Customer satisfaction surveys are one of the primary means of CSR analytics for Customer Service departments.  Yet the response rate for these surveys is typically low.  Additionally, a person who had a problem with customer service is far more likely to respond to a survey than someone who did not.  Both of these facts skew the validity of the customer service survey and the metrics by which CSRs are measured.  Below are five simple tips for obtaining effective results from Customer Satisfaction Surveys from my experiences in CRM implementations and consulting on best practices.

  1. Offer an immediate opportunity to take a survey: Whatever medium by which the customer contacted the Customer Service department should be utilized to provide an immediate follow-up survey.  If by phone, an immediate IVR response survey, if by web portal, Twitter, or chat, present a link immediately upon close of the ticket, and if by email simply provide the link within the body of the email to the survey.  Customers are more likely to respond to an immediate request for a survey than to a survey given at a later time, with the customer’s experience with the CSR fresh in their mind.
  2. Keep Questions Clear and Succinct: Each question should be carefully crafted to measure a specific attribute of the contact with the CSR (e.g. “Did your support representative appear knowledgeable of the questions asked?”) and should avoid addressing multiple areas in a single question (e.g.  “Did your support representative assist you in a timely manner and provide the answer you were looking for” looks for two pieces of information, making the result ambiguous).  It should be obvious to anyone what the question is asking.  Additionally, questions should either ask about a specific metric (timeliness, knowledge) and satisfaction impressions (“What was your overall impression…”).
  3. Provide an Incentive: Give a coupon, provide a freebie, enter customers in some sort of giveaway, or create some other incentive to entice people to answer the survey.  You will end up with a lot higher response rate, and are likely to get more input from those who were satisfied who would otherwise not bother to take the time.
  4. Keep it Short and Sweet: You are asking your customer to take time out of their day to answer how you solved the problem.  Don’t give them a mid-term exam!  The ideal length of a CSR survey is 3-5 questions (although I feel 3 is optimal), with one additional (optional) question for leaving unstructured feedback.  Lengthy surveys will lead to a high abandonment rate, and not provide the results you need.
  5. A sliding scale works best: The questions that elicit the most valuable information is the sliding scale (e.g. “On a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being “most satisfied”, how satisfied are you with your overall experience today?”).  It gives the customer an opportunity to show the strength of his satisfaction or feelings in a particular area, far more than a simple “yes” or “no” question.

After the survey results are collected, it critical that any feedback given be acted upon.  If a customer has particularly negative feedback, make sure the customer is made aware of what changes were made to address their issues.  Similarly, if a customer had unusually high praise for a specific CSR, reward that CSR and let the customer know.  I remember one time when I was dealing with a problem I had with a national clothing retailer, and I was on the phone with a CSR who handled my complaint calmly and effectively, even though I was raising my voice a little in frustration.  Following the call and resolution of my issues, I responded to a customer service survey and gave the CSR very high marks.  A day later, her manager gave me a call, and let me know that because of the results of my survey, the CSR was getting an award from the company for outstanding service.  This simple follow-up increased my impressions of the company and gave me a “feel-good” attitude about answering that survey.  Ensure that your customers know that you act on your survey results, and you will improve your future response rates dramatically.

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  3. The 21st Century Callcenter and Customer Communications
  4. Callcenter Callback — A New Option for Customer Satisfaction
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