Nicki tweeted about Seth Godin’s post: Five Tips for Surveys. I think Seth missed a couple key tips:
- First, please don’t survey your customers unless you’re prepared to do something with the results.
- Second, I’d recommend every survey process starting with a single question, “Would you recommend us?”
As Seth states in his post, asking one question can often change the person’s responses on the next set of questions. I’d always recommend sending this single question out first – and then responding with a survey that addresses the response.
If you’d like, utilize a good survey tool that allows you to branch questions based on the response – this way you can narrow down the responses to the key issues rather than asking a ton of questions that are off topic.
Great additions to a good list!
Doug:
I might also add that we need to explain to the customer base the specific reason(s) for the survey. (customer satisfaction, product specifications for upgrades or new products, etc.). Customers tend to respond in more detail if they know what the answers are to be used for.