Collecting data on the consumer experience (CX) is one of the most crucial tasks for making high-impact decisions. For example, according to Stan Chudnovsky, VP of Messenger , the Messenger 4 product was designed with data-driven research such as Kelton Global and Greenberg Strategy in mind.

The first found that for 71% of users, simplicity is the most important thing in messaging applications. The second concluded that 62% of the people who send messages the most develop a sense of greater closeness with their friends.

Collecting and analyzing consumer experience data enables companies to understand the specific needs of their customers. One of the best techniques for this is surveys.

Why are customer experience surveys important?

Customers are precisely the most indicated to talk about their experience and relationship with the brand. They reveal, first hand, what are the positive and negative experiences that come from interacting with her.

In this sense, surveys are one of the main data collection techniques due to their direct contact with consumers. They function as a communicational bridge and without intermediaries between a brand and its customers.

Surveys, as a research tool, allow, among others:

  • Identify opportunities to develop more effective loyalty programs .
  • Capture opinions about the sales, support and customer service processes.
  • Discover neglected market niches.
  • Extract new and interesting perspectives on product and service lines.
  • Determine what aspects cause discomfort in consumers.
  • Confirm if customer needs are being met.
  • Find out how the company is perceived by the public.
  • Reveal why a consumer prefers one brand or another.
  • Inquire about how willing a customer is to pay more for the same product.

According to the 2019 B2B Content Marketing Research study by CMI, 90% of companies focus their marketing campaigns on the needs of their consumers. Achieving this level of business effectiveness is only possible with a deep understanding of your customers. Hence the importance of using surveys oriented to the “customer experience”.

6 best practices in the use of surveys as a data collection technique

Collecting customer data through the use of surveys is a process that is highly susceptible to human error. Therefore, companies must apply a series of best practices to minimize the margin of error and thus guarantee results of the highest quality and objectivity.

Before designing the surveys, it is necessary to determine what are the objectives to be achieved; It’s not about asking questions just out of curiosity.

Some of the indicators that allow us to measure the objectives set are:

  • NPS, ( measures customer loyalty based on recommendations)
  • CES (Effort that the customer supposes to find the product to make his purchase)
  • CSAT (Satisfaction with the shopping experience)
  • NEV (Net Emotional Value)

Once the objectives are clear, some of the best practices to follow are:

  1. Ask short, conversational questions
  2. Combine different types of questions
  3. Seize key moments
  4. Avoid the invasive approach
  5. Address specific issues
  6. Give a reward to the respondent

1. Ask short, conversational questions

To achieve a comfortable and agile survey with clients, the questions must be short and punctual. This allows you to briefly interact with them on different occasions. Thus, we eliminate the impression of being “interrogated.”

In addition, the tone of the questions should generate a feeling of closeness and warmth, so that respondents are open to the possibility of engaging in a broad and enriching conversation with the brand.

2. Combine different types of questions

The survey should be a versatile and flexible process depending on the channel used, the type of customer surveyed and the predefined objectives of the investigation. This versatility and flexibility is achieved by combining different types of questions.

Multiple-choice, scale assessment, closed, open questions can be used (preferably we will mark the latter as non-compulsory), among others. In this way, answers are already structured according to the need of the investigation.

To liven up the survey, we recommend incorporating the use of graphic elements (icons, images, gifs, etc.)

3. Seize key moments

Most of the touch points within the customer journey are a good opportunity to survey, regardless of the channel or medium involved. Those moments in which there is some interaction between the brand and its customers can be used to deploy a short, quick and direct survey.

In this way, you can get hot information about the experiences that just happened. In this way, we can immediately detect possible friction points or even the level of satisfaction of customer pain points.

4. Avoid the invasive approach

A very common mistake is to generate negative experiences precisely during the study of the consumer experience. For example, there are companies that invasively approach their customers, urging them to answer surveys at all times.

To avoid this type of conflict, the approach to consumers must occur in a natural, comfortable and pleasant way for them. The survey must be a process that focuses on the well-being of the client (not the brand) from the first moment of contact.

5. Address specific issues

Today, data collection is supported by technologies such as Artificial Intelligence and Big Data. These are capable of providing very powerful, detailed and deep information about the consumer experience based on the analysis of thousands or millions of interactions.

However, surveys are still necessary to obtain first-hand information. In this sense, the data provided by the AI ??and the Big Bata serve as support to specify the most important issues that should be surveyed.

6. Give a reward to the respondent

No matter how comfortable and agile the surveys are designed, they are still an over-effort for our clients, due to the investment of their time. Therefore, to counteract a possible negative experience, it is advisable to reward those people who take the time to answer the questions.

This reward, in addition to positively impacting the respondent, also serves to improve the branding and reputation of the brand, making many other consumers want to participate in the process. This fact ends up turning the survey into a powerful Marketing tool.

These 6 best practices in the use of surveys multiply the possibility of success in data collection. However, there are many factors that can determine the success or failure of the process.

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