Surveys are an invaluable barometer for companies who are looking to get a reading on how they’re doing in the eyes of their customers or prospects.There are many ways to conduct surveys online for little or no cost, and they also can be integrated with CRM or or email campaign software to propagate the results in the records for individual respondents.
What to survey:
In the logistics business where companies engage in large numbers of transactions, surveying customers for each container shipped or each entry cleared can get tedious and turn off the respondent which reduces the value of their assessment. A good way to measure customer behavior is to identify the key metrics that your company touts in your advertising and sales efforts and ask for people’s perception on how well you are performing.
Some areas of your business to survey your clients about could include:
- Accuracy of your Customs clearances.
- On-time performance of your freight forwarding or trucking services.
- Overall satisfaction with your company.
- Problem escalation and resolution.
Just as there are free e-mail campaign software solutions that offer more generic services and have fewer options, so are there entry-level survey systems that allow for a maximum number of questions or respondents or limit whether or not you can use logic (if “A”, then “B, C or D”?). If you’ve never conducted a survey before, starting out small is a good way to go to just introduce customers to the notion that you are seeking their feedback.
How frequently to survey?
When you purchase something online, or take a trip, or complete a call or customer service interaction, companies are usually looking for information immediately following your experience while it’s fresh in your mind. Generally since they are from different companies for different reasons, people are willing to complete a higher number of them, especially if they have the chance to praise or, when exposed to an egregiously bad experience, complain.
Be prepared for the answers. Moreover, be prepared to ANSWER, especially your toughest critics.
“Perception is created and twisted so clearly.” – Louis C.K.
“Perception is reality.” – Lee Atwater
We all think that those pants look great, that paint color would be fabulous on the bedroom walls and that the flight we’re taking with our family will always leave and arrive on time.
The point is, it isn’t always, and neither is the belief that we hold for a service that we provided. If one or two negative surveys are received, perhaps they’re outliers. 
But where there’s smoke, there’s fire, and management must be prepared to address each and every one of those clients if they were disaffected enough to tick a box that said they would like to be contacted. For good or for bad, owning up to, and letting a customer express their displeasure, shows far greater confidence in yourself and your product and process than hiding and never answering. That silence you give them in their moment of need will be echoed by the silence on the other end of the line when you turn around and they’re gone.
We can design, send and aggregate survey responses on your behalf.
At Position : Global, we know the questions and how to build the logic to get the answers you’re looking for. We will brand it under our name, so customers may answer us more candidly. We also know how to construct the surveys in such a way that your respondents know how much time it will require to complete. Surveys are also an opportunity to get more information from clients and prospects, including things they would like to see in the future, encourage them to sign up for a newsletter or to call them for a new opportunity. Contact us for more information about designing and reporting a survey for your company.