The Biggest Customer Experience Survey Mistakes to Avoid during COVID-19

People all over the world are adjusting to the new normal. As the global economy is overturned, businesses need to prioritize CX more than ever.

While surveys are the best way to understand your consumers’ perspectives, even these need to be adapted to the circumstances. After all, customers aren’t in the right frame of mind to give you apt insights.

In fact, the consumer profile (which usually stays constant over months) is now rapidly changing due to the sudden shift in lifestyle. It’s safe to say that normalcy won’t resume for at least the next quarter, so the business strategy needs to be adjusted accordingly.

Your customers are worried, as are your stakeholders.  Let’s not sound tone deaf (much like the celebrities singing John Lennon’s Imagine in the middle of this global pandemic) and instead re-work your survey strategy to keep with the times.

Re-look at the surveys that are still to go out and analyze them with a fine-toothed comb. At every stage, ask yourself:

1. Is this survey/question necessary?
2. Can this be said more clearly?
3. What would my clients’ biggest worries be? Is it being addressed?

As you perfect the survey, below are some more pointers to help you out.

Survey Only the Essentials

Surveys that may have once been crucial aren’t the focus anymore.

So if you are thinking twice about sending that survey out – just don’t send it. Ask only the necessary questions and nothing more.

If you can get an answer without asking the question, why not do so? For example, instead of asking ‘What did you come to our website for?’ you can always analyze their activity and get an idea.

Additionally, feedback surveys asking questions like, ‘How likely are you to recommend us?’ should be avoided completely in the current scenario. Anything that appears self-serving isn’t likely to bode well and might stir annoyance.

Be sensitive to the current climate.

Forego Your Metrics

Massive disruptions like this have an impact on the emotional state of your customers. So instead of pushing for surveys that are more than likely to show anomalous results as compared to your expectations, just take a break.

You can conduct these once the socio-economic landscape attains a sense of normalcy.

Don’t Ask for Feedback if You Can’t Take Action

As a rule, you should never ask for feedback you won’t be acting on. This is more important now than ever.

So if you are planning on focusing all your resources on product packaging and not on delivery time, don’t ask whether your customers were happy with the quick delivery.

Long Surveys are a Definite No

As stress levels increase, long surveys are the easiest way to get on your client’s nerves.

Instead of having long customer feedback surveys, just ask the necessary questions. In fact, pulse surveys are a great and quick way to do just this.

Online survey tools like SoGoSurvey and more offer automated pulse surveys designed for the CX experience.

You can add in your questions to modify it for your business and send it out.

These will help you get quick feedback from customers, while the short questions ensure that it doesn’t backfire.

Don’t Ask COVID-19 Questions

It may seem timely to ask questions pertaining to the global situation but just think about it.

Your customers are probably overloaded with this information. With everyone asking the same questions, it’s easy for them to get old real fast.

So switch it up with more relevant, business-oriented questions. Ask for feedback where needed, and limit inquires about the global pandemic.

Ask Less, Listen More

Now would be a great time to add in those VOC questions. Instead of giving customers a choice, put in more open-ended questions.

How are they feeling? What can be improved? How can you help them?

Not only will this give them a chance to open up, but it will give you a genuine insight into their needs, helping you gather valuable data to enhance your strategy.

Should you stop surveying altogether?

Keeping the litany of limitations in mind, it’s natural to assume that you should stop doing surveys altogether. At the same time, now is also your chance to not only maintain but nurture your connections.

In fact, taking feedback and responding to customers is especially critical right now. Monitor channels, respond quickly and make impactful decisions that show the customers you are keeping their best interest in mind.

While long surveys might not be the answer, a pulse survey can definitely help!

What about the surveys that are already planned?

Which kind of survey is this? Is it a closed-loop survey that will fuel your insights about how to deal with the current situation, or is it just a long-term NPS survey? If it’s the former, you can go ahead with it and try to understand how to better your Customer Experience.

If it’s the latter, push it on the backburner.

As the uncertainty around the pandemic increases, it is best to assume that people have a generally shorter attention span and are more irritable and stressed. So if your survey is long or irrelevant, there is a good chance you may not get the insights you are looking for and may inadvertently harm your brand image. The COVID-19 pandemic has transformed the rules of the game. However, this is also an opportunity for many to establish customer loyalty, improve their CX, and enhance their brand image.