When we asked 41 marketers to rate the importance of researching customer satisfaction, they gave it a 4.88 out of 5 (with 5 being \u201cof greatest importance.\u201d)<\/p>\n
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But how do these marketers research customer satisfaction<\/a>? What methods and research questions do they find most effective? Let\u2019s dive into their expert insights.<\/p>\n First, how often do marketers research customer satisfaction?<\/p>\n While it varies, most marketers conduct research often. There was no majority answer, but 49% conduct customer satisfaction research monthly, 20% conduct it weekly, and another 20% conduct it daily.<\/p>\n Even with this variation, it\u2019s still clear conducting frequent customer satisfaction research is best to gain an accurate picture of your customer\u2019s changing opinions.<\/p>\n How exactly do marketers research customer satisfaction?<\/p>\n Email surveys are the most popular method (85% of marketers use them), followed by customer feedback forms (73%) and customer reviews (68%).<\/p>\n Email surveys can be easily personalized and sent right after a purchase, and customer feedback forms are also easy to deploy, making them simple and popular methods.<\/p>\n As for reviews, they\u2019re often given by customers unprompted, so they provide a genuine picture of how customers feel. They\u2019re also very easy to request and unearth.<\/p>\n We then asked marketers to single out the method they find most effective for researching customer satisfaction, based on the above list.<\/p>\n Email surveys were the most effective method for 32% of marketers (making them the most popular and<\/em>\u00a0effective).<\/p>\n Customer reviews were selected by 20%, putting it in the second position.<\/p>\n These methods were followed closely by website\/in-app surveys (15%) and in-person conversations (12%).<\/p>\n But why do marketers find these methods of researching customer satisfaction most effective? Hopefully, their explanations below will help you choose the methods that will work for you.<\/p>\n \u201cWe get the most responses via email surveys. They have provided us with more constructive feedback that’s easy to track and save information compared to other methods.\u201d \u2013Suzanne Pope, Whiterock Locators<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cWe often don’t give email the kudos it deserves. When a customer signs up for a service or purchases a product, an email a few days later can help a company understand just how well they hit the mark.\u201d \u2013Andrea Loubier, Mailbird<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cIn my opinion, a quick email survey is always the best way to get customer feedback without making them commit too much of their time. Email surveys are non-intrusive, not time-sensitive, and allow the customer to take their time to respond and produce a quality review.\u201d \u2013Mikkel Andreassen, Dixa<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cPeople are more likely to reply when they are sent a personalized email with some questions about the services they have received.\u201d \u2013Maria Saigatova, Blast Sourcing<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cIn-app functionality allows you to deliver targeted surveys to your customers and engage them at the ideal time to receive valuable customer feedback, all while providing a seamless customer experience.\u201d \u2013Cori Pearce, ChurnZero<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cPrompting customers to leave reviews can be beneficial to both parties. Customers can express their likes and dislikes, often in an anonymous way should they like. And this information can help a customer service department go from good to great.\u201d \u2013Sergei Belous, UpFlip<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cCustomer reviews are the way to receive the most genuine feedback possible. With no incentives for providing feedback, customers only do so if they\u2019re very impressed with your services, or if they can offer criticism you can use to create growth and positive change.\u201d \u2013Alice Ray, Know Your Chickens<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cIf it’s feasible, in-person conversations are always great to receive detailed customer satisfaction feedback. In-person conversations are effective because they allow the customer to provide specifics regarding their satisfaction\/issues without bias from others.\u201d Doreen Amatelli-Clark, Way to Goal Business Insights<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cIn-person conversations have always worked well for me because I can see the person\u2019s facial expressions and body language much better. \u00a0Being there in the same room as your client also gives you credibility because you spent your time and went to their office.\u201d \u2013Ben Walker, Transcription Outsourcing<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cPhone and video chat conversations allow you to dig into a customer’s preferences and really get to know their pain points. You’ll open up new pathways in conversation and learn a lot more than you expected about your most valuable customers.\u201d \u2013David Cusick, House Method<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cGaining customer satisfaction reactions from social media can be a bold choice, as it’s out there for the entire world to see. However, this can keep you genuine and authentic, and you can take the comments that are posted and devise innovative strategies from them.\u201d \u2013Carrie McKeegan, Greenback Expat Tax Services<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cAnalyzing data can provide a clear picture of how satisfied our customers are at any point. Are current customers continuing their service? Are they recommending others or even opting for more solutions that are offered? These things can provide a lot of valuable insight.\u201d \u2013Thomas Bolt, Big Eval<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cWe have used Net Promoter to gain a snapshot of our performance through the eyes of our current and past customers. Our goal is not only to determine the NPS, but to understand the cause of the score. This is achieved by asking follow-up questions through phone interviews.\u201d \u2013Alex Membrillo, Cardinal Digital Marketing Agency<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cWhen customers are willing to promote your brand among their networks, this is the best marketing money cannot buy. Statistically, people trust the opinions and recommendations of others in their network above any other source. This is why NPS surveys are key.\u201d \u2013Jen Lawrence, Vye<\/a><\/p>\n Now that we know the methods marketers use to research customer satisfaction, what specific metrics do they track?<\/p>\n Interestingly, the most popular metric, and the only one the majority use, is qualitative <\/em>rather than quantitative.<\/p>\n Fifty-four percent of experts use customer comments to measure customer satisfaction. Comments give a clear picture of why <\/em>customers are or are not satisfied with your brand. With this insight, you\u2019ll be able to take direct action to increase customer satisfaction.<\/p>\n As for the most popular quantitative metrics:<\/p>\n Specific tools marketers use for customer satisfaction research include:<\/p>\n The top customer satisfaction questions shared by marketers were as diverse as the businesses they work for. But there were several common themes in the questions they found most helpful.<\/p>\n Here are the favorite customer satisfaction survey questions, divided by category, for you to draw inspiration from.<\/p>\n \u201cI would say the best question to ask is, \u2018How would you rate our product\/service overall?\u2019 based on a scale, since it provides a baseline to measure customer satisfaction.\u201d \u2013Suzanne Pope, Whiterock Locators<\/p>\n \u201cAsk the consumer to score their happiness with the business, product or service, to generate an average CSAT ranking (customer satisfaction score). Usually, a customer satisfaction scale varies from 1\u20133, 1\u20135 or 1\u201310.\u201d \u2013Eliza Nimmick, Tutor The People<\/a><\/p>\n “Ask \u2018What makes you choose us?\u2019 Give participants a list of possible answers and ask them to rank nos. 1, 2, and 3. Then also give them the opportunity to comment if they wish. The list will spur their thinking, and you will learn both your strengths and weaknesses as compared to your competitors.” \u2013Karen Condor, USInsuranceAgents.com<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cWhy did you choose our product or service over our competitors? What stood out, and made you choose our particular company?\u201d \u2013Alice Ray, Know Your Chickens<\/p>\n \u201cMy key question would be ‘Would you use us again?’ That answers the all important question of how you are doing at building a loyal and engaged customer base for your business.\u201d Adam Korbl, Ifax App<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cThe one question I think you should ask is: \u201cIf you could change anything, what would it be?\u201d There may be a lot of different answers, but that\u2019s a good thing, to get different perspectives. If you see a common thread through the answers, you’ll have an idea of what to improve.\u201d \u2013Daniel Foley<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cIs there anything about our services or solutions that would cause you to discontinue using them?\u201d \u2013Thomas Bolt, Big Eval<\/p>\n “I recommend the question \u2018If a friend asked you about any negatives or downsides, what would you say?\u2019 It’s tough to get negative feedback, especially in in-person or live interviews. Re-framing the “\u2019What’s the worst thing?\u201d question allows the customer to think differently and give honest feedback without feeling awkward about it.\u201d \u2013David Cusick, House Method<\/p>\n “I think you can never go wrong with an open-ended \u2018What could have we done better?\u2019 or \u2018How can we improve?\u2019 to allow the customer some room to expand and share their thoughts. Some of the best ideas come from your very own customers and with a bit of luck, they can offer excellent insight into your product that can be implemented in the future.” \u2013Mikkel Andreassen, Dixa<\/p>\n \u201cThe best question to ask customers when conducting research on customer satisfaction is \u2018What would have made the biggest improvement for your experience?\u2019 Then you can nail down what improvements \u201c\u201dwill make the biggest overall impact on our customers for the future.\u201d \u2013Jacob Rosenberg, Tajima Direct<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cAsk customers how they would rate your customer service department. This team is often the voice of your company, and you’ll want to clearly portray your company values and ethics.\u201d \u2013Sergei Belous, UpFlip<\/p>\n \u201cAsk \u2018Do you feel your experience, from the first email to the last and everything in between, was worth your money and time?\u2019<\/p>\n Those two things are the most important to people and it should be for any business and by bringing those two things up in conversation allows them to answer you from a business point of view and may trigger them to bring up valuable info.\u201d \u2013Shaun Taylor, Moriti Safaris<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cHow happy are you with our current service compared to what you were expecting when you signed up?\u201d \u2013Jane Kovalkova, Chanty<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cAsk customers to rate the customer service they have received on a scale. For example:<\/p>\n \u201cI think asking the customer if they would refer your business, product or service to others is an important question to ask. If they truly received a great experience and think others would benefit as well, a referral is an inexpensive and easy way to grow business.\u201d \u2013David Peterson,\u00a0HealthMarkets<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cWould you recommend this business to a friend or family member?\u00a0If yes, why<\/em>?\u201d \u2013Golda Criddle, ReviewInc<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cWhen conducting these surveys, the best question to ask is, \u2018How likely are you to recommend our product to your friends and family members?\u2019 This question gives a great insight in how the customer feels about your product. If they are willing to recommend it to people they care about, that means they are satisfied with your product and will help spread the word about it.\u201d \u2013James Major, Insurance Panda<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cExisting customers provide great insights about your business’s products and services. Asking “l\u2019How likely are you to recommend our brand to a friend?\u2019 can show how happy and satisfied they are.<\/p>\n \u201cTelling their experiences to others can help you grow your brand. It can help you build and improve your brand’s services, which can attract more customers. Your existing customers will be your most valuable asset that can help in promoting your brand’s name.\u201d \u2013Dennis Bell, Byblos Coffee<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cOn a scale of 0-10, how likely are you to recommend our company? This is the net promoter score question.\u201d \u2013Jen Lawrence, Vye<\/p>\n \u201cAsk, \u2018What problem would you like to solve with our product?\u2019 This question seeks information that usually cannot be gauged by analytics.<\/p>\n It\u2019s great to ask this question even before finalizing the sale. It may be the case that your potential customers are looking for something different than their chosen product is. If you have other products that would much better suit their needs, it\u2019s great to navigate them towards them before it\u2019s too late and they get disappointed with a product that was not designed for what they actually need.” \u2013Eliza Nimmick, Tutor The People<\/p>\n \u201cWe would actually argue that effective customer satisfaction research cannot be narrowed down to one key question.<\/p>\n When measuring customer satisfaction for a product or service, researchers should focus on and measure the key components: xs the product\/service’s relative importance to the customer, the customer’s expectations and then their satisfaction of that product\/service.\u201d \u2013Doreen Amatelli-Clark, Way to Goal Business Insights<\/p>\n No matter what methods and questions you choose, be sure to research customer satisfaction relatively often, and use both qualitative and quantitative measures. It\u2019s always helpful if you ask customers how willing they are to refer your business to their friends (the NPS question<\/a>).<\/p>\n When someone is ready to advocate for your business, this shows that they\u2019re highly satisfied \u2013 customers won\u2019t recommend you if they aren\u2019t enthusiastic about what you have to offer.<\/p>\nMost companies research customer satisfaction at least once a month<\/h2>\n
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<\/p>\nMost popular customer satisfaction research method: Email surveys<\/h2>\n
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<\/p>\n7 most effective methods to research customer satisfaction<\/h2>\n
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<\/p>\nEmail surveys<\/h3>\n
In-app surveys<\/h3>\n
Customer reviews<\/h3>\n
In-person conversations<\/h3>\n
Phone\/video chat conversations<\/h3>\n
Social media<\/h3>\n
Data analysis<\/h3>\n
NPS<\/h3>\n
Customer satisfaction metrics: Qualitative metrics are most popular<\/h2>\n
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8 best types of customer satisfaction research questions<\/h2>\n
Include a scale for people to rate the product<\/h3>\n
Ask why they chose your product\/service<\/h3>\n
Learn whether they\u2019d use your product or service again<\/h3>\n
Carefully ask about negatives and places for improvement<\/h3>\n
Ask how they would rate your customer service<\/h3>\n
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Learn whether customers would refer your business to others<\/h3>\n
Learn what problem they seek to solve with your product<\/h3>\n
Focus on three key components in your questioning<\/h3>\n
Wrapping up<\/h2>\n