Customer feedback surveys are a useful tool which allows organizations to gather valuable insights from their customers. Feedback is crucial not only because it provides an understanding of how your customers feel about your products and services, but, also, because it reveals areas of improvement and generates actionable data towards that improvement. Customer feedback surveys generate useful information only if constructed properly and when the right questions are being asked. Ultimately, the content of each question should reflect the company which is running the questionnaire and the purpose of the survey.
However, there are certain types of questions that have proven to increase response rates, and, after analysis, provide deep and accurate understanding of the responses:
Demographic questions
Demographic questions, such as age group, marital status, employment status, etc. are particularly important when the purpose of the survey is to compare and analyse different groups or examine how responses vary between customer segments.
Questions with pre-selected answers
Questions with pre-selected answers are easy to reply to because they do not require a lot of effort and thought. A long questionnaire consisting of essay-like questions usually leads to “Respondent Fatigue” and questionable results. By offering pre-selected answers to your survey questions you will manage to boost response rates and save your customer’s time. Questions as such are, also, much easier and faster to analyse.
Ranking scale questions
Ranking questions are a simple and effective way to collect feedback using rating scales. This type of question can be used to ask customers to rate their experience with the product or service or rate single interactions with the company or its representatives. A ranking question can generate useful information about the customers’ journey through the different aspects of everyday business.
Clarification questions
Clarification questions are not meant to be included as stand-alone questions in a customer feedback questionnaire. This type of question has a complementary function. Take for example a ranking scale question. A survey respondent might give a very high or a very low score to his experience. It is, however, very important to pinpoint the reason why a customer is extremely satisfied or extremely dissatisfied with your company or your service. A clarification question can be used in order to allow the survey respondent to shed some light on the reasons that drove his score.
Net Promoter Score® (NPS)
The Net Promoter Score® is a measurement closely connected to the customer journey and is a great indicator of growth. The NPS® score is calculated using the answers to a single, 0-10 scale question, and it will help you gain a better understanding on how your customers feel about your company and how satisfied they are with their overall experience doing business with you.
Open-ended questions
Open-ended questions will provide you with the most valuable feedback from your customers. Allow the respondents of your survey to give you their honest opinion about your product or service formatted in their own words. This type of question will generate useful insights but do not overuse it – one open-ended question per survey should be more than enough.