Hone Your Marketing Strategy with Consumer Satisfaction Surveys

When any company decides to conduct a customer survey, it takes a marketing decision which has the potential of changing the way the company does business. In particular customer satisfaction surveys go a long way in telling you what the customer really thinks about your product/services. However, the two kinds of surveys should not be confused since their scope and purpose are entirely different.

A customer survey might be conducted to define a customer profile with greater clarity. This means that the survey would try and identify the geographic, demographic, economic and social profile of the existing and potential customer. When a customer survey seeks to identify the average age/sex/race/educational level of the customer, then the customer profile is only partial. A comprehensive profile would take into account professional profiles; average family income to determine purchasing power; leisure activities; reading habits etc to analyze the marketing pitch that will convince the target to invest in a specific product/product range/service. Depending on what you want to promote, the marketing pitch will hinge on the aspiration levels of the target audience or on play on the hidden fears.

On the other hand customer satisfaction surveys help you get to the heart of this critical relationship between marketer and buyer in ways that help you move your business forward. The satisfaction, loyalty, and reference-ability of your customers directly affect growth and profitability. So customer satisfaction surveys help you assess the desires, needs and wants of your valued customers. They tell you whether or not your customer wants to repeat the purchase experience. This is especially relevant for those dealing in customer goods.

Timing is a critical factor when conducting customer satisfaction surveys as a delayed survey might yield inaccurate results for a variety of reasons. The details of the experience may have been forgotten or else may be confused with a later or earlier experience. So whether you intend to conduct a customer survey or customer satisfaction surveys, strike while the iron is hot.