Survey TechniquesHow to Conduct a Customer Survey
This section contains suggestions and guidelines on how to most effectively conduct a customer survey. While most of the material in this section is, or should be obvious, the unfortunate fact is that few organizations adhere to all or most of these guidelines. This failing is the reason why so many organizations are disappointed in the results of their survey efforts.
Why Should You Conduct a Customer Survey?
Your business is successful. You know why your customers deal with you. After all, you built your business from the ground up. Who could possibly know more about your business than you do?
If you feel this way, consider the following story. A modestly successful retail store owner was very proud of his business which offered an extensive selection of top-quality merchandise at very reasonable prices. He paid above average wages to ensure that his customers got attentive and knowledgeable service. As a result he had very good sales and made a reasonable profit each year.
One day one of his employees suggested that they do a customer survey to find out how they could better meet their customers' needs. While the owner was skeptical that they would discover anything that he did not already know, there was nothing to lose, so he agreed.
The results were a real eye-opener. His customers did not care about his extensive variety of high quality merchandise and, in fact, wanted some less expensive options. Service was not a major influence in their decision to shop at his store and neither were good prices. The main reason that most of his customers shopped at his store were its convenient downtown location and ample free parking.
You can probably guess the rest. The owner trimmed his inventory of items that did not sell well and added some lower quality lines. Prices were gradually increased and the wages that he paid his employees slowly dropped into line with the average for the city. All his ads now prominently mentioned his convenient location and ample free parking. Sales increased somewhat, but most importantly, his profits tripled in the year following the survey and continued to increase there after.
General Customer Survey Guidelines