Satisfaction questionnaires: what questions should be avoided?

In the course of the many satisfaction surveys I've set up, I've often noticed a fundamental trend: the desire to collect everything in order to analyze it. Some surveys contain many questions that have nothing to do with measuring customer satisfaction.

We'll look at the different cases and the reasons why these questions have no place in satisfaction questionnaires.

CRM questions

Most companies take advantage of the systematic hotline survey to feed their CRM. Indeed, the data used by a CRM has an intrinsic value that should be maximized. There are no limits: age, gender, zip code, consumer habits...etc.

However, these questions take up the respondent's time. Their purpose is also different. Why does a customer respond to a satisfaction survey? Probably because they want to help the company improve, or to express their dissatisfaction. They are therefore willing to invest time in doing so. Asking personal questions can be perceived as a frontal and irrelevant sales approach. Even if these questions are asked in a separate section or at the end of the questionnaire.

Quality control questions

Many organizations confuse quality surveys with satisfaction surveys. Quality surveys are carried out by professionals (mystery visits or listening), whereas satisfaction questionnaires are answered by customers.

A quality question is generally a yes/no question. Its purpose is to find out whether the quality standard is being met.

• Quality question: Did the advisor introduce himself at the start of the conversation?
• Satisfaction equivalent: How satisfied are you with the advisor?

The customer's role is not to audit your services, but to give his or her impression of a service rendered or a product purchased.

Questions of curiosity

There are questions that are interesting in absolute terms, but have no possible operational use. The example I often use in tourism is that of room size. Yes, it's interesting to know that customers find rooms too small (this will generally be the case), but no, there's not much you can do about it a priori. So this question is of little interest. At the very least, it has no place in a customer satisfaction survey.

To find out whether a question belongs in a satisfaction questionnaire, simply ask yourself the following question: "If a site scores poorly on this question, is there any corrective action that can be taken? If the answer is no, it's probably a question of curiosity, and should be avoided.

Specific questions

Some questions are asked in a general satisfaction survey, even though they only concern a very specific part of the operation. Or they may concern a particular period (Christmas, school vacations, etc.). These questions, interesting for a part of your organization, have no place in an on-the-spot global satisfaction survey.

Their place is probably more in an ad-hoc survey sent out to a panel of customers. This way, you don't clutter up your system with useless questions (visible to all operational staff), and you continue to answer the important questions posed to your organization as part of its development.

Conclusion

It sounds harmless... a CRM issue on the one hand, a quality issue on the other. And at first, the return rate won't be affected. After all, customers who have started a survey generally complete it.

But return rates soon plummet. And the whole system is at risk. Your main responsibility is therefore to know how to say "no" to these temptations which will "pollute" your barometer. And it's all the more difficult because the negative effects are far away. It's also tricky to delete questions once the barometer is in place, for which results are expected internally.