Regular vs. Continuous Surveys: Let's Settle the Debate.
A satisfaction survey can be conducted regularly (e.g. on a quarterly, semi-annual or annual basis) or on a continuous basis, when selling a product or providing a service prompts the survey mail-out.
Why conduct a regular survey?
- It's the preferred approach if there are no customer relationship management (CRM) systems.
- When the survey is annual, it's easier to manage.
Why conduct a continuous survey?
- You can integrate your CRM tools into your survey solution to automate satisfaction measurement.
- The experience is still fresh in the customer's memory.
- Results are received practically in real-time.
- If a customer is dissatisfied, it's easy to react in time to rectify the situation.
- It gives you the (necessary!) option of setting the criteria for triggering the survey invitation(e.g. one invitation every 90 days).
Quick response times for dissatisfied customers and high-quality answers from respondents matter; that's why it's best to go with continuous satisfaction metrics. If your resources do not currently permit such an approach, know that regularly measuring your customers' satisfaction will still give you a competitive edge in your industry!
P.S. Don't forget! The main goal of a satisfaction survey is to improve the quality of service by minimizing unpleasant experiences for your customers. Having them take a survey too often could become, well… unpleasant!