Want to get a higher response rate from your client surveys? Get tips and advice from the experts.
Client surveys play a crucial role in fostering strong relationships and enhancing client satisfaction. By actively seeking feedback and demonstrating a commitment to listening and responding to client concerns, facility managers can show clients that their needs are being addressed and prioritized.
Surveys serve as the eyes and ears of a successful facility manager. By collecting feedback directly from clients, they gain a deeper understanding of their needs, preferences, and pain points.
Caden Hutchens, CEO of Otuvy, talked about the importance of client surveys in Cleaning & Maintenance Management magazine:
With client surveys, BSCs no longer need to wonder what their customers are thinking and saying. Initiating these surveys and analyzing their results will help cleaning businesses determine the voice of their customers, continuously improve services and stay competitive in the industry.
Here are five ways to improve client survey so that BSCs can get higher response rates and better understand their clients.
Keep surveys short and simple
You might be tempted to ask your clients all the questions you want answered. But don’t stuff 50 questions into a single survey so you can get all the information at once.
It’s a better idea to sit down with the management team, look at the list of questions everyone wants answered, and then determine which ones are the most critical. Go with those for now and save the rest for a future survey.
When you write the survey, consider using one to three yes/no or number rating questions, with an extra text box below for comments. The less your clients do on the survey, the more likely they will fill it out.
Use software
Hutchens also touched on software and technology for client surveys:
Online client surveys provide cleaning businesses a unique competitive advantage when it comes to understanding their target audience. BSCs can more quickly define demographics and even pinpoint how their marketing messages should change. There can be less guessing about what works best.
Mobile device surveys provide a convenient way to collect more honest voices from a wider audience — such as building visitors — because they can be filled out anonymously.
Some BSCs place cards with QR codes in locations such as restrooms or hallways. If there is a spill or leak, someone can scan the code with their smartphone and fill out a short survey that goes straight to the BSC’s email. Facility managers can then dispatch appropriate staff to the scene.
Don’t overwhelm participants
If you think you should email every question, every survey, to every customer on your list, think again! Avoid bombarding customers with survey requests in their inboxes.
Instead, consider sending them at a regular few months' cadence. For building patrons post QR codes so customers can choose to participate or not.
Make it mobile friendly
30% of survey responders use a mobile device to complete surveys. If your survey isn’t optimized for mobile use, many people will exit without answering all the questions.
Have an action plan
Before you send out a client survey, determine what kind of response would merit making a change to your operations.
Don’t waste time performing research, creating a survey, gathering results and then dragging your feet on applying the feedback. The true power of surveys comes from applying the information you receive.
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