There is an elephant in the insights room. We need to talk about surveys.
Has anybody else noticed just how many companies send out customer satisfaction and feedback surveys? Whether you are asked to complete a survey actually in the shop itself, or via text as you arrive home, the ever-increasing requests to complete surveys seems endless! Compounding this B2B and B2C feedback strategy is the sheer number of companies that have launched survey technology. More choice for survey platforms, cheaper and easier to deploy than ever. BUT, how does this affect the consumer/customer?
I know personally, that due to the sheer volume of requests to complete surveys, I’m far more selective of which ones I complete. I wonder how many other people feel the same way? Or worse, how many customers don’t get to tell us the full story about their experience because you didn’t structure your questions in the right way to get to the heart of what they wanted to tell us. Weak data = inaccurate insights = poor decision making. Basically, everyone is competing for customers’ limited time and appetite to do their survey.
Why has the actual concept of the survey itself endured I hear you ask? Does anybody actually enjoy doing surveys? Now there’s a great question for a survey… you see what I mean, this can drive us all a bit crazy.
Well, there is a better way thankfully. Technology innovation has developed a new conversational approach to gathering feedback.
When people speak with each other everday, they typically do not ask questions with ratings as a response. That’s right, we have what are called “conversations!!”
Recent technological advances have allowed traditional survey methods to be supplemented by conversational AI chatbots. In due course, we believe conversations will replace surveys. The conversational approach humanises the feedback and insights process, and at the same time, rewards the brand using it by producing much deeper, more accurate and insightful feedback.
Today’s surveys elicit a prescribed response to prescribed questions. Conversational engagement personas can probe topics and allow participants free reign to discuss topics important to them, within guiderails for what matters to the brand engaged in the conversation with the customer.
Normal surveys come out of the blue and there generally no flow from one request for feedback to the next. Conversational engagement flows over time and creates a two-way dialogue between customers and brands. Picking up a conversation is like meeting up with your friend after a few months apart.
Surveys have been around for a very long time, however, early adopters of conversational engagement technology are enjoying deeper insights, higher response rates, increased repeat rates on surveys and flow-on benefits in improved CSAT and NPS ratings. They are also humanising how they engage with their customers, which increases the strength of the brand relationship.
I know I’m excited about being at the forefront of disrupting the survey process, we can’t change overnight, but we are pioneering the innovation.
How ironic that it will be technology that humanises the customer and employee insights industries…
