| I'm often asked, "How can I get started writing a | | | | Secret 5 below). The two ratings can be |
| customer satisfaction questionnaire, if I've never | | | | averaged to create a stable score that should |
| done a customer survey and I know nothing | | | | become a key customer metric for your |
| about online survey software tools?" | | | | business. |
| Well... that's easy. Here are seven simple steps | | | | 5. Use Easy-to-Understand Rating Scales for Your |
| you can take right now, today, to get started | | | | Questions |
| collecting customer feedback. | | | | The ratings for your questions should be based on |
| 1. Keep It Short | | | | a 0-to-10 scale, with Extremely Unlikely to |
| You only need a half dozen questions to get | | | | Recommend at the low end (0) and Extremely |
| incredibly valuable information from your | | | | Likely to Recommend at the high end (10). |
| customers or clients. The trick, of course, is to | | | | 0 10 |
| choose the right questions. That means asking a | | | | Similarly, the scale for your repurchase question |
| couple of rating scale questions, an open-ended | | | | should have Extremely Unlikely to Repurchase at |
| followup one or two classification questions with | | | | the low end (0) and Extremely Likely to |
| which you'll be able to look at your results based | | | | Repurchase at the high end (10). |
| on subgroups as well as your total sample. | | | | 0 10 |
| When customers or clients know that your | | | | The 11-point scales have been validated through |
| questionnaire is brief, they're far more likely to | | | | extensive research, are easy for respondents to |
| agree to participate. And those that do participate, | | | | understand and are more likely to detect |
| are far more likely to complete the entire | | | | important differences than are the standard |
| satisfaction questionnaire. | | | | 1-to-5 scales employed by most customer |
| 2. Use Simple Language | | | | satisfaction questionnaires. |
| In writing your questions, be sure to use every | | | | 6. Always Ask an Open-Ended Question |
| day language. Avoid industry jargon. Make sure | | | | Be sure to follow up your ratings with an |
| that the answer choices can only be interpreted in | | | | open-ended question that asks respondents to tell |
| one way. And adopt an informal and | | | | you -- in their own words -- just what it would |
| conversational tone to the greatest extent | | | | take to get their ratings to a 10. (Employ skip |
| possible. | | | | logic in your questionnaire to ask the follow up of |
| Your goal should be to communicate clearly -- and | | | | only those who rated you less than a perfect 10.) |
| quickly -- and to leave little room for doubt as to | | | | It's often among the responses to these |
| what you're asking or what each of the answer | | | | open-ended questions that your key insights will |
| choice means. | | | | emerge. Insights that can lead you to a powerful |
| 3. Choose an Appropriate Tool for Your Online | | | | customer product, service or program. |
| Survey Software | | | | 7. Ask Just One or Two Classification Questions |
| Don't make it hard on yourself! | | | | Finally, you'll want to include a classification |
| If this is your first time using online survey | | | | question or two -- but no more. |
| software, you'll want to choose one of the easier | | | | These questions help you to analyze your data by |
| tools for your questionnaire. My recommendation | | | | subgroups. In choosing Classification Questions, |
| is It is quick and easy to learn, has good support, | | | | you're looking for a way to divide your customer |
| an adequate array of question types and offers | | | | base into meaningful subgroups -- groups that |
| several free and low-cost options. | | | | would lead to significant differences in service |
| For now, skip the more sophisticated survey sites | | | | requirements, product preferences or usage |
| and their steeper learning curves. | | | | patterns. |
| 4. Use More than One Rating Question To | | | | For example, a dry cleaner might want to ask |
| Capture Satisfaction Data | | | | about gender, because the usage patterns for |
| Your first choice for a question should be along | | | | men and women are often very different. With |
| the following lines: | | | | the data broken out, it may turn out that one |
| 'How likely would you be to recommend [insert | | | | gender is more likely to be satisfied and willing to |
| your brand, product or service here] to a friend | | | | recommend the cleaner than the other. |
| or colleague?' | | | | The Final Secret |
| While I'm a fan Fred Reichheld's 'Net Promoter | | | | Follow these seven secrets to ensure your first |
| Score', as described in his book The Ultimate | | | | customer satisfaction questionnaire will be a |
| Question, current best practices suggest adding a | | | | success. |
| second question to capture another dimension of | | | | The final secret is to understand that your first |
| loyalty, i.e., | | | | customer survey is only the beginning of a |
| 'How likely would you be to continue purchasing | | | | 'conversation' you'll conduct over a period of time. |
| [insert your brand, product or service here] two | | | | You can be confident that the process will get |
| years from now?' | | | | easier and as you gain experience collecting and |
| Both questions use the same rating scale (see | | | | working with customer data. |