Although you have already achieved management buy-in for the customer survey process (see Step 3), it is equally important that they approve of the questionnaire that will be used to collect customer opinions and ratings. Skipping this vital step can leave you open to second-guessing and criticism after the survey results are in.

For our purposes, a stakeholder can be defined as anyone in the company with enough authority or influence to represent either a supporter or detractor of the customer survey process. This list typically includes all or most senior managers and many mid-level managers. Although cultures and environments vary among companies, here’s a plan of attack that tends to work well.

1. Start at the top

Take the questionnaire directly to the top decision-maker in the company (CEO, COO, etc.). Explain that you and the research supplier have spent a considerable amount of time fine-tuning the questionnaire and are confident that it will be an effective tool to achieve the objectives of the customer research. However, as a matter of courtesy and respect, you want to give the senior manager the opportunity to review the survey, identify any additional topics that need to be addressed, and suggest any further revisions to the questionnaire.

2. Work your way down

When the top decision-maker in the company has blessed the questionnaire, it is time to go to the next most powerful manager or group of managers. Explain that you and the research supplier have spent a considerable amount of time fine-tuning the questionnaire and are confident that it will be an effective tool to achieve the objectives of the employee research. Further, the top decision-maker in the company (CEO, COO, etc.) has also reviewed and approved the survey. However, as a matter of courtesy and respect, you want to give this person or group of people the opportunity to review the survey before it is deployed.

Consider how different the ensuing conversation would be if you were working your way UP the food chain and had not yet received the blessing of the senior decision-maker. In many companies you would be met with a slew of questions, suggestions, and additional survey topics from people interested in protecting their turf and following their own agendas. However, because you are working from the top down, the questionnaire has already been blessed by the "big boss" and the little bosses are less likely to muddy up the process.
 
This is not to say that you won’t get good feedback as you work through the stakeholders. You are likely to get a few good questions, comments, and suggestions. However, by following this approach, the process is streamlined and averts the "turf wars" common to large organization.

Bottom Line

Getting stakeholder buy-in of the questionnaire is a critical step in the customer survey process. Follow these guidelines and you should complete this important task quickly and effectively.

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.

1. Identify possible suppliers

If you already have one or more preferred suppliers, this step may not be needed. If you don’t have a short list yet, you need to create one. The quickest and most effective way to develop the list is to:

• Ask for referrals from people you trust
• Search the internet for “customer survey provider”; “customer survey expert”; “customer survey company”; “customer survey consultant”; etc.
• Submit a Request for Information (RFI) to companies that appear to be good prospects

2. Request quotes

It is often assumed that a Request for Proposal (RFP) is the proper way to communicate with potential suppliers. However, at this point, unless you already have a preferred provider, an RFP is overkill. Instead, you should use a Request for Quote (RFQ). This is a much simpler document that enables suppliers to quickly provide the information you need to narrow the field. For more information about this useful tool, see "How to engage market research suppliers in the planning of your research - a Win-Win approach."

3. Review quotes

Assess the information provided by the suppliers to narrow the list to a select group of two to four candidates from whom you will request a formal proposal.

Send a Request for Proposal (RFP) to the candidates on the short list.

5. Select supplier

Review the proposals and make your selection. Call the winner to inform them of your decision and schedule a kick-off meeting ASAP. As a courtesy, remember to contact the companies that submitted proposals but will not be awarded the project.

Selecting the supplier for your customer survey can seem like a daunting task. Following this 5-step process will enable you to make a timely and informed decision.

• Timing
• Responsibility
• Deadline

For a typical customer survey, the schedule might look something like this: 

A clear, comprehensive, documented schedule is a critical component of an effective customer survey program.

Step 4: Develop the process

• Each significant activity
• The sequence of the tasks
• A brief description of each task

Staffing

Example

For a typical customer survey, the process might look something like this:

Bottom Line

A clear, comprehensive, documented process is a critical component of an effective customer survey program.

When a company contacts us about conducting a customer survey, it is often because one visionary person or a small group of people understands the importance of gathering customer feedback. The critical task then becomes convincing senior management of the need for a customer survey process.

Without this buy-in from senior management, the chances that the survey will produce meaningful change in the organization are greatly reduced. The challenge can seem formidable, but by following a simple 3-step process, you can enlist the support you will need from the management team. Here’s how.

Step 1: Present the need

Every company struggles with how to allocate resources to maintain satisfied and profitable customers. In the absence of information about how customers view the company, important business decisions are often based on little more than anecdotal evidence or historical impressions. As a result, companies often either ignore significant problems or waste valuable resources trying to solve problems that don’t exist. A well-planned, well-executed customer survey process can ensure the optimal allocation of limited resources.

Step 2: Present the benefits

Are your customers satisfied? Are they more satisfied today than they were last quarter or last year? In today’s market where competition for customers is fierce, the answers to these questions may make the difference for your brand. That’s why customer satisfaction research is so important. In a competitive marketplace, customer satisfaction is a key differentiator and significant component of a successful business strategy. The most effective means of achieving these benefits are a well-planned, well-executed customer survey process.

Step 3: Present the objectives

Setting proper expectations is a key component of a successful customer survey process. To this end, it is imperative that the top decision-makers understand and agree to the specific objectives of the research. Now is the time to share the list of objectives you developed in Step 1: Determine Objectives.

Getting buy-in from managers is a critical step in developing an effective customer survey process. To avoid problems and surprises, make sure every key decision-maker agrees with the need, benefits, and objectives of the research.

Online surveys are the most common method of data collection for customer surveys, followed by telephone surveys. Face-to-face and written interviewing methods are used far less frequently because they are generally too time-consuming, expensive and intrusive.

The selection of the data collection method should be based on the following considerations:

1. Respondents

• Which method is most accessible?
• Which is most convenient?
• Which is easiest to use?
• Which assures the highest level of anonymity/confidentiality?

2. Company

• Which method is more cost-effective?
• Which offers the better potential for a high percentage of completed surveys?
• Which offers the most honest responses?
• Which offers the most thorough responses?

When all or most customers have access to the Internet from work, online surveys are almost always the method of choice because they offer a number of advantages over paper surveys, including:

• Higher response rate
• Faster turnaround
• More thorough responses
• More honest/candid feedback
• Ability to require responses to certain questions
• Flexibility to skip irrelevant questions and ask follow-up questions
• No data entry costs
• No data entry errors

 Bottom line

When selecting the data collection method for customer surveys, choose the one that offers the most benefits for both the respondents and the company.

Most problems with customer surveys can be traced back to the objectives or the lack thereof. Avoid the temptation to jump into the middle of the process and start drafting a questionnaire or selecting a supplier. Until you have a set of clearly-defined objectives, nothing else matters.

Well-defined objectives are the best way to assure a good outcome for your customer survey. When the goals of the study can be expressed in a small set of clear and concise phrases or sentences, the rest of the process becomes considerably easier.

One of the best ways to clarify your objectives is to decide how you intend to use the information. Be sure to commit the objectives to writing and refer to them at each stage of the process.

Here are some strategic and tactical objectives to consider when developing the customer survey process.

Strategic Objectives (Why you are doing the survey)

• Measure satisfaction with each aspect of the customer experience
• Determine how customers perceive your company relative to competitors
• Obtain suggestions for enhancing/improving products and services
• Identify statistically significant differences among demographic subgroups such as:
  • Age
  • Gender
  • Length of time as customer
• Identify cost-saving opportunities
• Collect ideas for new products and services
• Improve communications with customers

Tactical Objectives (Key elements of a successful survey)

• Buy-in from management
• Buy-in from stakeholders
• Buy-in from customers
• High survey participation rate
• Candid feedback
• Positive customer perception of the survey process

Bottom line
Setting meaningful objectives is the first step in the customer survey process.

That’s why so many successful companies have learned the value of conducting customer surveys. Unfortunately, not all customer surveys lead to increased customer satisfaction. In fact, a poorly designed or poorly executed survey can decrease customer satisfaction by eroding confidence in the company’s management.

In this series of articles, we will help you identify and understand the 10 critical components of a successful customer survey program:

1. Determine objectives
2. Select a data collection method
3. Get buy-in from managers
4. Develop the process
5. Create a schedule
6. Select a supplier
7. Develop the questionnaire
8. Get buy-in from stakeholders
9. Analyze results
10. Take action

This information will help ensure that your customer surveys yield valuable information and actionable results. So stay tuned to this site or subscribe to this blog in the reader of your choice.