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Customer feedback is perhaps the greatest asset of any business. It provides a firsthand glimpse into your customers' minds, showing what they like, what annoys them, and what they would like to change. Those companies that come to know their customers extremely well wind up with much stronger relationships, they're much better at creating new products, and they basically make their customers a lot happier too. But designing a survey to capture useful insights isn't an easy task to accomplish. From defining your objectives to analysing the results, every step along the way influences the success of your survey. Here in this guide, we'll walk you through step by step on how to create a feedback survey that succeeds at giving your business valuable insights that fuel growth.
It's helpful to define your objectives before making a survey. Surveys that start off with fuzzy objectives will generate outcomes that aren't very useful or even hard to interpret altogether. Whether you're trying to assess customer satisfaction, get some feedback on a new product, or quantify service quality, knowing your purpose will help you to ask the right questions. For example, if a company wants to improve customer support, it will care about questions about responsiveness and resolution time. Another thing a company launching something new would like to know is what customers think about features and user experience. Having your survey goals aligned with your business goals ensures you obtain actionable insights that directly impact your company's growth.
A short and well-structured survey works much better than a very long and confusing one. Most customers won't be ready to spend more than a few minutes of their time providing feedback, so they shouldn't waste their time by making surveys that are very long. Try keeping your survey no longer than 5-10 simple questions to allow them to quickly respond. Don't confuse the participants with too much information or unclear questions. When writing in a conversational tone using more basic words, individuals are much more likely to act or complete what they are doing. Surveys that take less than three minutes have a 40% higher rate of completion compared to longer surveys, according to research. A short survey not only increases response rates but also generates more thoughtful, accurate feedback.
Your questions matter a great deal because your answers are going to be so much more helpful if they're asked well. Mixing and matching various question types like Likert scales, multiple-choice, and open-ended questions can provide both quantitative information and qualitative information. Whereas closed-ended questions yield measurable answers, open-ended questions give customers a way to provide an opinion in their own words. Don't use leading or biased questions, which may tinge answers. Replace "How much do you love our product?" with "How do you rate our product?" instead. Neutral and simple-to-understand questions guarantee unbiased feedback, that is, your survey data will be trustworthy and actionable.
As most people consume online content on their mobile phones, ensuring that the survey is optimised for mobile users is important. A poorly constructed survey with too much going on there and small text can really irritate people and get them to abandon it. Responsive survey software dynamically resizes the layout according to varying devices so that it is convenient to use. Furthermore, cutting down the amount of long text and using simple tap-based options, e.g., rating systems or multiple choice answers, improves the mobile experience. It has been discovered that if surveys are created specifically so that they would perform wonderfully on mobile devices, 57% more people will end up filling them out than those that perform just okay or poorly when completed with a smartphone or tablet. Emphasising mobile accessibility will enhance your reach and provide a truer representation of customer feedback.
Getting individuals to respond is most often the biggest hurdle when conducting surveys. Offering incentives can significantly increase response rates while making customers feel valued. Incentives such as discount codes, contest entry, or loyalty points are effective. However, the incentive must be commensurate with the time and effort required to complete the survey. Starbucks, for instance, offers customers free drinks in return for completing surveys, keeping response rates high. If customers know that their feedback is appreciated and rewarded, they will be more inclined to take part, providing you with the data you need to make real changes.
Having feedback is not bad, but it does not do anyone much good if you do not actually do something about it. Once the answers are in, analyse the results to identify recurring patterns and trends. Survey tools like XEBO.ai, driven by AI, can provide sentiment analysis and actionable insights in real time, allowing businesses to act fast on problems. Classify your respondents into promoters, passives, and detractors by measures like Net Promoter Score (NPS) to measure various customer sentiments. 52% of consumers expect companies to respond to their feedback, yet only 22% feel that their feedback works, according to HubSpot. It builds trust and reinforces brand loyalty when you respond to issues in a timely manner and keep consumers updated on progress.
Feedback does not need to be an occasional occurrence. Placing automated survey software enables you to receive continuous new customer data. Surveys like XEBO.ai enable businesses to post surveys after specific customer interactions, such as product purchases or customer service calls. Automated surveys also give us real-time insights and enable us to act on the fly. Machine learning algorithms are adept at reviewing loads and loads of feedback and figuring out what is happening as things start to change. According to what they learn, they can also reasonably anticipate what customers will do and want next. By always having an ear to the ground for what people are saying, companies can make informed decisions and have a people perspective.
Customer surveys are not just data collection tools; they're gateways to understanding your people and expanding your business. With clear goals, brief surveys, the right questions, and AI-powered analysis, you can turn insights into actionable strategies. Listen intently to your customers and show them that their voices are heard and do matter, and thus build fabulous, long-term relationships that last.
Ready to take your feedback game to the next level? Learn how XEBO.ai can make it easy to create, analyse, and act on customer insights. Schedule a free demo with us today to transform your customer experience!
