You may survey customers regularly, but how frequently? Should you survey customers with every print order?
For repeat buyers, don’t survey them more often than every 90 days. If surveyed too often, repeat buyers will become annoyed and you will drive down loyalty. Also, in your email message state something like, “You won’t get this survey more often than every 90 days if you buy from us regularly.” Tell customers upfront so they won’t assume the survey process is going to turn into a spam issue.
If you are correctly managing the frequency of surveys to repeat buyers, you can anticipate a 20-35% response rate on a continuous basis. Let the feedback flow and let customers know that the survey is just another way to stay connected and responsive.
How many questions should you ask? Keep the survey to less than 30 seconds (5-7 questions maximum). State in the email invitation that it will take less than a minute and stick to that promise. Don’t say that it will take 30 seconds and then ask 30 questions. You may want to regularly change the questions and the invitation email to keep it fresh and inviting.
When considering the number of questions, be aware that there are two types of surveys.
• A strategic survey helps to map out necessary investments during the upcoming year. Customers appreciate this type of survey. If it’s positioned correctly and you promise to share the results with them, they will give you 5 minutes and answer around 20 questions.
• The second type of survey is the post-job survey or the 90-day pulse type survey to keep connected in an ongoing fashion.
We suggest doing both because one is strategic and one tactical, but if budget and time is a constraint, go for the tactical survey. Ask customers for 1 minute to answer 5 or 6 questions and keep communication open all the time.