There is only one thing worse than no customer feedback. And that is bad customer feedback- one that makes companies make wrong and poorly timed decisions or allocate resources incorrectly.
A low response rate in surveys can lead to nonresponse bias, where certain demographics are underrepresented in the sample. This can result in inaccurate or skewed results. It is important to investigate the reasons behind the low response rate, such as poor survey design or lack of incentives for participation. Addressing these issues can help improve response rates and reduce nonresponse bias, leading to more accurate and reliable data.
Most marketing strategies and improvements are centered around customer feedback that gets collected via different communication channels. While a lot of emphasis is laid on building a systematic way of collecting feedback, there is one thing missing. Organisations don’t pay enough time to build a system that can maximize customer survey response rate. In this blog, let us understand the 6 ways how low survey response rate can impede your decision making strategies.
What happens when you do not optimize your customer surveys?
1. Incomplete data might not represent the actual customer base:
Imagine you are running a customer satisfaction survey that has a low response rate. One of the main reasons for the low response rate to CX surveys is the effort it takes the customers to access and respond to them. It takes a significantly motivated customer to undertake that effort and respond. Now here lies a problem. Your survey responses are no longer representative of your customer base, but only those who are motivated (read: disgruntled) enough to respond.
Without the actual representative sample of your customer base, it might be tough to draw accurate conclusions about your customers’ satisfaction levels, preferences, and needs. When the survey respondents do not represent your customer base, companies can end up developing poor marketing decisions. It can actually mislead companies into prioritizing resource allocation incorrectly.
2. Low survey response rate can cause a loss of opportunity for improvement:
Surveys are a great tool to determine organizational loopholes, gaps in service commitments, pricing changes, website or app upgrades that customers might be expecting. Low response rate can hurt the probability of improving any of the above requirements. Without a proper chunk of legitimate feedback , the research and development and the marketing team will not have ample fodder to work upon. This creates a gap between what organizations were supposed to deliver vis a vis what customers were expecting.
3. Inadequate survey results will prevent you from taking prompt action:
A lower response rate can significantly delay action. This makes it difficult to obtain representatives of the target population and gather reliable data. Low response rates often mean that additional efforts are needed to reach out to the non-respondents. This can further delay the collection and analysis of data. Thus, achieving a higher response rate is crucial for obtaining meaningful insights and facilitating prompt and effective decision-making.
4. Missing data can waste resources and hamper market positioning:
It’s tough to place your goods or services correctly in the market if you don’t have precise customer feedback. This might impede your ability to attract and retain consumers since it may cause a lack of differentiation from your rivals. Plus if you base your business strategy on poor customer response rates, you might waste resources on upgrading systems that don’t adhere to customer’s requests. This might lead to higher operating expenditures and reduced profits.
5. Low survey response rate can cause miscommunication and hurt customer reputation:
A low response rate can also damage your reputation among the target audience, who may perceive that you are not interested in their opinions or feedback. This can lead to negative word-of-mouth and a decline in customer loyalty.
Developing marketing strategies based on low response rate can hurt your relationship with your existing customers and hamper your ability to welcome prospective customers (they are also your potential respondents). They might think that the organization is not interested in their thoughts and feedback. This can bring down the overall loyalty rate and garner a bad reputation among customers.
6. Low response rate can be a sign that your customers are unable to share feedback:
A low response or completion rate to surveys or feedback requests can sometimes indicate that customers are unable or unwilling to share their feedback. This may be due to a variety of reasons, such as a lack of interest, time constraints, or simply not feeling motivated to provide feedback. However, in some cases, a low response rate could indicate a deeper problem with the feedback mechanism itself. For example, if the type of survey is too complex or difficult to navigate, customers may not be able to share their feedback easily. This can leave your customer feeling unheard.
How can you improve survey response rate while creating customer feedback forms?
Customer feedback can be collected through various channels, such as messenger based surveys, focus groups, social media, and customer support interactions. By analyzing the online survey response rates, businesses can identify patterns and trends that can inform their marketing decisions.
Moreover, incorporating customer feedback into marketing efforts can also help establish a stronger relationship between the brand and its customers, fostering loyalty and trust. When customers see that their opinions and feedback are valued or they are adequately incentivized, they are more likely to feel invested in the brand and become loyal advocates.
Overall, gathering high response rate via optimized survey questions is a critical component of effective survey research. This equips businesses to better understand their customers and deliver more targeted and effective marketing messages.
Conclusion
At Merren, our main aim is to help increase the average survey response rate including taking gentle follow-up from all your respondents. It is not about the number of surveys but about the effectiveness of each survey deployed be it messenger based or a dynamic email survey. While you apply the best practices and methodology for launching a survey over the internet, you will find that the total number of people who offer maximum insights will increase
Ultimately, focusing on the right metrics such as the right communication mediums, survey length, adequate incentives and creating a more inclusive online survey can bring you a good survey response rate. It is equally important to test your survey strategies before deploying them. This will save you from an abyss of disappointment.
The only way to truly customize every branded communication is to focus on metrics that represent the true number of respondents.
Want to create targeted campaigns and increase your survey’s response rate? Try Merren today. We offer multiple customized survey templates that will bring high response rates. Additionally, you can create your own incentivized surveys or demo test surveys before deploying them. You can experience all of this for a 14 day free trial, no credit card required to sign up.
