From misrepresentative samples to insufficient use of logic gating, there are myriad mistakes companies make with their surveys—mistakes that lead to inaccurate, unscientific data.
But the single worst customer survey mistake is having the wrong mindset. This happens when a company treats its customer survey like a task to be completed rather than a growth opportunity. Instead of learning from the survey, the survey is a dead end. A waste—for companies and their customers too.
The Solution: A Customer Survey Growth Mindset
When companies adopt a customer survey growth mindset, they thoughtfully plan how their survey will yield valuable feedback. And then they act on it!
For example, if you learn from your survey that customers are not getting adequate answers and then you invest in associate training, that’s customer survey growth mindset. Or, if you discover your competitor has more product choices and you double-down on expanding your inventory, again, that’s customer survey growth mindset.
Check out this infographic that analyzes an excerpt from a Bank of America survey. Brian Moynihan, BOA’s CEO should encourage his team to do better.
Basically, since they don’t use science and they don’t respond to customers, their mindset is to ‘get it done.’ But whether you are as big as Bank of America or a struggling startup, if you do a survey just to check a box, you’re making a mistake!
Are you embarking on a new customer survey? Visiting your current survey campaign for tweaks? Either way, ask yourself, what’s our mindset? How will we make a difference?
