How Surveys Affect Business

Customer Service Surveys

Unfortunately, our nation’s economy has been in a slump for some time. Small and large businesses alike are suffering layoffs and reduced profits. This makes ensuring that your customers are happy absolutely vital to your business. Organizations cannot take risks with customer service. Targeted efforts for improvement have never been more important.

In a demanding business climate, no company can afford to be without the results found from customer service surveys. It is no longer acceptable to simply take chances with marketing, promotion or sales. Instead, businesses large and small should pay careful attention to the information that can be derived from customer and employee surveys.

Customer service surveys have been around for years. Often, they have happened in an informal way. “How was your experience with our business?” “Will you do business with us again?” More formal surveys allow for focused questions that can direct corporate improvement in a very specific way. Customers can be asked a variety of questions that will inform the survey analysts about their motivation, decision-making and spending power. At a time when many corporate budgets are shrinking and profits are getting slimmer, making the most of customer input is essential for success.

Sometimes response rates for customer service surveys are low since they require time and a few minutes attention. Many businesses have implemented telephone surveys to increase response percentages. Many people are more inclined to spend a few minutes with a friendly telephone survey representative than to work in isolation on a written survey.

Quick, focused surveys can be used to assess marketing ideas in a new product region, gather results about satisfaction with a particular business or product, or monitor company image among a particular demographic.

Employee Surveys

In addition to customer service surveys, many organizations are implementing employee engagement surveys. It does little good to strive to satisfy customers if the employees providing the service or product are not happy themselves. There is a direct link between employee engagement and customer satisfaction and therefore to financial results. A content work force will pay lasting dividends. Engaged employees are enthusiastic about their work and will strive to further the success of the company that employs them. Employee engagement is a measurable quality that can inform management and those who create corporate structure about what promotes job satisfaction. When employees feel engaged they are productive, positive and willing to put in extra work to create success.

Employee engagement surveys allow employers to ask the tough questions. Are the needs of employees being met? Do employees feel valued? Do they feel supported as part of a “work family?” Do they feel emotional attachment to their job? Gone are the days of employees who would routinely spend 35 working years at the same company. Employees today are willing to look around the next corner for a job that meets their creative and personal needs. Employers are put at risk when employees do not feel valued at their job. Lower productivity, less attachment to management and simply less creative drive are the risks of employees who lack engagement. It is much easier and far less expensive to spend the time to understand your current workforce and make any necessary adjustments than to re-hire a different group of employees.

Business must always adjust and grow in order to meet the needs and desires of customers and employees alike. Surveys continue to offer critical data, from both employees and customers. Keep up to date with all of the business trends by following NBRI on Twitter, or Liking our Facebook page!