Standard Customer Satisfaction Surveys Donít Make the Grade in Improving Service Levels

Customer surveys are everywhereóat the store, on the phone, the Webóand still customer service horror stories flourish. With all the solicitation for customersí opinions, companies should wonder why there isnít an increase in customer satisfaction and customer loyalty.

According to a new white paper by Impact Achievement Group, ìAsking the Right Questions: How to Get ROI on Customer Surveys,î the data gathering is not contributing to a better understanding of customers. In part, there are fundamental flaws in common attempts to measure customer satisfaction.

Surveying the wrong customers:
Companies should consider how many customers have the time or are bored enough to provide time-consuming answers for the survey company. Forget random sampling--companies need to survey their best customers, not those with an axe to grind. Notably, it is more common to survey the wrong customer in the business-to-business market (decision makers versus users).

No actionable feedback:
Frontline employees are adverse to long surveysótheyíre not paid enough nor have the time. For employees to improve customersí experience they need to survey frequent customersówho spend enough moneyóto elicit appropriate solutions from management.

A disguised marketing initiative:
Many customer satisfaction surveys are nothing more than an attempt to gain data to help better market and advertise products and services. Years of this practice discourages customers from participating even in legitimate surveys, further limiting survey reliability.

Scores donít equal improved economics:
Research has consistently shown an unpredictable link between satisfaction scores and profitability/growth. For example, detailed analysis of surveyed customers has shown that between 60 and 80 percent of customers whoíve turned to another supplier have rated themselves as ìsatisfiedî or ìvery satisfied.î

One-size-fits-all solutions canít meet a companyís unique needs:
Cookie-cutter surveys produces crummy data, yielding an ìaverageî insight to customersí attitudes. Instead, companies need custom, local research that addresses the unique customer relationship and internal business practices. Simple, anecdotal feedback is of more use to managementónot to mention those on the front line.

Surveys focus on transactionsónot relationships:
Customers focus on the overall experience ñ not individual transactions. Evaluating the quality of the relationship includes every detail of the customerís experience combined with the emotional and branding ties the customer has. Specific, transaction-oriented questions donít address customersí overall company experience.

Dissatisfaction as a result of the survey itself:
Intrusive, lengthy and ambiguous surveys are frustrating. When company decision makers forget this and use outside survey companies, they avoid direct customer dissatisfaction with the survey process. Worse, they entrust responsibility for customer information to people with very littleóif anyóinterest in representing the companyís brand positively. Lousy survey data, ignored by management, further add to customer dissatisfaction.

Manipulation destroys credibility:
Tying performance marks or dollars to the scores can encourage manipulation among employees. When punished or rewarded for goals they canít control or influence, employees instead focus on ìgamingî the reward or eliminating the punishment.

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ìAsking the Right Questions: How to Get ROI on Customer Surveys,î can be downloaded at: