Customer Focused Surveys (Part Two)

Idea #3:  Your survey must drive action, not settle for analysis only

Your customer survey must drive new action inside your organization. Don’t allow your survey process to become disconnected from the practical levers of power.

You have a problem if there is a long lag time after a survey and your people ask “So what did they mean by that”, or “Now that we have all this data, what are we going to do with it?”

A customer focused survey is effective when it aligns and motivates your organization by showing you:

•    what customers say is bad, broken or painful and must be fixed right away,

•    what customers say is wanted or valued and might be offered or sold by your organization,

•    where customers say you are vulnerable to competitors’ actions and offers, giving you a chance to respond in a proactive manner,

•    where customers say you can win by taking new action, before your customer’s final decision is made.

Idea #4: Your survey should take responsibility for reconnecting

When you conduct a customer focused survey, you create expectations that something will be done with your customer’s response. Your survey process should close the loop with customers to ensure that something has been done.

Customer focused surveys are the starting point for a sequence like this:

Survey > Data > Analysis > Insight > Action > Create Value > Repeat Survey

You can create a powerful closed loop feedback system by asking your customers in the second survey:

•    if remedial action has been taken to their satisfaction, or

•    if new action has been taken to address the opportunities they presented, or

•    if they know what other options are available in the event you have chosen not to take the actions they request or recommend.

If your customer says something should be changed in the first survey, you have an opportunity. If your customer says something should be changed in the first survey, and nothing has changed by the second survey, you have a problem.

Low scores in the first survey will happen; in fact you want to find them to uncover new opportunities for action.

Low scores in the second survey are dangerous, and should lead to an intense focus on taking action for the customer, a commercial decision to allow the low scores to remain, or an escalation to higher levels to address and resolve the problem.

(Read Customer Focused Surveys Ideas #1-2)

(Read Customer Focused Surveys Ideas #5-6)