Don't make assumptions. It causes you to bias your survey questions and your data right from the start of the questionnaire design.
Last week, one of my boyfriend's friends came to visit. When we were getting ready to leave, after being out one night, my boyfriend handed me his keys to drive us home. The friend turned to me, shocked, and asked, You can drive stick?! Apparently, his reasoning was, because I was a girl, it was beyond my abilities. I replied, Yes, I could in fact drive a stick (after all, that's what I drive) and off we went. The entire ride home he was making comments about how well I drove a manual. I wasn't sure whether I should be offended or flattered by his observations. When we got home, he told me I was a very good driver. Did he think I was going to kill him? Or that my boyfriend would let me drive his car if I was a bad driver? According to stereotypes, I should be a bad driver because I'm female. I should stall out the car at every opportunity, and possibly crash just because of my gender.
Whether or not you realize it, you could be doing the same thing to your survey respondents. Making an assumption about them because of their age, gender, geographical location, behavior, etc. could easily insult them. Your customers are smart, when filling out a client survey they know when you're underestimating them. Or worse, when you're not even giving them a chance to give real customer feedback. For example, if you make the assumption all repeat purchasers love your product, you could be setting yourself up for a big disappointment later. You're making an assumption they won't switch, so why should you bother listening to feedback or collecting insightful comments to improve your product? When really, you just meet some of their needs and are the best option right now. They're going to leave when another company makes something better, because you assumed everything was perfect. Or you assume because your employees don't have masters degrees, they don't have ideas for how to improve your organization so you don't bother to ask them. You limit their feedback potential or ignore their recommendations.
Survey respondents are smart. Don't underestimate the value of surveys and how they can uncover hidden ideas and insights. Certainly don't make assumptions one way or another and damage your results. If you assume everyone loves your product and ask questions in such away that doesn't allow surveyed customers the opportunity to voice a dissenting opinion - what good is the survey data?
Last week, one of my boyfriend's friends came to visit. When we were getting ready to leave, after being out one night, my boyfriend handed me his keys to drive us home. The friend turned to me, shocked, and asked, You can drive stick?! Apparently, his reasoning was, because I was a girl, it was beyond my abilities. I replied, Yes, I could in fact drive a stick (after all, that's what I drive) and off we went. The entire ride home he was making comments about how well I drove a manual. I wasn't sure whether I should be offended or flattered by his observations. When we got home, he told me I was a very good driver. Did he think I was going to kill him? Or that my boyfriend would let me drive his car if I was a bad driver? According to stereotypes, I should be a bad driver because I'm female. I should stall out the car at every opportunity, and possibly crash just because of my gender. Whether or not you realize it, you could be doing the same thing to your survey respondents. Making an assumption about them because of their age, gender, geographical location, behavior, etc. could easily insult them. Your customers are smart, when filling out a client survey they know when you're underestimating them. Or worse, when you're not even giving them a chance to give real customer feedback. For example, if you make the assumption all repeat purchasers love your product, you could be setting yourself up for a big disappointment later. You're making an assumption they won't switch, so why should you bother listening to feedback or collecting insightful comments to improve your product? When really, you just meet some of their needs and are the best option right now. They're going to leave when another company makes something better, because you assumed everything was perfect. Or you assume because your employees don't have masters degrees, they don't have ideas for how to improve your organization so you don't bother to ask them. You limit their feedback potential or ignore their recommendations.
Survey respondents are smart. Don't underestimate the value of surveys and how they can uncover hidden ideas and insights. Certainly don't make assumptions one way or another and damage your results. If you assume everyone loves your product and ask questions in such away that doesn't allow surveyed customers the opportunity to voice a dissenting opinion - what good is the survey data?
Powered by Compendium Blogware
Comments for Don't Make Assumptions When Designing Your Online Survey Questionnaire