Canadian Marketing Blog

And the survey says….

Sometime ago I read an article untitled ‘Customer Surveys: All Talk, No Action’. The article asks us why surveys are being done if no action is derived from the results. The article suggests that survey data is merely used to validate existing products and services instead of using the information to make change.

Recently I sat through a meeting recapping results of a customer survey and heard comments like, “the customer doesn’t get it”, or “they are missing the point”. I think great … now lets fix it so they get the point. Then I hear, “must be something wrong with the data”. Something wrong with the data … what?

I got back to my office and I thought I would check and see what the blogsphere is saying. Sure enough I found hundreds of entries. Real customers pointing out the same problems as did the results of the survey.

I am not saying this happens all the time. I have also sat in meetings where the client has embraced this and made changes to their products and services based on customer feedback.

I know change can be difficult…not to mention costly. I also know that corporate culture has not always rewarded employees for … well … ‘rocking the boat’. However, simply pointing out what’s right with your products and services does not help anyone. In a day and age where consumers are in control you need to ask tough questions to really understand what’s going on.

The New Year is only 15 days old and here we go again not listening to our customers. So … SHHHH … the customer is speaking!

Hey Steve. As a frequent boat-rocker and ex-agency guy your post really resonates with me. A few years back one agency I was with did a lot of high-value usability work. Usability can be a lot like customer surveys from a client's standpoint, informing on what should they change to improve their product. When usability broke into the mainstream it started to be attached to product launches as a must-have. This was as boon the usability world, but not the best kind. I remember too many large-scale big-dollar studies being conducted just to fill in a checkbox on a corporate launch form. The underlying and all-too-frequent politic was "please demonstrate my product is ready for the market." Many things have changed since then, and smart business today take heed of customer insight - regardless of its form. Others may discard it at their own risk. Customer feedback, surveys and similar kinds of research are an important part of a businesses' conversation with its customers. But don't be a poseur: your customers will sniff you out and drown you like a rat. Thanks for drawing attention to an important issue - cheers.