After a recent United flight, I received an email to participate in a valued customer survey. Back when the airline was Continental, I'd jump to respond to these things, since I knew with Continental you could get frequent flier points every time you breathed. Now, in a more frugal air industry climate, I only answer when I have a terrible or great experience — which, admittedly, is a few times a year.
United’s valued flier survey is different than Gogo's valued wi-fi survey, which arrives a few hours later. Perhaps because wi-fi is more visceral and important to me, I respond to Gogo’s survey and not to United's, as if my whining about the spotty service will suddenly result in FiOS-speed bandwith in the sky.
One day later, I receive another survey, this time for my SPG hotel stay. I was only half-way through it, thanking them for providing gluten-free bread, before I got a note from Amazon about the paper towel delivery left at the house the day before. This one got deleted. Unless there’s a spill in front of me, is paper towel worth my time? Maybe not, but other errands and groceries seem to be important. After a visit to Hannaford supermarket, for example, I always respond to the chance to win a $350 shopping trip if I filled out the survey promoted on the register receipt. And when the local doggie store texts me after a visit begging for a quick “paws up or paws down” on my recent experience, yes I do reply without, well, pause.
So my question is: after years of brands not demonstratively caring about customer input, now, armed with digital channels and tools, are perhaps brands are asking too often, too much?
I asked one of my colleagues, Joanne McDonaugh, who's an insights partner and regularly suggests research methods and builds models for voice of customer. Does she sense exhaustion from consumers in responding to brands? Joanne surprised me that no, she didn’t think consumers are tired of giving feedback; in fact, she expects low response rates on all the types of surveys I’m barraged with.
What Joanne highlighted for me was that some of what I was describing wasn’t actually insight research per se; these methods are used by brands "as a data point to identify ‘red flags’ that they should know about, look into, or follow-up on." Many of the usual respondents are “outliers” — not the core audience, but people who had a horrible or terrific response. So these surveys are useful as a servicing issue, not as rich, robust, meaningful feedback or canvases for product innovation. Brands may simply be looking to them more for early warning signs.
Joanne’s biggest caution for brands is in the experience of gathering the feedback itself. A poorly designed questionnaire (either in length or content or usability) reflects back on the brand who deploys it. You can sabatoge yourself not by asking too much — but by how you solicit it.
Before I posted this, yet another survey request came in, this time from the medical facility after my recent endoscopy. There was no promised prize or points, but yes, of course I responded to share my feelings and suggestions. Wouldn’t you?
