In a recent blog article titled, “Rackspace Net Promoter feedback system achieves >60% response rates,” Rob Markey describes how this web hosting company does it. Net Promoter®* is a methodology for assessing customer loyalty, acting on the information gathered, and then improving loyalty through a feedback process. If you’d like to improve the response rates you get from your customer and client surveys, it might be worthwhile to adopt the Rackspace methods.
Here’s what Rackspace does:
- Provide a simple, clear invitation to the right customers by the right people. Customers receive notice of surveys and are asked to take part by people they know at Rackspace. Rackspace customer service managers review contact data and make sure it’s correct before the surveys go out, and customers are not asked to provide information in the survey that Rackspace already knows like name, position, phone number, etc. Surveys requests are signed by a real Rackspace person, who includes his contact information.
- Keep the survey very short and simple. The survey consists only of a “likelihood to recommend” question and an open-ended text box question. The customers are promised a survey of only two questions and Rackspace delivers on that promise. Again, the customers don’t have to provide identifying information because the email response system provides that automatically.
- Respond to customers who participate. If a customer responds to the Rackspace manager who signed the email, then that manager contacts the customer himself. Rackspace employees close the loop with every survey respondent to learn more about what is going well and what could be improved. Over time, Rackspace customers become confident that their feedback really gets action.
I recently read a discussion online concerning survey length and someone from a marketing research firm posted that a short survey is disrespectful of the customer because customers appreciate getting into a really detailed survey. What planet is that guy from? I certainly appreciate a short survey and I think most rational customers do too! It’s a sign that the business sending the survey values my time.
If you need help launching a loyalty survey process for your business, contact Rust Reviews!
*Net Promoter, Net Promoter Score, and NPS are trademarks of Satmetrix Systems, Inc., Bain & Company, Inc., and Fred Reichheld.
