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Everything on How to Create a Survey for Customer Satisfaction

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Coordonnatrice Marketing | Rédactrice et graphiste. La création, c'est ma passion !

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Customer satisfaction is a critical area of the customer experience offered. With a more critical clientele in the face of the in-store experience as well as fierce competition between companies, it is becoming increasingly difficult to stand out from the crowd.

Did you know that according to the Harvard Business Review study, 84% of clients feel that customer service has not met their expectations? How can we ensure that our customers are satisfied to ensure their loyalty when little customer experience reaches the stage of perfection?

Learning how to create a survey for customer satisfaction can help you identify and exceed your customer’s initial expectations. Through these surveys, you will be able to ask your customers about their appreciation of their experience with your company. This will allow you to better adapt to their needs!

Want to know more about the importance of a customer satisfaction survey? Would you like to know how to create a survey for customer satisfaction? Here are six steps along with best practices to help you understand how to create a survey for customer satisfaction.

Download now: -> Why and How to Monitor Customer Satisfaction? [Free French EBook]

Definition of a customer satisfaction survey

By definition, a customer satisfaction survey results in a series of questions designed to compile customer feedback in order to know the overall satisfaction rate related to a company. To achieve its objective, the company analyses the factors that play a role in customer satisfaction, including the quality of a given product or service.

Client satisfaction survey templates often take the form of scale surveys to better compare different scores over time. For example, while learning how to create a survey for customer satisfaction, the Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT) is one of the metrics that can be measured in a customer satisfaction survey.

Here is a concrete example of a response scale that can be included in a customer satisfaction survey :

“Are you satisfied with the service received?”

  • 1 = Very satisfied
  • 2= Satisfied
  • 3 = Neutral
  • 4 = Dissatisfied
  • 5 = Very dissatisfied

Why should you learn how to create a survey for customer satisfaction?

According to a study conducted by HubSpot, it costs 5 to 25 times more to acquire a new customer, while retaining a customer can increase a company’s revenue by 25% to 95%. In that vein, how can we satisfy our clients in order to improve their experience and, consequently, their retention?

This is when learning how to create a survey for customer satisfaction comes into play. Understanding how to create a survey for customer satisfaction will allow you to obtain transparent feedback and measure your customer satisfaction rate. After all, it can be much more complex and tricky to get honest customer feedback face to face. The customer satisfaction survey allows your customers to confide without a filter compared to the lived experience.

Moreover, by showing an interest in the issues that your customers may encounter, they will feel important to you. A listening and empathy approach will certainly be a winning formula. This way, your customers are more likely to be committed to your brand, or to recommend you to their loved ones.

Free french ebook - all about customer satisfaction and Net Promoter Score

In addition, designing and conducting a customer satisfaction survey also allows you to turn your critical customers into promoters of your brand. Did you know that according to The Washington Post, only 4% of dissatisfied customers decide to talk to the company concerned? By conducting a customer satisfaction survey, you can use customer feedback to detect your detractors. That way, you will have the opportunity to correct the situation by offering them a solution to their problem. Likewise, an active discussion about the source of their dissatisfaction will prove to them that you care about them: they will feel considered and will be more inclined to give your business a second chance!

How to create a survey for customer satisfaction : the steps to follow

Now that you know how useful a customer satisfaction survey is, it’s time to look at the creative aspect! However, it can be difficult to understand how to design your own survey if you are not familiar with the concept.

How to create a survey for customer satisfaction that will allow you to improve their retention? To guide you, here are six steps to follow to understand how to create a survey for customer satisfaction.

1. Determine what kind of information you want to collect

Before learning how to create a survey for customer satisfaction, you must first know what type of information you want to collect. For example, do you want to know how satisfied your customers are with your company’s customer service? Or do you want to know how likely they are to recommend you to their loved ones? If you work in the restaurant sector, it is even possible to carry out a customer satisfaction survey for your restaurant to adapt your menu and decor according to the preferences of your customers.

Reception at your points of sale, quality of products, price of services : there are a variety of factors that influence the satisfaction of your customers. Think carefully about the information you want to collect before you start formulating your survey questions. This will allow you to keep your goals in mind and avoid asking unnecessary questions that could unnecessarily distract your customers. This is how to create a survey for customer satisfaction that will provide you with useful data about your clientele!

2. Formulate the questions you want to ask

Once you have determined your goals, it is now time to learn how to create a survey for customer satisfaction.

Do you have difficulty formulating your questions based on the data you want to collect? Here is a guide to best practices if you want a better understanding of how to create a survey for customer satisfaction.

Best practices for formulating the questions of a customer satisfaction survey

Once you have defined the type of information you want to obtain, you must now formulate your questions in order to attract the attention of your customers. But how do you write your questions so that your clients complete your survey to the end?

To help you, here are seven rules to follow to know how to create a survey for customer satisfaction :

  • Start with questions related to the client’s overall satisfaction with your services ;
  • Write short and direct questions to avoid losing the customer ;
  • Avoid too personal questions ;
  • Maintain a courteous tone throughout your customer satisfaction survey ;
  • Close with an open-ended question to invite the customer to express themselves more freely about their level of satisfaction with your services ;
  • Make sure your entire survey is concise to avoid exhausting your customers ;
  • Use email or SMS to optimize the number of responses to your survey, as well as to automate their sending.

Typical questions asked in customer satisfaction surveys

Once you have determined your questions, it is time to learn how to create a survey for customer satisfaction. While there are many questions to create a customer satisfaction survey, some key indicators are a must when you survey your customers. It is therefore necessary to have a good understanding of the role of these satisfaction indicators as well as the analysis they enable you to carry out during your survey.

Having trouble asking the right questions related to the different customer satisfaction indices? To help you understand how to create a survey for customer satisfaction, here are the three main indicators of customer satisfaction accompanied by examples of questions to ask during your survey.

Free French EBook - All about customer satisfaction and Net Promoter Score

The Net Promoter Score

The Net Promoter Score (NPS) allows you to calculate the probability that a customer will refer your company to his entourage. With this Satisfaction Index, you will know if your client is satisfied enough with their experience with your business to recommend your services to a loved one, friend or family member. It is also with the Net Promoter Score that you can know your number of detractors, passive and promoters customers, to convert your detractors into promoters of your brand.

When you learn how to create a survey for customer satisfaction, you must build your NPS-related questions on the likelihood that a customer will recommend your services to someone close to them.

Here is an example of a customer satisfaction survey with a question to calculate the NPS :

  • How likely is it that you would recommend our services to a friend or family member?
  • On a scale of 1 to 10, how likely are you to do business with our company again?

Then propose answers on a scale of 1 to 10. To calculate your NPS, subtract the percentage of detractors from your percentage of promoters. This will give you a score between -100 and 100 which determines your Net Promoter Score.

  • A detractor is a client with a score between 0 and 6;
  • A passive, indifferent customer is between 7 and 8;

A client ambassador, or promoter, is a client with a rating between 9 and 10. This is the type of customer who will refer you to their loved ones and attract new potential customers to your business.

The Customer Effort Score

The Customer Effort Score (CES), for its part, focuses on the customer’s journey. This indicator measures the effort a customer has had to make during their experience with your business. By using the CES during your satisfaction survey, you will be able to optimize your customer journey to improve their experience at your points of sale as well as on your website.

While learning how to create a survey for customer satisfaction, you must calculate the Customer Effort Score by formulating your questions as levels of effort. For example, you can ask :

  • How easy was it to do business with us?
  • How would you define your shopping experience on our website?
  • How easy was it to solve your problem with us?

Afterwards, your customers can respond with a scale of five levels :

  • Very easy = 1
  • Easy = 2
  • Neutral = 3
  • Difficult = 4
  • Very difficult = 5

The lower the score, the easier it was for the customer to do business with your company. On the other hand, a high score shows that your client has had to put in a lot of effort and is not likely to come back to you. By integrating CES-related issues into your customer satisfaction survey, you may be able to identify some gaps in your customer’s journey. This will allow you to improve your customer experience and, in the long term, your customer retention rate! This is how to create a survey for customer satisfaction that will help you reduce your customers’ effort within your business.

CSAT-example

The Customer Satisfaction Score

The Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT), on the other hand, allows you to determine whether your client is satisfied with their overall experience within your company. By learning how to create a survey for customer satisfaction and integrating Customer Satisfaction Score questions to its design, you will be able to learn what your customers think about their overall experience with your company, and thus tailor your services to their needs.

When creating your survey, you can include a question to measure the Customer Satisfaction Score by asking the customer about their overall level of satisfaction with your company’s services.

Here is an example of a customer satisfaction survey with a question to calculate the CSAT :

  • Did you enjoy your overall experience with our company?
  • Did our team meet your expectations?
  • How satisfied are you with our new products?

If you see that your customer is satisfied with their experience, this is a golden opportunity to invite them to leave a positive Google review on your Google My Business page, or to initiate a cross-selling. Conversely, if your client is dissatisfied, follow up with an open-ended question to encourage them to expand more openly on the source of their dissatisfaction. This way, you may be able to rectify the situation while discovering gaps in your customer experience. This is how to create a survey for customer satisfaction that will help you improve your customer experience!

CSAT-example

3. Schedule the sending via an automated platform

Following the completion of your customer satisfaction survey, you must now choose your sending platform. But how to create a survey for customer satisfaction by using the right sending tool? Although there are many ways to send your survey to your customers, we invite you to choose SMS and emails, as they allow  completely automated sending.

The automation of sending your survey saves you many hours of management time. In this sense, you will no longer have to manually send each survey or write your survey to each of your mailings!

 

Here are some general rules to follow to know how to create a survey for customer satisfaction that is fully automated :

  • Sign with your company’s name to prevent the customer from confusing you with spam ;
  • Give your customers the option of answering your survey anonymously ;
  • Include a Call To Action (CTA) at the end of your survey ;
  • Include a contact in case of technical problems in your customer satisfaction survey.

Good customer satisfaction survey practices by sending SMS

SMS is a great way to reach your customers. They allow you to have direct contact with your customers, regardless of the time of day, since most of them still have their phones with them.

If you choose to send your customer satisfaction survey via SMS :

  • Include your company’s name at the beginning of your message to prevent the customer from confusing you with spam ;
  • Write a short and clear text message so you don’t lose your client ;
  • Include a Call To Action at the end of your text to invite the customer to complete your survey.

Good practices in customer satisfaction surveys by e-mail

Once the design of your survey is complete, sending an email is a classic and accessible method of contacting your customers. It is a medium mastered by more people than texts, in addition to giving a personal touch to your messages.

When you schedule sending a satisfaction survey via email :

  • Optimize the subject line of your message ;
  • Sign your email to avoid being confused with spam ;
  • Write a brief and structured email to explain to the client that this is a satisfaction survey ;
  • Attach a CTA at the end of your email to encourage the client to complete your survey.

4. Send the customer satisfaction survey questionnaire

Following the creation and scheduling of your customer satisfaction survey, it is now time to proceed with sending it. To maximize your opening rates and chances of response, it is important to send your customer satisfaction survey questionnaire at the right time. But what is the optimal time to schedule the dispatch of your survey, in order to collect as much feedback as possible? In fact, it is recommended to wait between an hour and a few hours after your customer’s purchase before sending them a survey to ensure their satisfaction. This allows them to have more perspective on the experience with your company, but also to have had the time to evaluate the quality of your services. In addition, the experience will still be fresh in their memory, which will allow them to give accurate and relevant feedback! Do not wait several days to schedule a customer satisfaction survey questionnaire. The more time passes, the less timely the customer’s opinion will be. This will hinder their assessment of the lived experience and also discourage them from completing your survey, as they will no longer have in mind the services you have provided to them.

5. Measure results

After sending out your customer satisfaction surveys and obtaining your customer’s responses, it is now time to analyze your results. In this vein, it is important to have a powerful tool that will allow you to centralize the data collected during your survey to detect good hits and customer dissatisfaction within your branches.

A solution like InputKit allows you to centralize your survey data on your account dashboard to help manage your customer experience.

By connecting to your current system, the solution automatically records your results to convert them into performance indicators (NPS, CES, CSAT). This allows you to avoid calculating everything manually thanks to quick and easy information management. By understanding how to create a survey for customer satisfaction, you can know the state of your branches and improve your customer experience based on your results!

For more information on how to integrate InputKit into your systems, visit the Integration page of our solution.

6. Optimize your customer experience

Once your customer satisfaction survey responses have been accounted for through your dashboard, you can now use your feedback to improve your customer experience. To do this, you need to use your customers’ feedback to tailor your services to their needs and expectations for your business.

The key to analyzing the feedback received is to draw conclusions from your recurring feedback. If a finding comes up a few times, it can definitely illustrate a certain trend. By paying attention to these trends, you will be able to improve the customer experience offered. If comments have been made regarding the timeliness of the service, contact your staff to rectify the situation. Or, if your customers do not like the decoration of your store, opt for a softer environment with music to accompany them throughout their purchases.

Take the concrete example of a spa establishment! You could send a spa-related customer satisfaction survey to assess whether the quality of care provided by your professional team meets your clients’ expectations. You can also ask your customers about the state of play, such as the temperature of the water or the accessibility of your spas, to know the general appreciation related to your branch.

It is important to make your team aware of your customers’ wishes. After grouping together some of the customer feedback trends received, feel free to engage your staff to get your employees involved in the optimization leads. This will motivate your employees while improving your store’s customer experience!

How can InputKit help you create and send customer satisfaction surveys?

Having trouble designing your customer satisfaction survey? Worried that you don’t understand how to create a survey for customer satisfaction yet? If so, InputKit’s Customer Experience Assessment and Improvement Solution can help!

To help you formulate your questions, InputKit offers several customer satisfaction survey templates. Our easy-to-use interface with unlimited French support will allow you to create a survey with your colors. This will allow you to learn how to create a survey for customer satisfaction, and better adapt your services to the needs of your customers!

In addition, InputKit’s solution allows completely personalized and automated follow-up. With a response rate of 45% by email and 57% by text, you will be able to send your surveys at the right time, without worrying about disturbing your customers. This will save you valuable management hours so you can focus on other priority tasks, such as improving your customer experience!

While learning how to create a survey for customer satisfaction may seem complex at first glance, remember that there are several ways to make your job easier. Determine the type of information you want to collect, keep your objectives in mind, carefully formulate your questions, and be sure to schedule the dispatch of your customer satisfaction surveys at the right time via an automated platform to avoid several hours of management.

When writing your survey, keep your questions short, direct and courteous. Don’t forget to include an open-ended question to invite your customers to expand more openly on their opinion of your business. The more answers you get, the better you can adapt to the needs and expectations of your customers!

Now that you know how to conduct a customer satisfaction survey, do you have the right tools to track your results? If you need a solution to centralize your data or convert your answers into performance indicators or need help to understand how to create a survey for customer satisfaction, don’t hesitate to schedule a free demo with our team of professionals!

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