Most customer satisfaction surveys don\u2019t work because the surveys aren\u2019t designed well.\u00a0 Survey Information requested is too much, too personal, or just plain unnecessary. The satisfaction survey winds up being 8 pages long and only 1 person in 10,000 Solution: Use the \u201cHidden-objective\u201d survey technique.<\/strong> Whether it\u2019s an web survey, employee survey or just a marketing survey for your own customers, in the hidden-objective survey we may – or may not – base the success of our survey around the answers.\u00a0 Actually, answering survey questions may not be our objective. Our objective may be to use this format of a survey tool to inform customers, or advertise a new product. Now that I\u2019ve cleared that up, let\u2019s get back to watching TV.\u00a0 Oh, sorry, sometimes my ADD gets way ahead of me.<\/p>\n OK, let\u2019s move on and pretend I\u2019m working, as my wife is watching and I can\u2019t go to \u201cthose\u201d websites any more, or at least not right now.\u00a0 Let\u2019s see\u2026 oh yea\u2026 customer satisfaction surveys.<\/p>\n Another one of my favorite survey research techniques is the \u201cKey-Question\u201d survey.<\/strong> This is where we hide one or two impotent questions, sorry, Fraudian slip.\u00a0 Oops.\u00a0 Another Freudian slip.\u00a0 So \u2014 most survey questions are fluffy and don\u2019t matter, but one or two are the specific hidden key-questions of the whole shebang that make the customer survey relevant.\u00a0 Confused?\u00a0 Let me explain while my wife is hanging around pretending to not watch what I\u2019m doing.<\/p>\n The Hidden-Objective Satisfaction Survey<\/strong><\/p>\n Our hidden objective may be \u201cto inform readers about a new product or offering,\u201d or \u201cbring an advertising message to prospects and clientele.\u201d\u00a0 In other words, it\u2019s a slick piece of advertising, designed to look like a satisfaction survey.\u00a0 Ever consider that?\u00a0 No, most people don\u2019t.\u00a0 That\u2019s why I get the big bucks.\u00a0 Or I may any day now.<\/p>\n My own hidden-objective as a direct marketer is usually to generate a phone call or have people raise their hands and ask us to call them.\u00a0 \u201cFurgetabout survey shmurvey,\u201d my NJ clients say, \u201cIf the phone don\u2019t ring\u2026 you get axed.\u201d\u00a0 I grew up on the streets and this has real meaning.\u00a0 We send something in the mail, the phone bedder ring.\u00a0 He really meant \u201caxed.\u201d<\/p>\n Suppose, for example, you\u2019d like to introduce a new product to the insurance industry, your new LTCI that now includes coverage for massage therapy.\u00a0 Yes, grand papa would love that therapy, at say, a local massage parlor. Hey – it\u2019s close by and it says \u201cMassage\u201d right there on the door.<\/p>\n So in the nice cover letter you send with the customer satisfaction survey<\/a> – and you know me, everything is sent with a nice cover letter – you ask the reader for a quiet moment to take your quick 5-question market research survey.\u00a0 No one minds a \u201cquick 5-question survey.\u201d<\/p>\n To increase participation you could enclose a crisp dollar bill for taking the survey, but it would be much better if you sent that money to me.\u00a0 To increase response tell the reader you\u2019ll let them know what the survey results are.\u00a0 Viola – instant permission to call, fulfilling our objective.<\/p>\n \u201cDid you know the Jeff Dobkin agency offers long term care including paid coverage for massage for your loved ones?\u201d<\/p>\n [ ] Yes \u00a0 \u00a0 [ ] No\u00a0 \u00a0 [ ] Please call<\/p>\n \u201cDo you think your grand father would like a nice soothing all over body massage?\u201d<\/p>\n [ ] Yes \u00a0 \u00a0 [ ] No\u00a0 \u00a0 [ ] TMI* (*Too Much Information)<\/p>\n OK, I my have been a little over the top here, but we\u2019re all adults here aren\u2019t we?\u00a0 Ha. You didn\u2019t think that last question was part of the survey but it was.\u00a0 Fill out the rest\u00a0 of the questions and I\u2019ll send you a dollar.\u00a0 And the results.\u00a0 Just send it in with a $10 processing fee\u2026<\/p>\n Here you can see we don\u2019t really want an answer to these questions – that would be too much information (TMI) about grand papa.\u00a0 We just want to inform clients of this new product and service that we offer, and we do it in the form of a customer satisfaction survey. Market research surveys get high readership.\u00a0 Clever, huh?<\/p>\n The \u201cActionable Key-Question\u201d Survey<\/strong><\/p>\n We continue our survey questionnaire, and turn it into an actionable key-question survey:<\/p>\n \u201cHave you planned for good care of your grandfather in his later years?\u201d<\/p>\n [ ] Yes \u00a0 \u00a0 [ ] No\u00a0 \u00a0 [ ] Don\u2019t know<\/p>\n \u201cAre you worried about your grand parents care as they get older?\u201d<\/p>\n [ ] Yes \u00a0 \u00a0 [ ] No\u00a0 \u00a0 [ ] Please call<\/p>\n Key Question Customer Survey Tip:<\/strong> You can see we are now asking a key<\/span> question<\/span> that if clients answer in a certain way we can take action.<\/p>\n The rest of the survey questions?\u00a0 Who cares?\u00a0 It may not matter, because if this question is checked \u201cyes\u201d or \u201cplease call\u201d it worked!\u00a0 We fulfilled our hidden objective – remember that from a few paragraphs ago – by generating a lead: a customer asked us to call.\u00a0 We call them – which makes this survey 100% successful.<\/p>\n But since I have one question left, I\u2019ll ask:<\/p>\n \u201cHow long has it been since you have had your insurance policies reviewed?\u201d<\/p>\n [ ] One year [ ] three years\u00a0 [ ] don\u2019t remember<\/p>\n This seemingly innocent question is really a Super Actionable Key-Question – and kind\u2019a gives us a \u201creason to call\u201d if ANY of the boxes are checked. Doesn\u2019t it?\u00a0 If this was my survey I\u2019d toss in a few more innocuous throw-away survey questions just to make it look more legit.<\/p>\n So, if you\u2019re designing a customer satisfaction survey, even an online survey, first decide on the objective; then design the survey to fulfill the objective.<\/p>\n If the objective is to call or be called, insert just one or maybe two relevant \u201ckey questions\u201d that you can act on.\u00a0 Make the rest of the survey questions easy.\u00a0 OK, I gotta go\u2026 I have some stuff to do on the Internet – my wife just left to go food shopping for the week at the 7-11 and she\u2019ll be back in 20 minutes\u2026<\/p>\n – Jeffrey<\/em><\/p>\n![\"customer](\"https:\/\/www.marketingforsuccess.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/09\/customer-service-survey.jpg\" "\\"customer")
<\/a>fills it out correctly and sends it in.\u00a0 Problem is: you never know which one.<\/p>\n
\nYou may never have heard of this style of survey because\u2026 I just made it up.\u00a0 Well, I created it several years ago for a client who used it and then went on to become a billionaire \u2014 I think it was because I designed his survey so well \u2014 and now he\u2019s left me in the dust to continue to drive my 10 year old mini van, but that\u2019s another story I won\u2019t go into now.\u00a0 This is the first time I\u2019m writing about it, though.<\/p>\n