Offering top-notch customer service is crucial for success in today’s strongly competitive business environment. Indeed, compared to 2019, companies put 19% more effort into improving their customer experience in 2024 (see Figure 1).
Source: McKinsey
Figure 1. Customer experience improvement is the priority of marketers in 2024.
Collecting customer feedback through online customer service surveys is one of the most effective ways to measure customer satisfaction. Businesses can use these surveys to understand their customers’ needs and preferences better, and to identify improvement areas.
In this article, we will explore in depth:
- What customer feedback surveys are and their benefits
- The various types of customer service survey questions
- 5 best practices for creating effective customer satisfaction surveys
- Sample survey questions businesses can use
- Expert tips and advice for administering online customer surveys
Let‘s dive in!
What Are Online Customer Satisfaction Surveys?
An online customer satisfaction survey is a tool businesses use to gather feedback from existing customers about their experience with the company.
These surveys are conducted online through channels like:
- Social media
- Website pop-ups
- SMS
- Direct messaging apps
According to Statista, 89% of marketers used online surveys regularly in their research in Q4 2020.
Source: Statista
Figure 2. In Q4 2020, 89% of marketers used online surveys regularly.
Online surveys help businesses:
-
Understand customers better: Surveys provide insights into customer preferences, pain points, and expectations. This allows businesses to improve their offerings.
-
Identify areas for improvement: Customer feedback highlights weaknesses in products, services, support etc. Businesses can then focus on fixing these issues.
-
Drive innovation: Listening to customers through surveys fosters innovation by revealing unmet needs businesses can address.
-
Increase customer retention: Customers feel valued when asked for feedback. This builds loyalty and decreases churn.
-
Gain competitive edge: Customer-centricity gained from surveys becomes a competitive differentiator.
No wonder online customer surveys are gaining popularity. According to Statista, the majority of market research spend in 2021 was on measuring customer satisfaction:
Source: Statista
Figure 3. 61% of market research spending in 2021 was on online customer satisfaction surveys.
Now let‘s explore why online surveys are the preferred method for assessing customer satisfaction.
Benefits of Online Customer Satisfaction Surveys
Online surveys have inherent advantages that make them ideal for measuring customer satisfaction:
1. More candid feedback
Online surveys reduce yes-saying bias where respondents agree with interviewers to be polite. The anonymity encourages more honest feedback.
2. Reliable quantitative data
Online surveys make it easy to gather organized, structured data using rating scales, multiple choice and close-ended questions. This quantitative data is statistically significant.
3. Qualitative insights
Open-ended questions provide detailed qualitative feedback that gives context to quantitative data.
4. Multimedia inclusion
Online surveys can embed images, videos and audio clips. This engages respondents and collects multimedia feedback.
5. Wider reach
Online surveys can be distributed globally across email, social media and websites. This provides access to wider audience.
6. Mobile-friendly
Responsive design and apps allow surveys to be completed easily on smartphones. This improves participation.
7. Cost-effectiveness
Online surveys eliminate the need for interviewers and travel, making them more affordable than other methods.
8. Faster turnaround
Automated distribution and analysis of online surveys reduces the time taken from fielding to reporting.
9. Eco-friendly
Online surveys have minimal environmental impact compared to paper surveys.
With these inherent advantages, online surveys deliver comprehensive insights into customer satisfaction in a rapid, cost-efficient manner.
Now let‘s explore the various types of questions you can ask in customer satisfaction surveys.
Types of Customer Satisfaction Survey Questions
Customer satisfaction surveys can employ diverse question types to gather feedback. Some key question types are:
1. Rating Scale Questions
Rating scale questions ask respondents to rate aspects like product quality, ease of use, customer service etc. on a numeric scale like 1-5 or 1-10.
Example: On a scale of 1-10, how likely are you to recommend our product to a colleague?
Rating questions yield quantifiable data on customer perceptions. The higher the rating, the more satisfied customers are.
2. Multiple Choice Questions
These allow respondents to select one or more options from a predefined list. For example:
What aspects of our product do you find most useful?
- Feature 1
- Feature 2
- Feature 3
- Other (please specify)
Multiple choice questions gather structured data and uncover customer preferences.
3. Net Promoter Score (NPS) Questions
NPS measures customer loyalty by asking:
"On a scale of 0-10, how likely are you to recommend our company to a friend or colleague?"
Based on the score, respondents are categorized as Promoters (9-10), Passives (7-8) or Detractors (0-6). The NPS is calculated by subtracting the percentage of detractors from promoters.
NPS questions identify loyal customers who drive growth through referrals.
4. Customer Effort Score (CES) Questions
CES assesses the ease of getting issues resolved by asking:
- How easy was it to get the help you needed from our support team?
- How much effort did you personally have to put forth to handle your request?
The easier the experience, the higher the CES. These questions reveal pain points in the customer journey.
5. Open-Ended Questions
These collect free-form feedback in the respondent‘s own words like:
- What do you like about our service?
- How can we improve our product?
Open-ended questions provide qualitative insights to guide innovation.
6. Demographic Questions
These gather data on respondent attributes like:
- Age
- Gender
- Location
- Profession
Segmenting satisfaction data demographically reveals differences across customer cohorts.
The right mix of these question types yields a 360-degree view of customer needs and perceptions.
Now let‘s explore best practices for creating effective online customer surveys.
5 Best Practices for Customer Satisfaction Surveys
Here are 5 proven tips for developing successful customer satisfaction surveys:
1. Ask Relevant, Focused Questions
Keep survey questions short, direct and clearly worded. Avoid ambiguous or repetitive questions that frustrate respondents. Focus on aspects of the customer experience that impact satisfaction and loyalty.
2. Balance Quantitative and Qualitative Questions
Include both closed-ended rating scale questions for quantitative data as well as open-ended questions for deeper qualitative insights.
3. Use Skip Logic
Use survey logic to skip irrelevant questions based on previous responses. This creates a personalized survey flow.
4. Test Extensively Before Launch
Pilot the survey with a small group to identify ambiguities. Refine based on feedback before full launch.
5. Keep Surveys Brief
Ideally limit surveys to 10 or fewer questions. Use progress bars to indicate completion. Long, tedious surveys lead to survey fatigue.
These best practices will help you develop focused surveys that deliver actionable insights.
Now let‘s look at some sample questions you can reference when creating your own customer satisfaction surveys.
Sample Customer Satisfaction Survey Questions
Here are some sample questions covering key aspects of the customer experience:
Product Satisfaction
-
How satisfied are you with the quality of our product? (rating scale)
-
How likely are you to continue using our product? (NPS scale)
-
What functionality would you like added to the product? (open-ended)
Customer Service
-
How helpful was our support team in resolving your issue? (rating scale)
-
How easy was it to find support contact information on our website? (rating scale)
-
How can we improve our customer service? (open-ended)
Customer Effort
-
How much effort did you personally have to put forth to get your issue resolved? (rating scale)
-
How easy was it to complete your purchase on our website? (rating scale)
Loyalty
-
How likely are you to recommend our product to colleagues? (NPS scale)
-
How interested are you in purchasing other products from our company? (rating scale)
Demographics
-
Which category below includes your age? (multiple choice)
-
What industry do you work in? (multiple choice)
Tailor these sample questions to gather feedback specific to your product, service and customers.
Now let‘s cover some expert tips for administering customer satisfaction surveys successfully.
Expert Tips for Customer Satisfaction Surveys
Here are some pro tips to help you get the most value from customer satisfaction surveys:
1. Time surveys strategically
Send immediately after customers interact with support, make a purchase or use a product. Their experience will be top of mind.
2. Keep it short and simple
Survey completion rates drastically decline as length increases. Keep it focused, concise and easy to complete.
3. Ask one question at a time
Avoid double-barreled questions that ask two things in one. This confuses respondents.
4. Make survey visually engaging
Include relevant images, videos, graphics and colors to make the survey aesthetically appealing.
5. Offer incentives
Incentivize participation by offering discounts, samples or prize drawings upon survey completion.
6. Follow up on feedback
Closing the loop by acting on feedback demonstrates you value customers’ perspectives.
7. Continuously optimize
Regularly refine survey questions based on response rates, quality of data and feedback.
Adhering to these expert recommendations will maximize the value derived from customer satisfaction surveys.
In summary, online customer surveys are invaluable for gaining insights that drive growth. By following the strategies outlined in this guide, you can develop surveys that provide a window into the customer psyche. This understanding of your customers‘ preferences and pain points is the fuel for customer-centric innovation.
To discuss how online customer surveys can transform your business, please don‘t hesitate to reach out. I‘m always happy to provide strategic guidance based on a decade of experience in this domain.