Is there anything we can do to improve our business?<\/li><\/ul>The list is endless.<\/p>
General guidelines<\/h3>
Keep the questionnaire\u00a0as brief as possible: one page if you can manage it. People will be more co-operative if the form is brief and relevant. There is no point in getting information that you won\u2019t use.<\/p>
Be\u00a0as non-threatening and unobtrusive as possible. No questions about income or age (unless these are necessary), and if you do not need their name or address then don\u2019t ask for it. Some people are more honest if the survey is anonymous. Supplying a sealed box with a slot in the top (like the voting boxes) to collect the data also helps.<\/p>
When you speak to each customer, you could say something along the lines of: \u2018We\u2019re aiming to provide you with the best service we can. To do this, we need to find out how you feel about our business. If you could please spend a few minutes filling in this questionnaire, it will help us to provide even better service.\u2019 Very few customers will refuse such an approach.<\/p>
How to ask the questions<\/h3>
How do you ask questions that result in useful information? Start by being\u00a0clear and precise. For example, consider the question:<\/p>
How often do you buy our product? (please tick one of the following):<\/em><\/p>- All the time<\/em><\/li>
- Often<\/em><\/li>
- Sometimes<\/em><\/li>
- Rarely<\/em><\/li><\/ul>
This question is likely to result in worthless information because it is vague, and customers would all interpret these boundaries differently. One customer thinks once a week is often, where another might consider once a week as rarely. The question does not specify a time period.<\/p>
A better way of asking this question would be: \u2018In a typical month, how often would you buy from our company?\u2019 A blank space would then be left for the customer to fill in the number of times they buy from you. You can then determine the frequency of purchases yourself.<\/p>
Use normal language: phrase the questions as if you were talking to your customers.
Avoid words that indicate bias.\u00a0For example:\u00a0What did you dislike about our service?<\/em>\u00a0 This automatically makes the customer think there must be something wrong. The word \u2018dislike\u2019 is biased, just as the word \u2018like\u2019 would be if it were used.<\/p>A much better way is to ask:\u00a0Could you please comment on the service you receive from our company<\/em>. Then leave a gap for them to answer.<\/p>A second question:\u00a0Please offer suggestions to help us with our service<\/em>\u00a0is also useful.\u00a0Suppose a customer writes \u2018Service was slow\u2019 for the first question. This doesn\u2019t tell you how to fix the problem. What you want to find out is\u00a0why\u00a0it was slow.<\/p>The second question gives the customer the chance to make positive suggestions, such as: \u2018Why not rotate the lunch hours of your staff so they aren\u2019t all out at the same time?\u2019 This is much more helpful to you.<\/p>
Avoid asking two questions at once, for example:\u00a0Do you think we offer fast and friendly service?<\/em>
The first objection is that some people may think you are fast but not friendly, so would not be able to answer, or would skip the question. The second point is that the customer might just answer \u2018no\u2019 which is of very limited value to you. To be told that you don\u2019t have fast or friendly service does not particularly help you.\u00a0Why\u00a0you lack these qualities and\u00a0what\u00a0you can do about it are much more relevant.<\/p>Two types of questions<\/h4>
In general, there are two types of questions:<\/p>
- a) Open ended questions<\/strong>\u00a0such as: \u2018Please outline any problems you may have had in contacting us by telephone\u2019. Here a blank space is typically left, so that the person can write whatever they want.<\/li>
- b) Closed questions<\/strong>\u00a0where you ask the customer to tick boxes, such as:<\/li><\/ol>
Did you have any problems contacting us by telephone?<\/p>
- Yes<\/li>
- No<\/li>
- Sometimes<\/li><\/ul>
Which type of question you choose depends upon what type of information you want to collect. As a rule of thumb, when you want feelings and opinions, then choose an open-ended question (this is also called qualitative information).<\/p>
When you want hard facts and numbers then closed questions are best (also called quantitative information).<\/p>
A tip on question order: choose easy, closed questions at the beginning of your questionnaire to get the customer into the swing of things.<\/p>
After you construct the questions, test them on a few customers to make sure that they understand them, and that the information will be useful to you.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t