Mistake #1: You start the customer feedback process without clear objectives
A spectrum of sophistication
Experts point to a spectrum of sophistication when it comes to online research tools and that they are horses-for-courses, depending on the scope of your feedback needs.
“The difference between a quick question on Google Surveys and a more refined tool allowing for routing of questions and advanced analytics is like the difference between a ring tone and a live gig,” says Dr Nicola Stanley, director of engagement at agency Silver Dialogue and a former researcher at Unilever. “There’s a need for both, but they are worlds apart.”
Based on the findings from Snap Surveys’ own consumer research, the marketer survey it conducted with BrandRepublic and the opinions of experts, marketers may be prone to committing one or more of the following missteps when commissioning and handling feedback:
Mistake 1: You start the feedback process without clear objectives
As surveys become cheaper to do, marketers embark on seeking feedback ranging from mission-critical research, down to surveys whose findings end up nowhere. And in the process, consumers are bombarded with a high volume of feedback requests, generating ‘survey fatigue’.
“I am happy to give feedback but I hate being bombarded by companies that want feedback on every transaction or visit to a website.” – Response to Snap Surveys’ Consumer Panel research, 2012
Solution: Have commercial outcomes in mind when commissioning feedback
Marketers must remember why they are seeking consumer opinion in the first place. Brand Republic and Snap Surveys probed marketers on their favorite methods for achieving not just feedback, but ‘actionable customer insight’ – that is, information that potentially boosts the commercial performance of an organization.
“Before you embark on seeking feedback, ask yourself, will it highlight an opportunity or threat of significant financial value and give you a way of increasing your sales or customer base? Does it give you some foresight about a potential threat to your organization, so that if you don’t do something about it, you may lose sales or worse, market share?” Woolley advises.
View: Blog Series Intro: 7 Most Common Mistakes in Gathering Customer Feedback
Blog series expectations
Throughout this 7 part blog series, we will walk you through the 7 most common mistakes in gathering customer feedback and what you can do to avoid them. We will also offer the full report as a download at the end of this blog series.
Source: Excerpts from the Expert Report: Walk the talk: the 7 most common mistakes in gathering customer feedback – and how to avoid them, by BrandRepublic in association with Snap Surveys.
