Customer Feedback Survey Best Practices: 30 Smart Questions to Ask

Your customers have something to say.

According to Qualtrics, 62% of consumers think businesses need to care more about them. At the same time, 60% also reported they would buy more if businesses treated them better.

But how do you figure out what your customers really want? And how do you ensure your customers truly feel as though you’re taking care of them?

Customer feedback surveys can help you meet both goals. Not only do surveys collect the insights you need to improve customers’ experiences, sending them shows you care about their opinions. Before you send them, though, remember that following customer feedback survey best practices can make all the difference in your results. Check out this list to make sure the questions you’re asking will deliver the most valuable data.

Always Know Your Customer

Demographics or firmagraphics paint a picture of your ideal customer or prospect, so one of the best customer feedback survey best practices is staying on top of this important information. The questions you ask will differ based on whether you sell to consumers (B2C) or other businesses (B2B).

Ask:

• What’s your age?
• Which gender are you?
• What’s your ethnicity?
• What is your highest level of education?
• What’s your current employment status?
• What industry do you work in?
• How big is your company?
• Where do you live?
• What’s your marital status?
• What is your household income?

READ MORE: The Average Survey Response Rate and How to Beat It

Understand How Your Customers Feel About Your Product or Service

Customer satisfaction is essential for business growth, helping your company spread the positive word of mouth that leads to more revenue. The more specific you can be with your questions, the better data you’ll get for your marketing campaigns.

Ask:

• How likely are you to recommend our product/service to a friend or colleague?
• How would you rate our customer support on a scale of 1-10?
• How would you rate your onboarding experience on a scale of 1-10?
• What convinced you or your company to pay for this service?
• What do you like most about our products/services?
• What is one word that best describes your experience using our product/service?
• If you could no longer use our product/service, what’s the one thing you would miss the most?

Use Survey Data to Grow Your Product or Service

Your customers are a terrific source for product or service expansion ideas.

Ask:

• Which of our features is most important/valuable to you?
• If you could change one thing about our product/service, what would it be?
• What’s the one thing we are missing in our product/service?
• What additional features would you like to see in this product/service?

Go Beyond Typical Customer Satisfaction Questions

Most customer feedback surveys simply ask for satisfaction ratings. Few dig deeper to uncover what may be driving your customers away.

Ask:

• What’s the primary reason for canceling your account?
• How can we improve our customer support?
• Is our pricing clear? If not, what would you change?

Capture Data on Prospects or Trial Users

Striking while the iron is hot is another one of the most valuable customer feedback survey best practices. People considering buying your product or service will have opinions — opinions you can use to fine-tune your business offering.

Ask:

• What nearly stopped you from signing up today?
• What would persuade you to use us more often?
• What’s one feature we can add that would make our product indispensable for you?

Uncover Brand Advocates

Your customer survey is also a great opportunity to find happy customers who are willing to help you in other ways and grow your advocacy program.

Ask:

• Can we use your comments on our website or in marketing material?
• Would you be willing to participate in a case study?
• Do you have a referral you’d like to pass along? If so, please enter their name and email.

One final tip: The end of the year is prime time to run customer surveys. To make sure you stand out from the crowd — and achieve higher response rates — consider offering digital rewards that incentivize your customers to complete your survey.

Looking for more customer feedback survey best practices? Get tips from our own BHN Rewards team on how to use surveys and rewards to learn more about your customers.

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BHN Rewards

BHN Rewards puts the power of digital rewards to work for marketers, researchers, and HR managers. Don't forget to check out all the great content in our Resources section!

BHN Rewards puts the power of digital rewards to work for marketers, researchers, and HR managers. Don't forget to check out all the great content in our Resources section!