still fresh enough to recall it with detail and enthusiasm!

The detail and enthusiasm someone shares when you time a survey just right can give you the exact feedback you need to make an even better product or service, not to mention help you get raving reviews.

Be Open (Ended)

Asking questions in a way that gives you high-quality and usable feedback is crucial. One important step in showing your customers how open you are to their feedback is by asking open-ended questions that really resonate with them.

Close-ended questions can be a great way to start a survey to filter the respondents, as well as being an easy, positive experience for your users to start off with.

However if you are looking for juicy insights into your customers' pain points and challenges, unless you're already certain of the likely issues, open-ended questions are a great option.

Bonus points if you can frame the question in the first person.

Some great examples of open-ended, short response questions that will give you a ton of usable data are:

• I chose [your product or service] because...

• My biggest challenge with [whatever you're solving for them] is...

• How would you describe using [your product or service] to a friend?

Get Personal

If you send your survey out by email, you're not alone.

It's a common practice, which unfortunately means it's hard to stand out in an inbox, let alone get someone to stop and really think about good answers to give you. One way to stand out in an inbox and keep your users engaged is to get personal.

If you haven't started collecting simple information like your customers' first names – start now! If you already have that data, now is a great time to use it.

Adding someone's first name to an email subject line drastically increases the chance of that email being opened, and addressing them by name in the body and even throughout your survey is a great way to keep them engaged.

Be Clear & Concise

Your customers live busy lives.

The number of people willing to fill out your survey, as well as the quality of those results, will vary depending on a lot of things – and your ability to be clear and concise is so important.

No one appreciates a run-around. The quicker you get to the point and let your customers know exactly what you're looking for, the sooner they can decide and move on.

Email example: Hi [first name],

So that we can provide you with an even better experience, we are collecting feedback on [product or service].

We actively use your feedback to constantly improve [our product or service name] and provide you with the best possible product and service. We want to know how we can improve and we would love to hear from you!

This survey typically takes 5 minutes to complete.

Letting your customers know upfront how you will be using the results of the survey will add an incentive for them as well, which brings us to number 6.

Offer Incentives

I don't necessarily mean cash prizes or gift cards – although they definitely don't hurt!

Simply explaining to someone that their feedback will help you create a better product or service for them might be enough of an incentive.

Depending on the type of feedback you're looking for, however, offering a small incentive might be exactly what you need to get the types of results you need to help your product or service develop. If you're looking for more in-depth answers to complicated questions, or are trying to really dig into the motivations of your customers, it might be worth it to get more in-depth answers from fewer customers with an incentive.

An incentive has the ability to get a totally different kind of audience responding, so just keep that in mind if that is the route you go.

Use Your Results

So you've got the results... now what?

Are you going to share them?

Show them off?

Depending on the purpose of your survey, you may want to create a spreadsheet, an infographic, or maybe even use the results to create avatars or personas for your company.

Keep in mind, your customers are not making decisions for you, they are simply informing your decisions for them. So it's important to figure out how the feedback you get from your customers will translate into an action step for your business.

In Summary

Running effective customer surveys takes thought and planning, but the insights you can gain are invaluable for growing and improving your business. By implementing these strategies, you'll be well on your way to creating surveys that provide you with the data and feedback you need.

Remember, the key is to approach your surveys with a clear plan, an open mind, and a willingness to act on what you learn. Your customers want to be heard, so make sure you're listening and using their feedback to make meaningful changes.