Here in the customer service world, we know that the voice of the customer is paramount. To understand the customer experience, increase customer loyalty, or improve frontline performance, it’s necessary to first understand what the customers are thinking. And the best way to do that is to simply ask. When customers visit a Web site, send them a pop-up survey invitation. If customers visit a store, give them a receipt survey. For customers who call frontline staff, follow up with a phone survey.
And while this constant mining for information is invaluable, is it possible that the customers are over-surveyed? In a recent article in the Chronicle of Higher Education, this issue is specifically addressed. On college campuses today, students are bombarded by surveys from every direction, and as a result the response rate of students has fallen from 70% to 20% just within the last two decades. This interesting trend has brought about the concept of survey fatigue, the theory that too many invitations for surveys can overwhelm, or fatigue, a person and result in lower survey quality and decrease response rates.
Certainly, this phenomenon is not new to companies. But what is interesting is the way companies view the solution. While some companies are taking measures to reduce the risk of repeatedly surveying the same customers, others argue that this is acceptable, and even necessary. Here are the two sides of the argument that we’ve heard:
- Side A says “Avoid over-surveying”: Those companies that are wary of survey fatigue take steps such as removing customers from the potential survey pool after sending an initial invitation. The specific time that companies deem necessary for avoiding contact ranges from 30 to 180 days, but when the specified time has passed, all add those customers back to the survey list. As a result, customers who interact multiple times with a company within a certain period are asked to participate in a survey only once.
- Side B says “Over-surveying is unlikely, and sometimes valuable”: Some companies welcome the ability to send multiple surveys to a single customer. To them, these high-contact customers are more valuable, and their opinions should be treated as such. In other words, customers who frequently interact with a company should have their opinions counted more often as well. Thus, these companies make no effort to limit survey interactions, and customers are contacted regard of their surveying history.
From CCC’s point of view, there may be an angle missing in this debate. Maybe the answer to combating survey fatigue lies not in how frequent surveys are administered, but how well the surveys are designed. Customers will be more likely (and more eager) to complete surveys if they are brief, easily understandable, and relevant. These surveys will actually provide customers with a low-effort and powerful method of voicing their opinions. Similarly, companies should convey to customers just how valuable their opinions are. If customers voice a certain dissatisfaction, complaint, or idea, take time to follow-up with their issue. By positioning the survey as a method of servicing the customer, rather than simply soliciting information, companies can increase participation and engagement.
What are your thoughts? Is your company concerned about survey fatigue? What measures are you taking to combat this phenomenon? Share your feedback or surveys, or contact CCC to participate in our latest research on survey techniques, best practices, and key challenges.
Related CCC Resources
Measuring the Customer Experience
Customer Experience Survey Design
Customer Experience Improvement
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on November 16, 2011
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[...] experience. Since then, the team has blogged about some of our interim thoughts on topics such as survey fatigue and the value of survey incentives. I hope you have enjoyed reading some of these study [...]