Can we stop Customer Surveys as they are generating low return rates ?

B

biboy2012

#1
I conducted customer survey through email and walk-in 3 weeks ago and as of this date we have had few responses. The retrun rate is very poor (20 responses) considering that we have 8,000 active accounts/customers. The recommended sample size is 300. If I surveyed 300 customers, should I stop there though I have had 20 responses only? Or do I have to go on with the survey until I reached 300 responses?

I'd be interested to hear any advices you may have. Thank you very much.
 
Elsmar Forum Sponsor

Ajit Basrur

Staff member
Admin
#2
I conducted customer survey through email and walk-in 3 weeks ago and as of this date we have had few responses. The retrun rate is very poor (20 responses) considering that we have 8,000 active accounts/customers. The recommended sample size is 300. If I surveyed 300 customers, should I stop there though I have had 20 responses only? Or do I have to go on with the survey until I reached 300 responses?

I'd be interested to hear any advices you may have. Thank you very much.
biboy2012,

I am not in favor of stopping the Customer Survey just because the response is poor; instead would initiate a detailed investigation on what causes it. We have some good responses to a similar thread in Customer Satisfaction Surveys - Response Rate, Analysis, Customer Feedback

Btw, did you say that you received response from 20 out of 300 ?
 

Jen Kirley

Quality and Auditing Expert
Staff member
Admin
#4
Nope, 20 out of 8,000.
That rate is abysmal. I suggest asking your sales force or quality engineers to directly ask customers, not only about their satisfaction (that data can be more revealing than a survey's data) but why this survey bombed.

Would you care to share the survey with us?
 
B

biboy2012

#5
That rate is abysmal. I suggest asking your sales force or quality engineers to directly ask customers, not only about their satisfaction (that data can be more revealing than a survey's data) but why this survey bombed.

Would you care to share the survey with us?
Maybe I misunderstood Ajit's question.

I will try to explain this way.
The total population is 8,000.
The recommended sample size is 300.
Responses:
17 = walk-in
3 = email
20 = Total responses

I hope this makes clear what I meant.

I have attached the actual customer survey. I think it only take a few minutes to fill out.
 

Attachments

Wes Bucey

Quite Involved in Discussions
#6
biboy2012,

I am not in favor of stopping the Customer Survey just because the response is poor; instead would initiate a detailed investigation on what causes it. We have some good responses to a similar thread in Customer Satisfaction Surveys - Response Rate, Analysis, Customer Feedback

Btw, did you say that you received response from 20 out of 300 ?
Nope, 20 out of 8,000.
Do you mean to say you sent 8,000 emails!? If yes, and only 20 replied, you have to realize you did something wrong. Even the worst Nigerian letters probably get a return better than 0.0025, even if it is only folks looking to play games with the scam artist.

I suspect the primary problem was with the content of your email. Without seeing it, I couldn't comment further, but I must hasten to add that even after seeing it, and having my suspicions confirmed, my only suggestion would be similar to what I wrote in your previous thread on this topic. You wrote about this recently

At that time, I wrote (especially what is highlighted in bold red):
Instead of sending individual emails, why not print an invitation to an on-site questionnaire on each sales receipt? Use a unique serial number identifier on each sales slip for the customer to enter on the web site. Offer a chance at a substantial prize (a selection of your products) for completing the questionnaire to increase percentage of participation.

Now, the biggest hurdle is how to construct the questionnaire to avoid biased or prejudicial questions. It is a lot easier to get it wrong than to get it right - consider getting some professional help to review the questions to remove bias.
A professional will help you craft your message to optimize the number:

  1. who even open the email (what was the message heading?)
  2. who read the message only - not the actual questions on the survey
  3. who read through the survey without answering any questions
  4. who answer some questions, but decide after all to not complete and return the survey
  5. who actually complete and return the survey.
Better luck next time!


http://elsmar.com/Forums/showpost.php?p=482142&postcount=4
 

Jen Kirley

Quality and Auditing Expert
Staff member
Admin
#7
Even if your sample was 300, the response rate is still low.

The survey looked simple enough. I was wondering, however if anyone got hung up on the question "In your own opinion, what is the best customer service that you have experienced and in what company?"

These surveys are emailed, yes? I have found that I ignore most email requests to complete surveys. Also, it's been recognized that unhappy customer speak up more than happy customers, so your results may be skewed unless youi can get repeat data over time and trend it. If it is possible to ask the customers directly you may enjoy better feedback.
 

Randy

Super Moderator
#8
You can do whatever you want, there's no requirement for a survey of any type.

What you must do however is monitor information related to customer perception and provide a mechanism for customer communication and complaints.

How you do it is entirely up to you, but to continue on as you have been meets the definition of insanity given us by Einstein
 

Sidney Vianna

Post Responsibly
Staff member
Admin
#9
Randy is 100% correct. One of the changes in the latest edition of ISO 9001 was the addition of the note suggesting other ways and forms of monitoring customer satisfaction. You can also acquaint yourself with ISO 10004 if you are interested in a very robust customer satisfaction monitoring system.
 

BradM

Staff member
Admin
#10
I conducted customer survey through email and walk-in 3 weeks ago and as of this date we have had few responses. The return rate is very poor (20 responses) considering that we have 8,000 active accounts/customers. The recommended sample size is 300. If I surveyed 300 customers, should I stop there though I have had 20 responses only? Or do I have to go on with the survey until I reached 300 responses?

I'd be interested to hear any advices you may have. Thank you very much.
In general, survey response rates are pretty low. In the academic arena, if you get more than 20% response back, you're doing pretty well.

The problem is non-response bias. The only time someone bothers responding is when they "have something to say" so to speak. Sometimes if it went really well; but more times to complain something went really bad. So for both of those cases, the answers are then skewed on everything else. You don't know how representative the samples are that you received.

Another consideration is the survey itself. Your survey is short (good). However, it needs to be something they can complete quickly. Also, you ask for some product-specific information on there. They may be reluctant to give that to you.

Do you have the opportunity to talk to customers? You can learn an awful lot simply by asking them a question at the proper time.

Consider.... the best time to ask me about a service, a dining experience, the process while buying a product, etc. is right after I did it. All it would take is a manager asking a sincere question. "Sir... if you would suggest three things we could improve upon, what would it be?" and have a clipboard to write it down.

My suggestion is to consider improving the quality of the information you receive. Then, the quantity is not as relevant.
 
Thread starter Similar threads Forum Replies Date
G Bad Parts cause Customer line stop IATF 16949 - Automotive Quality Systems Standard 13
B Delay in Payment Posting - Customer would like to stop paying monthly amortization Customer Complaints 5
G Customer Property Cl. 7.5.4 - Where does ISO 9001 stop and ISO 27001 start? ISO 9000, ISO 9001, and ISO 9004 Quality Management Systems Standards 33
qualprod Ideas to stop bad practices in daily work ISO 9000, ISO 9001, and ISO 9004 Quality Management Systems Standards 13
M Supplier Audits - Stop Wasting Everyone's Time! General Auditing Discussions 15
qualprod Records where apply and stop recording everything? ISO 9000, ISO 9001, and ISO 9004 Quality Management Systems Standards 4
D Where does "as far as possible" stop? FMEA - EN 14971 ISO 14971 - Medical Device Risk Management 29
L Clause 0.4 of ISO 9001 and EHS - Where should I stop the inclusion of EHS in my QMS ISO 9000, ISO 9001, and ISO 9004 Quality Management Systems Standards 8
Marc A 20 Hour Non-Stop Flight - (October 2019) Travel - Hotels, Motels, Planes and Trains 19
M Informational FDA order – All manufacturers of surgical mesh intended for transvaginal repair of anterior compartment prolapse (cystocele) to stop selling and distr Medical Device and FDA Regulations and Standards News 0
N What subcommands can be used with "Stop" in Minitab 18? Using Minitab Software 8
P Terms, "Yard Holds", and "Stop Ships" in TS 16949 IATF 16949 - Automotive Quality Systems Standard 1
smryan Excel Printing Glitch - How to STOP Printing One Cell per Page Excel .xls Spreadsheet Templates and Tools 10
Anerol C Procedure to stop a machine due to safety Occupational Health & Safety Management Standards 4
N How to Stop Packaging Choice Mistakes on a Form Other Medical Device Related Standards 6
Z When to stop Post Market Surveillance 21 CFR Part 820 - US FDA Quality System Regulations (QSR) 3
C ISO 14001 Emergency Stop Information ISO 14001:2015 Specific Discussions 4
S How many production runs will it take for SPC monitoring to stop? Statistical Analysis Tools, Techniques and SPC 10
Marc Ray Harryhausen - The Stop Motion Animation King Coffee Break and Water Cooler Discussions 4
N How to stop this abuse..... Imported Legacy Blogs 12
F When TSA stop to issue new Foreign FAA Part 145 Repair Station? Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Standards and Requirements 1
L When does Medical Device New Product R&D stop and Design start? Design and Development of Products and Processes 6
Marc Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the PROTECT IP Act (PIPA) After Work and Weekend Discussion Topics 21
1 Stop Ship/Build or something like a Quality Alert template or procedure example Document Control Systems, Procedures, Forms and Templates 5
Marc What happens when computers stop shrinking? After Work and Weekend Discussion Topics 3
Anerol C What protocol do you follow to stop the production line? Nonconformance and Corrective Action 9
P Regulations concerning Calibration of Stop Watches used for Testing Medical Devices 21 CFR Part 820 - US FDA Quality System Regulations (QSR) 4
J Press Brake Tooling / Back Gauging - Holes for the back stop instead of the Part Edge Manufacturing and Related Processes 8
C Calibration Of Stop Watch using the NIST Clock General Measurement Device and Calibration Topics 4
D Process Flowchart - Can the Flowchart of one Process have two END (Stop) Points Process Maps, Process Mapping and Turtle Diagrams 5
Wes Bucey It's Friday - don't stop the job hunt! Career and Occupation Discussions 2
Stijloor Stop Forum Spam - Helpful site? After Work and Weekend Discussion Topics 1
D Production start after stop IATF 16949 - Automotive Quality Systems Standard 12
Sidney Vianna Aerospace auditors are told to stop soft grading NC's. Or else! AS9100, IAQG, NADCAP and Aerospace related Standards and Requirements 42
D Definition Stop Gap - Definition - What does "stop gap" mean? Definitions, Acronyms, Abbreviations and Interpretations Listed Alphabetically 9
M Can I Stop the Internal Audit Program? Internal Auditing 21
Manix Ideas On Wiring Configuration Control - Help STOP a Non Conformance! Manufacturing and Related Processes 7
Sidney Vianna Electronic wedge brakes will change the way we stop World News 6
ScottK Foreign Languages in the workplace - can you stop it? Career and Occupation Discussions 14
C First Audit Stop - Employees Washroom - Learn all you need to know about a company General Auditing Discussions 83
Marc Will the weather service be forced to stop giving weather information for free? World News 4
J IATF 3th auditor training course stop? Training - Internal, External, Online and Distance Learning 2
A Supplier 8D does not stop the problem - Critical defects - How to make 8D effective? Supplier Quality Assurance and other Supplier Issues 4
Sidney Vianna ISO/IEC standard for "one-stop accreditation" to boost cross-border trade ASQ, ANAB, UKAS, IAF, IRCA, Exemplar Global and Related Organizations 2
S Huh? What is "Stop Shipment Notification" IATF 16949 - Automotive Quality Systems Standard 6
N Why do 'we' and ?our? QMS?s stop working? What are the Failure Modes? Misc. Quality Assurance and Business Systems Related Topics 62
M High Cpk's and Control Charts - Is it justified to stop using control charts? Capability, Accuracy and Stability - Processes, Machines, etc. 7
R When can you stop root cause analysis - Is the answer never? Problem Solving, Root Cause Fault and Failure Analysis 6
Marc Stop Watch Calibration Reality Check General Measurement Device and Calibration Topics 22
D Suggestions for Ishikawa for hyperdetailed customer - plastic molding automotive parts Nonconformance and Corrective Action 9

Similar threads

Top Bottom