What are Good Customer Survey Questions?

I’m often asked “What are good customer survey questions?” The answer to this is that “it depends!”

Now, I’m not trying to be awkward or difficult here, but the questions you ask will depend entirely upon the specific information you want to know from your specific customers and what you intend to do with this new found knowledge. This is why replicating what you see someone else sending out it not a good idea! You may find my previous blog How to Write a Customer Survey useful to read first.

HOWEVER, there is 1 question that I recommend everyone uses — in some cases it might be the only question you ask, I guarantee that you will see this question used in a variety of customer feedback scenarios. It provides insight into
- the % of unhappy / satisfied / raving fans within your customer base
- the % of your customers who are a potential flight risk
- how many word of mouth referrals you are likely to receive (we know these are the best kind and easiest lead to deal generators there are — hint: you want lots of these!!)
- track customer perception of your brand over time (you want this to be going up of course!)
- a measurable score for your management information or just to compare against others in your industry

It is known as the Net Promoter Score (NPS) and whilst not perfect, I’ve always found a benefit in asking it.

Other general questions you can think about are:
1. What ‘qualifying’ information do you need to know (really?)- name, location, product purchased? Remember that the more anonymous a respondent can be, the more likely you are to get honest answers! These are the questions that will help you filter your responses to gain more meaningful insight.
2. Asking about expectations before engaging your services/buying product and whether these have been met or exceeded (add in a free text option only for those who chose ‘exceeded’ and you’ll generate some great marketing content!)
3. Why they chose you / stay with you — again useful information for doing more of this, attracting more of the same type of client and perfecting your ideal customer persona.

Tips:
Only ask what they know: Their experience — not how to develop your business: As Henry Ford said

“If I’d asked the customers what they wanted, they would’ve said faster horses!”

Use multiple choice as much as possible, but always provide a general ‘free text’ option — there’s nothing more frustrating than wanting to share an opinion and not having the option to do so!

Aim for a maximum completion time of 2 minutes — the quicker it is to complete, the more responses you will get!

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