Satisfaction Surveys Turn Customer Complaints Into Opportunities

While some companies might assume that “no news is good news,” the best attitude to have regarding feedback is that criticism from the customer is an opportunity to improve. Refining client service processes doesn’t just benefit the customer – companies that work hard to gather, study and apply their findings from customer complaints often find that investors and employees are happier as well. Utilizing satisfaction surveys and treating complaints as ideas for improvement rewards a company with a better understanding of their target market and guidance for further business development.

Great Customer Service Offers High Rewards

How does a better customer service experience benefit the business as well as the customer? Market studies find that companies who consistently provide their customers with excellent service experiences are rewarded by both consumers and investors. Watermark Consulting, a customer experience consultancy, conducted a study on the ROI of customer experience and found that great customer service offers even better rewards:

“The customer experience Leaders are clearly enjoying the many benefits of consumer loyalty.  They see higher revenues from better retention, greater wallet share, lower price sensitivity and positive word-of-mouth.  They see lower expenses from reduced acquisition costs, fewer complaints, and the less intense service requirements of happy, satisfied, long-term clients.”

Obviously, most companies will be quick to say yes, good customer service pays off. Yet time and again people have service experience horror stories, tales of being ripped off and made to jump through numerous hoops. If providing the customer with excellent service is common sense, then how come a good customer service experience is often hard to find?

Communication is Often Limited Between the Customer and Business

The cause of poor customer service can often be found in faulty communication between a business and its consumers. A company might assume that its client services have been fine-tuned and are functioning as desired, but often the customers feel differently. An accepted protocol might seem perfect in theory, but once it’s put into practice and applied to a customer experience, there might be some glitches that can cause problems. If clients feel that they have been mistreated or felt a service experience was lacking, it is often difficult for them to find an outlet to express their disapproval. All their opinions and suggestions go to waste and often all that arises from a bad customer service experience is the permanent loss of a valuable customer.

Improve Communication Using Customer Satisfaction Surveys

If a consumer has a bad experience, how can communication be improved so that their customer complaints can be heard and resolved? The hero of the day for customer complaints is online surveys! An online survey offers a disgruntled customer the opportunity to voice complaints. Satisfaction surveys not only collect information from consumers, it also exhibits a company’s desire to hear their customers’ opinions and proves their commitment to valuing the thoughts of their clients. With a satisfaction survey that focuses on a specific survey sample, companies can stay up-to-date with their target market and be proactive when customer complaints are received.

Find Opportunities in Customer Complaints with SurveyTool’s Online Surveys

SurveyTool offers free online surveys for businesses wanting to track customer complaints . There are plenty of resources that make it easy and quick for a company to launch a survey campaign:

• Customer services survey templates that are customizable and can incorporate a company’s brand.
• Automated launching of surveys, so that businesses can schedule regular customer satisfaction surveys, keeping the process simple and effective and gathering up-to-date information regularly.
• Built in database of respondents, so that companies needing information quickly can specify a survey sample and get prompt responses straight from their target audience.
• Utilization of existing contact lists, so businesses can send out links to online surveys to customers using previously gathered email addresses.
• Easy embedding of an online survey to websites, allowing companies to host satisfaction surveys for their clients directly on their own sites.

If you’re interested in discovering the rewards of providing excellent customer service, check out SurveyTool’s online surveys and treat customer complaints as business improvement opportunities!