Email survey software is great for taking all of the answers that you’ve received from your survey participants, throwing them into a mixer, and spitting out results that’ll likely cause you to cock your head in confusion. Processing survey results and translating them into measurable indicators is a tough job, and unless you’ve got some serious schooling in the matter it’s best to leave that job up to the survey tool.
But there’s one thing you have to consider before making any substantial changes to the way you do business based on the result of your survey, and that’s this: how many of the survey respondents are frequent customers, and how many of them do you only see or hear from once in a blue moon? Bearing this in mind could sway the results.
For one, customers that bring repeat business are more well acquainted with your levels of service and the overall quality of your company. Their opinions should be weighted more heavily than someone who’s only had a passing acquaintance with your business and whose perception may have been distorted by a single bad experience. This isn’t to say that the voice of dissatisfied customers should be ignored, especially if they have a long history with you. But the answers of those who are practical strangers simply shouldn’t carry as much weight.
To care for this, make sure that the email survey software you’re using has the ability to segment your subscribers into the length of history with your business – or simply ask “how long have you been doing business with us?” as one of your primary survey questions.