If you have ever been asked to provide your opinion or give feedback after you complete a call, you have just been involved in an after-call survey.
You may wonder if these surveys provide any value to the business, especially if you were one who elected not to participate.
Do they have any value in today’s business world? If so, what do you need to know to make them effective?
Know What You Want to Learn
There should be a reason for everything you do in business, and after-call surveys are no exception.
You should know what information you want to find out, how you will learn this information and what you will do with it. If you do not have answers to all of these questions, you don’t need to take a survey.
Creating a goal doesn’t need to be complicated. In fact, for these surveys, you should keep it simple.
Learn which call agents receive the best marks in customer satisfaction. Find out what percentage of customers have their problems answered when they call.
Keep your goals to one or two points to ensure that you get the information you are looking for.
Know What to Ask
Even if you know what you want to find out in these surveys, you won’t get the information if you don’t ask the right questions.
Make sure the questions are straightforward with enough options for the customer to answer accurately, but don’t overwhelm the person.
You cannot get feedback for complicated issues in this manner; keep your expectations simple and your questions easy to answer. You will use these surveys to gauge perception about general topics.
This may include finding out if the customer had a long wait time, if his or her questions were answered and if he or she was treated courteously.
Know How You Will Use the Data
Customers don’t mind filling out surveys or answering questions if they know their answers make a difference. They want to see that you make changes in your business based on the information they provide.
You should know before starting a survey what actions you will take with the results.
Obviously, if everything comes back positive, you won’t need to make changes. If you have less than desirable results, you should have a plan of what you will change.
As the article, “After Call Surveys: Are They Really Effective?” mentions, you should have a plan to follow up on any negative feedback.
You may even want to implement a mailed survey or contact specific customers if the reaction is strong enough.
The goal of any survey should be to make your business stronger, better and to improve customer satisfaction. When you accumulate information directly from the customer, this is your best weapon to improving your services or product.
Take your survey results seriously and they will be a valuable tool to help ensure that you retain customer loyalty so that your business thrives.
Photo credit: BigStockPhoto.com
About the Author: Joyce Morse is an author who writes on a variety of topics, including customer service and technology.
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