Best practices for customer surveys - Step 7: Develop the questionnaire

In a typical customer survey process, the research supplier is responsible for creating the first draft of the questionnaire. In your kick-off meeting with the supplier, you should devote ample time to discussing the content of the survey instrument. Here is a recommended plan of attack.

These are the broad subjects under which the questions will be grouped. This list often includes:

• Overall company rating
• Importance ratings
• Satisfaction ratings
• Agreement ratings
• Open-ended questions

Once you have identified the subjects, brainstorm specific questions that should be included in each section. Take the subjects one at a time and stick to the principles of brainstorming: write down all suggestions without discussion.

Now is the time to review the questions you listed in each session. The discussion should include the following:

• Is this question consistent with the objectives of the research?
• Is this something that we have to know or is it merely something that would be nice to know?
• Are there any additional questions we overlooked in our brainstorming?

After this discussion, the supplier should be fully prepared to draft the survey instrument. What follows should be an iterative process between you and the supplier to revise the survey instrument until you are ready to share it with the stakeholders in your company (the next step in this process).

Note: As a rule, I recommend against getting more than one or two of your colleagues involved in the development of the questionnaire. Too many times I have seen the research “broth” spoiled by too many “cooks” on a cross-functional team. Although it is highly important to get the buy-in of all of these stakeholders, trust me: this is not the time to engage them.

Questionnaire development is a critical step in the customer survey process. Follow these guidelines and you should complete this important task quickly and effectively.