In the first part of our post on asking the right questions, we addressed the challenge of asking the right questions in a survey to elicit useful responses. In brief, we went over some high level reasons for ensuring the proper wording of questions in a survey.
Now it's time to revisit the subject of asking the right questions, but from a different perspective. Rather than examining the importance of the actual content, let’s take a look at what the question is asking.
When planning a survey program, it is important to carefully plan the questions so that the responses you receive can be integrated into an action plan for creating real business value. We often like to share with our clients a quote from survey administrator Irina Klein, drawn from a Unisys case study:
"[A survey] is more than just capturing a customer opinion; it’s using the information to build our programs in response.”
In short, the survey responses you receive should fit into an actual business plan for improving some process, increasing revenue, or whatever other goal you have in mind. Just asking for opinions leaves you with little more than a subjective pulse. By ensuring that the questions you ask yield answers that you can use in that plan of action, you bring value to your survey initiative.
If you are running a customer service satisfaction survey, for instance, make sure you are able to ask the question in a way that yields accurate scores that can be compared over time. This way, you can statistically weigh the performance of your various customer service dimensions, and use this data, say, to tie in an employee incentive plan. Customer service managers might have their bonus plan tied into their quarterly customer service survey score, which promotes action and management that promotes bolsters levels of service quality. If the survey merely provided a subjective pulse ("customer satisfaction rating for Q1 '75% satisfied'") report to your managers, it may or may not have a real effect.
Ask only the questions that relate to the business objective you have in mind, and ensure that you integrate the survey program into a larger, specific tactical plan for action. By doing so, your surveys will truly transform data into valuable business intelligence.
Now it's time to revisit the subject of asking the right questions, but from a different perspective. Rather than examining the importance of the actual content, let’s take a look at what the question is asking.
When planning a survey program, it is important to carefully plan the questions so that the responses you receive can be integrated into an action plan for creating real business value. We often like to share with our clients a quote from survey administrator Irina Klein, drawn from a Unisys case study:
"[A survey] is more than just capturing a customer opinion; it’s using the information to build our programs in response.”
In short, the survey responses you receive should fit into an actual business plan for improving some process, increasing revenue, or whatever other goal you have in mind. Just asking for opinions leaves you with little more than a subjective pulse. By ensuring that the questions you ask yield answers that you can use in that plan of action, you bring value to your survey initiative.
If you are running a customer service satisfaction survey, for instance, make sure you are able to ask the question in a way that yields accurate scores that can be compared over time. This way, you can statistically weigh the performance of your various customer service dimensions, and use this data, say, to tie in an employee incentive plan. Customer service managers might have their bonus plan tied into their quarterly customer service survey score, which promotes action and management that promotes bolsters levels of service quality. If the survey merely provided a subjective pulse ("customer satisfaction rating for Q1 '75% satisfied'") report to your managers, it may or may not have a real effect.
Ask only the questions that relate to the business objective you have in mind, and ensure that you integrate the survey program into a larger, specific tactical plan for action. By doing so, your surveys will truly transform data into valuable business intelligence.
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