Advantages and Disadvantages of Customer Satisfaction Surveys

As we have discussed in recent Snap Survey Software blog posts, taking customer satisfaction into serious consideration is a key factor in developing a successful, lasting business.  If your company is not gathering customer feedback, you may be making strategic business decisions that are not in line with your customers’ interests, which could have a negative effect on your business.

The most efficient and economical way to measure customer satisfaction is to create customer satisfaction surveys with the help of a survey software solution. An advanced survey software solution can manage multi-mode survey research methods – produce the same survey in different formats;  including online surveys, email surveys, paper surveys, mobile surveys, kiosk surveys, and telephone surveys – depending on the best way to reach your customer base. Customer satisfaction surveys are designed to give you anonymous and unambiguous insight into your customers’ thoughts and perceptions of your products, services, programs, and your company as a whole, as well as information leading to what needs to be changed in order to retain lasting customer relationships. 

Customer satisfaction surveys are extremely beneficial to your business. They do, however come with certain disadvantages. Here are some of the advantages and disadvantages of implementing regularly administered customer satisfaction surveys into your business.

Advantages of Customer Satisfaction Surveys

• Up-to-date feedback: Gather current customer feedback on various aspects of your company. You can stay on top of customer trends through regularly scheduled online surveys or email surveys, and receive instant customer feedback.  It is always useful to acquire insight into how your customers are currently reacting to all aspects of your business.
• Benchmark results: You can administer the same survey every so often to customers to gain continued insight into your customers. Surveys can have the same questions, which will allow you to compare data over time and benchmark survey data across previous years to determine if any changes need to be made.
• Show that you care: Customers like to be asked for their feedback. It gives the customer the perception that your company values them; is committed to keeping them as a long-term customer; and bases business decisions on their feedback.

Disadvantages of Customer Satisfaction Surveys

• Too many surveys, so little time: Your customers are bombarded with online surveys. Surveys may be simple to complete, however, some people simply don’t like to complete them.  Sending surveys too often can irritate customers and lead to customer burnout. Customer burnout can result in low response rates or result in lower satisfaction scores, despite your reputation for providing excellent products or services.
• Privacy Issues:  We live in a high-tech environment filled with daily doses of unwanted junk email, email solicitations, and sales calls. When taking an online survey or a phone survey (or any type of survey), it is hard for your customers to believe that they aren’t being tracked. Because of insecurities of releasing private information, customers today are hesitant in giving out information that may lead to more junk email and unwanted calls.  Make certain to assure customers that the information they provide in response to your customer satisfaction surveys will not be used. Without this disclaimer, it may be difficult to receive a good response rate.