There is no question but that Customer feedback initiatives (especially in B2B) benefit greatly from CRM database integration. Just some of the benefits include:
- Personalization of questionnaires, e-mail invitations, reminders and follow-ups
- Optimized survey taking experience via data driven customization
- "Piping" of individualized data into questions or answer alternatives
- "Branching" the survey based on data (Customer has product X and not Y so only ask about X)
- Shorter surveys and resultant higher response rates
- Easier to implement and more precise follow-up processes
- Much better reporting of results
But, CRM integrated feedback only covers a small part of a business' overall feedback needs
Anyone who's been involved with system integration projects knows that they can be costly, that integration can limit an application's functionality and carries a maintenance burden (like any other software). In practice, these issues limit the use of CRM integrated feedback to only critical feedback applications such as transactional Net Promoter or Customer satisfaction.
Since, in most businesses most feedback is not about NPS or CSAT, feedback applications typically have to operate without the benefit of CRM integration. Bigger businesses realize this, of course, and they organize many of their more regular feedback processes around customer / user "panels" or "communities". Product user panels are particularly prevalent in software companies, for instance. But, panels and communities also generally require significant resources. And, as a result, also aren't practical for many businesses.
Importing data as an alternative.
Without a budget for integration, user panels and the people to operate those systems, businesses can be forced into doing what I call "bad feedback" projects. "Bad" projects feature surveys that ask too many questions (often seeking data they already possess), aren't personalized or optimized for the customer, don't trigger actions based on feedback, etc.. These projects produce feedback with lots of gaps, suffer from low response rates, are difficult to organize follow up activities for, etc...
In most of my customer feedback projects I use an Import process to embed customer data into my surveys. The products I work with (QuestBack Ask/Act and QuestBack EasyResearch) both let me import substantial amounts of customer data into my surveys. They both also integrate with CRM systems. QuestBack calls imported information "Respondent data". I have found Respondent data to be a very powerful and easy-to-use capability that gets me the benefits of CRM integration, but without integration's costs.
QuestBack Respondent Data
Respondent data lets me do most things in a survey that integration would let me do. With it I can:
- Personalize invitations, reminders and follow up notifications
- Embed imported data into follow ups, allowing people to respond quickly without need for research
- Optimize question flow and user experience
- Create multiple and distinct follow up processes from the same survey instrument
- Create "prototype" feedback / follow up processes that can then be automated through integration.
- Work with multiple CRM data sources concurrently
At the end of the day, CRM integrated feedback is great to have. But by using QuestBack Respondent data first, integration can cost less and feedback processes can be more effective sooner, in my opinion.
Stewart Nash
www.linkedin.com/in/stewartnash
