2009 Q4 Customer Survey Checklist
Customer surveys are increasing in popularity as more and more companies attempt to become more customer focused and realize that increased customer satisfaction translates into increased profitability. Here’s a checklist that should be asked by any executive approving a survey project. Following this simple checklist can make your next survey more rewarding.
-What are the objectives of the survey, e.g. customer satisfaction, key buying decision factors, customer value, loyalty, etc?
-Do we know what we are going to do with the information when we get it?
-Are we planning to do surveys often enough to give us the kind of trend data we need?
-Do we know when it’s best to do surveying by mail, online or telephone?
-Are we working with accurate, up-to-date contact lists?
-Are we planning to pretest questionnaires?
-Have we been thorough in comparing the merits of outsourcing versus doing it inside?
-If using an outside resource, do they have the credentials, not only from a research perspective, but also from a business perspective, to ask the right questions and provide actionable interpretation of the results?
-Can we be assured of a statistically valid level of confidence in the results?
-Do we know how to reduce sample size and cut costs by getting a high response rate on surveys? How many responses are required?
-Do we have the processes in place to validate and crosscheck the information we expect from the survey?
-Do we have the discipline to keep survey questionnaires to a reasonable length? How many open-ended vs. closed-ended questions form the right mix?
-Is the cost of the survey inconsequential compared to the information that will be received?