Stupidly Simple.
Surveys.
I don’t know who fills these things out.
NOW THAT I’VE FIXED A THING THAT SHOULDN’T HAVE BEEN BROKEN IN THE FIRST PLACE AND WASTED AN HOUR OF YOUR TIME, DO YOU WANT TO WASTE ANOTHER 20 MINUTES FILLING OUT A SURVEY MY BOSS’ BOSS’ BOSS’ BOSS’ BOSS WILL EVENTUALLY IGNORE?
I guess it’s the inevitable result of runaway complexity in conventional customer service. And as such, there are probably all sorts of formulas and academic papers and theories “proving” they’re super important.
I don’t buy it.
Have you ever done one of these surveys? One would think the company is looking for ways to improve processes and products.
In reality, it just seems to be part of their NPC management and punishment system.
Did the NPC solve your problem?
Was the NPC polite and friendly?
Did the NPC leave you waiting on hold?
The answers are ranked by numbers, then presumably averaged, analyzed, and crunched into something super abstract.
An NPC might get a “talking to” or get “written up” if it’s “numbers are too low,” but your “feedback” is rarely put to any constructive use.
This is also true when they actually ask you about the product or service. Usually they’re just trying to reinforce their existing conclusions or opinions about what they’re already doing.
HEY BOSS, LOOK HOW GREAT I’M DOING!
If there’s a place for actual suggestions, customers can expect to see those suggestions implemented… never.
To be clear, I am NOT saying you should just go around implementing every hairbrained customer suggestion. Most are BAD and should be ignored.
I THINK YOU SHOULD MAKE THIS THING $9 INSTEAD OF $300, YOU’D MAKE MORE MONEY.
Thanks, pal.
What I am saying though is that if you’re not going to implement customer suggestions, you shouldn’t be asking for them.
Which brings me to the one time you actually should ask your customers questions…
When you’re looking for specific information that you plan to actually use for a real thing.
For example, I’ve seen great results asking a newly acquired list what kind of investments they’re interested in, then creating and selling them products about exactly that.
In other words, the exact opposite of RATE YOUR NPC’S TONE OF VOICE ON A SCALE FROM 1 TO 8.
— Mark
P.S. Need something to do with the time you used to spend analyzing survey results? Read (and implement) this: https://gumroad.com/l/rkbth/VIP
