"Ask and Engage" with Customer Surveys

Feedback Action Loop

Early on in its history (2001?), QuestBack coined the term "Ask and Act" to describe how its web survey solutions provide companies with an easy mechanism to follow up on customer feedback. But, with only a rudimentary e-mail capability, QuestBack's utility was largely limited to specific feedback projects, typically, research or customer service oriented.  That has all recently changed.......

Feedback Based Engagement Loop

Fast forward to today.  QuestBack should be renamed to "Ask and Engage". Its html based e-mail tools and media libraries allow marketers to build powerful messaging programs that present brands or introduce products / services, all while collecting data, qualifying or generating leads and prospects, or engaging with customers about various aspects of the company's relationship with them. "Rules" embedded in QuestBack surveys that accompany marketing messages let companies design engagement to maximize the business value from each contact they touch with QuestBack.

So why would a QuestBack based customer engagement program be better than say lead nurturing using e-mail tools? A couple of reasons, rules based follow up means that a "rule" determines what kind of engagement should occur. Should a contact's response profile indicate a certain type of engagement, that can be embedded as a QuestBack follow up "rule" which generates a follow action automatically.  Rules can also be constructed, using company data, so that the person who "owns" a particular kind of engagement with a particular class of lead, prospect or customer can be automated into an engagement process.

Since QuestBack operates in social media platforms like Facebook or on company websites, engagement doesn't have to be just outbound e-mail driven. Done well, and using closed-loop follow up, surveys themselves are engagement tools. In fact, they are typically very good engagement tools.  Even when going out in pure marketing blasts, 1-2% response rates are achievable. When going to customer bases, qualified leads or other folks with a connection, response rates can be north of 30%, a rate e-mail marketers would kill for.

"Ask and Engage" should be an approach marketers start to adopt more and more.  

Mobile Support Increases Survey Response Rate

There's been lots of discussion about how survey response rates are declining for market research and Voice of the customer surveys. I've always argued that survey design and delivery considerations make a difference in response rates. Though I am not a market research professional by trade, I do a lot of web surveys on my own and for clients.  So, I thought I'd share an anecdote about a situation where survey response rate actually increased, and my opinion about why.

If you've read this blog over the last 4-5 years, you'll have noted that I do work with a number of club soccer organizations.  In particular, I work with a large regional soccer club, helping them with their annual membership surveys. Notably, this year's membership survey is receiving substantially higher levels of response than identical surveys done in the recent past. The "delta" in response rate appears to be related to changes QuestBack has made in their "Essentials" product that make the club's membership surveys much friendlier for mobile device users like soccer moms, who for sure are heavy users of mobile devices.

By way of background, the soccer club uses a modified Net Promoter survey to determine member loyalty, assess opinion about player development and understand overall experience of members in their programs. They also implement a closed-loop follow up process driven by QuestBack notifications. The membership survey has generally been very effective, helping them to understand their loyalty drivers and areas where improvements are needed across the club.  

For survey process, the club does four e-mail "sends" of the survey.  An initial invitation followed by two reminders and a "last chance" note to the membership. Past surveys have received response rates of 40% or higher. This year, they have achieved 33% after one invitation and one reminder. If past trends hold true, this year's survey will achieve better than 50% response when complete. Needless to say, if 50%+ response is achieved it will be a milestone for the club and will give them a very useful data set to work with. The loop closing they do should help them greatly with club development next year.

I believe that QuestBack's support for mobile-adaptive surveys is the main reason for the increase in response rates the club is seeing. Earlier this year QuestBack invested heavily in re-developing their survey forms architecture to allow virtually any survey question to be delivered effectively on multiple mobile devices, from i phones to tablets. QuestBack surveys today automatically identify the device being used to take the survey, and then optimize questions for that device. For an organization like a soccer club, where parents may be taking the survey in their car while watching practice, mobile optimization may make the difference between taking the survey or not taking the survey.