For most companies the answer is YES - it is easier to find Waldo than it is to find consumer insights. Don’t get me wrong, there are companies out there that utilize guest satisfaction surveys correctly; unfortunately, they are the minority, which is why I wanted to take some time and share my views regarding Guest Satisfaction survey programs.
Before going into details on my views, I want to first introduce myself and provide insight into my background:
Almost every single survey I take is the same: i.e. on a 1 to 10 scale, please rate the cleanliness of the parking lot, cleanliness of the facility, friendliness of the staff, blah, blah, blah. By the way, can someone tell me the difference between a 6 and a 7 rating? And why does the survey take 5 minutes to fill out? Why are there so many questions?
Before I go into the solution, take a moment to review your current guest satisfaction questionnaire.
Solution: Focus on two (2) to three (3) key initiatives that can help you to glean insight from your guests. Start by asking yourself these questions: What is important to my guests? What drives my loyal guests coming back for more? What can you do to capture first time guests?
NPS is based on a direct question: “How likely are you to recommend our company/product/services?” and that’s it.
Solution: If you are banking on NPS increases to drive your revenue in 2014, you need to stop reading this and call me now.
Everyone loves surveys because you get a lot of responses; however are the right people providing you with accurate feedback? In the next week take some time to look at the people who are filling out your surveys.
Solution: Think of the last time you filled out a survey – what was your motivation? Now think about your target guests, what would motivate them to provide feedback regarding their experience? If you were filling out the survey, what would you want to see?
How you utilize results will depend on your objective. For example, a store manager might just use the results for service recovery and to build an email marketing list.
Solution: Ask yourself these questions: What does success look like? How are the results going to be utilized?
Guest Satisfaction surveys should only be one piece of the puzzle to measure your guests’ experiences. On a frequent basis you should collect in-store customer intercepts to gauge your guests’ wants and needs. Consumer preferences change rapidly and your strategy today can change tomorrow.
Solution: Execute mystery shops to measure your operational procedures. Since companies spend so much time, talent and treasure getting guests in the store, you should measure operational performance on an ongoing basis at your locations.
Those five steps should give you a solid foundation to build a successful Guest Satisfaction Survey Program. Hope you find them helpful! I love talking about guest satisfaction, so if you ever have any questions or just want to bounce a couple of thoughts off me, I’m always available. Or tweet me at @LinckTS.