At its core, the customer experience survey is an incredibly beneficial tool that gives businesses the information they need to improve and iterate their products and processes, reduce complaint volumes, connect with customers and engage employees.
Customer-centric organizations understand this. They carefully curate surveys that ask their customers questions about specific journeys, interactions, and experiences to learn more about what they do and don’t like, help them feel empowered, and to ensure they’re constantly understood. But survey building is the easy part.
Once your expertly crafted survey is ready to go, the next step is to overcome the challenge of getting customers to respond. Many businesses will struggle to get survey participation above 10%. While it may seem like an intimidating task, don’t worry! We have you covered with three crucial tips to help you achieve higher survey participation rates and drive your business towards success.
1. Make your customers feel appreciated
Customers who feel genuinely valued are more likely to stay committed to your brand and are also more open to sharing their valuable feedback and insights with you. There is a catch, though: while feedback requests are essential, they can often feel automated and impersonal, which deters participation. The solution lies in the power of personalization and direct communication. By infusing surveys with a personal touch, you can make each customer feel appreciated and understood.
For example, when using email – rather than sending feedback requests from a generic group or department email, send them from a specific person with whom the customer has previously interacted.
Use language that conveys that their personal input is valuable to the sender as well as the business. For example:
- Your opinion will help me and my team improve
- We want to know what you think
- Your opinion matters to me and the management at ‘business name’
Ensure that the outreach references the specific reason that the customer was in contact with you in the first place, and include details of that original interaction. Don’t provide unnecessary detail, such as extensive product information as this will dilute the personalized element.
By making customers feel sought after and genuinely cared for, you create the ideal environment for increased survey participation rates.
2. Keep your survey short and to the point
To respect your customers’ time and encourage participation, it is important that you craft short and direct surveys. Numerous studies have also demonstrated that people are more inclined to respond when they know upfront how long it will take, so be sure to provide customers with an estimated time commitment.
From our experience, a survey under the 2-minute mark yields the highest participation rates. By embracing a concise approach, you can create a more engaging customer experience. Here are some examples of how you could make the request:
- May we have 2 minutes of your time, please?
- We would like to hear from you – 2 minutes is all it will take
- Can you spare a couple of minutes to help us improve?
3. Offer customer incentives
Diverse motivations can guide customers’ decisions about whether to participate in surveys. Some customers may willingly contribute simply to ensure that you can work towards providing a better service, while others will need an additional nudge.
Offering incentives is a great way to boost survey participation rates and gather relevant, insightful feedback from a more diverse group. It’s important to remember that incentives don’t always need to be financial; some other options you could try include:
- Early or exclusive access to upcoming products or events
- Recognition through exclusive membership
- Prize draw entry
- Exclusive news or information
While incentives can bolster participation rates, finding the right balance is essential. It is important to strike a balance between people who complete a survey simply to add value and those who are completing it solely for a reward. Generally speaking, feedback provided without an incentive will be more detailed and of higher quality as the respondents genuinely want to help your business improve.
Beyond incentives, nurturing a culture of continuous improvement is paramount. Consistent efforts to communicate your dedication to enhancing products and services and catering to customer needs, will go a long way in creating an environment that fosters engagement and fruitful feedback.
For more information on surveys and the voice of the customer, see our CentraCX product page or contact our sales team here.