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Customer Satisfaction Survey Mistakes to Avoid

We could write entire books on improving customer feedback and satisfaction. Unfortunately, even if we make this into an entire volume on ways to improve customer service (and satisfaction). Unfortunately, there is no given recipe. 

Yes, you might be able to take a bunch of customer service survey questions and apply them to your business. However, do keep in mind that there has to be an appropriate level of adaptation involved in the process!

No two businesses are 100% alike, even when they have similar products and target similar buyer personas. In consequence, we wouldn’t recommend taking a survey or questionnaire blueprint and apply it to your business as such. 

Additionally, keep in mind some of the most common customer satisfaction surveys mistakes: 

Mistake #1: Not Knowing What You Want

Determine if you want to run qualitative research or a quantitative one. The first one is usually connected to open questions (meaning that customers can answer how they want and are not limited by a given set of answers, like in the case of quantitative research). 

It is also worth mentioning that qualitative research is conventional after quantitative analysis, as it will provide businesses with more insight into questions for which you have received broad or inconclusive answers during the quantitative research. 

Whether it’s qualitative or quantitative data you’re after, a form builder with the qualities of a survey tool can help you build the forms you need to collect it.

Mistake #2: Making Your Surveys too Long

People don’t want too much of their time to be taken by surveys of any kind – so try to be succinct and avoid complex questions. Keeping it short also means that you should probably limit your open-end questions as much as you can (unless there is no other way to find your answers). 

Mistake #3: Getting too Personal

Yes, you probably need demographic data for your research. However, it is essential to mark all personal questions as optional. Otherwise, many might be deterred by these parts of the questionnaire and leave it behind altogether. 

Mistake #4: Being Inconsistent

Pick a scale and stick to it. For instance, if you plan on using the NPS score, stick to it throughout the survey. Consistency will help you make your data statistically relevant.

Mistake #5: Not Giving Anything in Return

Offer rewards. While it is possible to run a customer satisfaction survey without offering anything in return, rewards can be a pretty good incentive when it comes to pulling those customer satisfaction questionnaire answers from those who are using your products. 

Mistake #6: Being Statistically Irrelevant

Make sure you have the numbers. Depending on what type of product you sell and depending on what kind of survey you’re running, numerical significance can be quite important when it comes to drawing actual, reliable conclusions. 

Mistake #7: Being Intrusive

Don’t make your customers answer your questions. Chances are they’ll click the X button and leave if they feel too pressured. 

Mistake #8: Being Ungrateful 

Regardless of how exactly you attracted users to your survey, remember to thank them for their participation. It can make a world of difference!

To err is human, and it can definitely make for powerful lessons. But if there’s something that’s even better than learning from your mistakes, it’s learning from other people’s. Hopefully, the tips in this article will be useful in helping you avoid making the biggest customer satisfaction survey mistakes!

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