One of the most commonly questions we hear at Survey Advantage when working on a survey project is “how many will I get?”  Of course this is in reference to survey responses, but the question is easier asked than answered.  In hundreds of surveys ran in the past few years, I have seen response rates range from 1%, all the way to 80%.  There are a couple of key factors that will drive response rates:

1.  Your relationship with your customers.  Would you fill out a survey for a fast food order?  Doubtful.  Would you fill out a survey from a supplier you order from regularly?  Possibly.  Would you fill out a survey for your son or daughter’s daycare?  Absolutely. The value of the relationship is crucial in how many will respond.

2.  Past performance.  Have you surveyed before and done nothing with it?  Maybe you have a history of poor customer service.  If a customer has it in their head that they are just a number, and you don’t care about them, they are much less likely to take time out of their day to tell you how you are doing.  In our eyes the most important part of running a survey is telling the customers what you learned, and then doing something tangible with it.  If you can prove over time that you are listening to customers concerns, and trying to improve, then they will be candid with you.

3.  Contact Database.  Your database needs to have both CURRENT customers, and their CORRECT contact information.  Often a customer comes to us with an email database of customers that has everyone they’ve done business with in the past five years (or longer even.)  Just because 25% of your current customers will respond to a survey, does not mean that 25% of customers who haven’t done business with you in 3 or 4 years will.  Aside from that fact, large, unmaintained lists may have 25%-35% undeliverable rate, compared to 5% to 10% for a properly maintained list.  They can’t respond to it if they don’t get it.

So like I said, easier asked than answered.  But let me try anyway.  Generally in some of the industries we are working in we see the following: Printers 20% – 35%, Marinas/Boatyards: 35%-50%, Childcare/Educations: 60%-75%, Airport Parking/Car Rental: 5%-10%, Association Membership: 5%-20%, Franchisor Membership: 15%-35%.  Of course all these numbers can vary greatly, depending on where you fall in 1,2 and 3 above.  I encourage you to share your experience with survey response rates in the comments section below.

Survey Advantage is proud to announce a new partnership with Bluebird Auto Rental Systems. Details of the program are laid out in the Summer edition of the BARSTalk newsletter. Over the next few months Bluebird and Survey Advantage will implement a program enabling users of the Bluebird software to automate customer surveying after completed rental transactions, track ticket numbers on each survey, and trend performance over time. Bluebird Customers interested in participating in our early adopter program should e-mail Mike Casey at mcasey@surveyadvantage.com or call 401-560-0311 ext 103.  To read the full article, download the PDF. For more information on Bluebird, visit their website here.

 By Mike Casey

Last night I went to Home Depot to buy rebar for a bunch of railroad ties I am putting down.  I got my receipt and saw a request for feedback www.homedepotopinion.com with a chance to win up to $5,000!   While this is a great gesture I probably wouldn’t take the time unless I had a big issue or was tight on cash.  We have found that incentives may not drive up response rates and many times skew the data. Some survey takers go straight through surveys picking a column and clicking away just to get entered.  If the intent is to learn from your customers and drive improvements then be careful.  Most people taking surveys are doing so because they value you or your company in some way, they know you will do something with their shared information, and they want to see you succeed.   Just having a place to go to vent or share a great experience is enough in most cases, but the most important thing is to show customers that you will do something with the information and follow-up quickly.   B2B relationships typically get high return rates because a vendor is relied on to help them succeed.  The same goes for school parent surveys given where a parent wants the very best for their child.   In these cases there is no need for an incentive.

Where incentives work well is when there is a big survey taker time commitment and a great incentive is given to everyone who participates.  An example is when an association or industry research company is conducting a major study such as to collect data on industry pricing or wages for that industry.  In this case there is value to the participant if they receive a free copy of the final industry report and they feel the information will help them make good decisions.  This incentive does two things.  First, every participant gets value.  Second, the information you gather will be accurate since they don’t want to skew the data since they will receive the information to help drive their business. 

A webinar is a live meeting that takes place over the web. Attendees in different locations “login” to the meeting host (usually a third party, such as Webex or Centra) via their computers and watch the meeting on their screens. The audio, if there is audio, can be via telephone or the web (voice over IP).Webinars might consist of live video, a PowerPoint presentation, Word or other types of documents, or any combination thereof. Some webinars are one-directional (meaning the attendees watch passively); others are more interactive, where attendees interact with the moderator, each other, and/or the documents being viewed.

Laurie Lande, writer for MarketingProfs recently published a case study detailing how Dollar Rent A Car has built surveying into their day to day operations. Keith Adams, Sales & Marketing Manager of the New York Metro area has used the surveys not only to help increase airport parking revenue 24% in 2007, but also to quickly collect and respond to customer complaints, usually on the same day they come in.

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When cost, travel, or time constraints make face-to-face meetings a challenge, consider webinars. With only a computer, an Internet connection, and a web browser, you now have virtually unlimited ability to interact with prospects, customers, staff, and a host of resources around the globe. (more…)

Customer satisfaction is nice, but customer loyalty is profitable 

 Customers are your most important asset; Do you know how to retain them? 

Your customers’ inboxes are bulging with email – much of it spam. They have less and less time for email that wastes their time. They’re more discerning than ever. So, how do get your message in front of them? Here are our top five tips that will tip the balance in your favor.

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Signs Now Weeder about turning customer feedback into profitable business decisions.

Do You Know What Your Customers Really Think?

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