Tired of Customer Surveys?
You just hung up on their call centre or had a quick chat via their website. Downloaded their app or a brochure. Or just WhatsApped their contact centre. And BAM! there it is: the customer survey. We all suffer from them on a daily basis. And they’re worse than unsolicited mails or spam because, out of sheer decency, we often feel inclined to open them and respond.
“Give us your feedback,” they say. And if you’re lucky and have used several channels for the same question or complaint, then BAM! again: You get several surveys for the same issue. With different questions, of course, as omnichannel is still somewhere in the far future. And you had better not state that you’re not heavily thrilled by the product or service. No less than five stars or 10 out of 10 points or BAM!, you’re directly punished with more questions and follow-up surveys. More text fields for you, requiring more words!
Customer survey fatigue kicking in
Many of us modern customers are hit by this triple-BAM on a frequent basis. And looking at the rapidly declining response rates, we’re increasingly fed up with these surveys. As survey fatigue kicks in, challenges in customer satisfaction and NPS scoring abound. Will data still be representative, or will it become increasingly biased?
Dissatisfied customers tired of surveys keep silent, become “silent complainers” and, ultimately, churners. Or is the tsunami of surveys actually the dissatisfaction with the tool measured instead of product, service or brand? Are customers giving five stars or 10 points just to get rid of more questions, requiring more of our precious time? Or is it that “everybody lies,” as Seth Stephens-Davidowitz would argue – notably in surveys?