Now, more than ever, consumers look for brands that deliver relevant, personalized messaging. In fact, 74% of online consumers get frustrated with websites that serve up irrelevant content—like offers, ads, and promotions—that has nothing to do with their interests. However, businesses struggle to understand what personalization can and should look like.
Below we explore how two types of experience surveys help brands boost customer engagement by personalizing their communications.
The Two Types of Experience Surveys
Brand messaging gets hyper-relevant when experience surveys are put to good use. It’s a two-pronged approach:
- You send surveys immediately after a customer interaction.
- You send surveys on an ongoing basis, usually at specific milestones.
We’ll start with #1, which is better known as transactional surveying.
Transactional Surveys
Any time a customer interacts with your company, whether they talk to support or place an order online, it’s an opportunity to measure the quality of that experience. These timely, contextual asks are known as transactional surveys, and they help companies gauge how well they’re performing across various channels.
To simplify the feedback process, many companies combine the power of email, survey, and CRM to trigger surveys automatically after customer interactions occur. For example, if a customer support agent resolves an email case, that often triggers a follow-up email to the customer that asks them for feedback on their support experience. The customer satisfaction survey might ask them to rate the quality of the help they received and share any additional thoughts.
Why send transactional surveys?
Because the interaction is still fresh in the customer’s mind, they’re more likely to respond to the survey with thoughtful feedback the company can act on. Think about it: Are you more likely to give valuable feedback on an experience you just had or one that happened weeks ago? Probably one you just had, for a couple reasons:
- It’s easier to give feedback right after an interaction. If you just talked to support, you’re probably in front of your computer or on your phone. If you get a survey right after, over the same channel (email, live chat, social, etc.), then you don’t have to expend much effort. You’re already there.
- You care more about an experience that just happened. It’s top of mind, so you’re more likely to express your real thoughts. Plus, transactional surveys actually equip companies to act on that feedback more efficiently too. If something went wrong, then the company still has time to make things right.
Transactional surveys help companies capitalize on recent interactions and deliver a very personalized, relevant experience, which creates goodwill with customers. Rapt Media found that 63% of consumers think more positively of a brand if it gives them content they see as valuable, interesting, or relevant.
Personalization comes in many different forms, but this use case provides value both for the customer and the company. Win-win.
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Next, let’s look at #2, which is better known as pulse surveying.
Pulse Surveys
Along with those contextual, timely surveys, it’s smart to send more general experience surveys throughout the year. Many companies use pulse surveys to periodically ask customers for feedback on the same topics, like product satisfaction and overall happiness. By asking repeat questions at specific milestones, companies collect data that reveals trends.
As with transactional surveys, you can often leverage your email service provider and/or CRM to simplify the process. For example, many companies send Net Promoter Score surveys to their customers when they reach milestones, like 3 months or a year into the relationship. By asking their customers, “How likely are you to recommend us?” at these key moments, they can monitor the health of customer relationships over time.
Why send pulse surveys?
Because they’re sent to the same customers repeatedly, pulse surveys also help companies spot trends and issues impacting their business. For example, if a company’s overall Net Promoter Score drops suddenly after a product release, that probably means there are some big issues with the release that are damaging customer happiness.
Of course, Net Promoter Score isn’t the only question you can ask consistently. You can use pulse surveys to collect info about your customers’ changing preferences and stay up to date on their needs. That leads to more personalized customer experiences, as well as more relevant products, services, and marketing messaging.
You can expect your bottom line to benefit from these activities too. Forrester data indicates that 77% of consumers have chosen, recommended, or paid more for a brand that provides a personalized service or experience.
Wrap-Up
The bottom line: Modern customers crave personalized experiences with the brands they buy from, and that starts with personalized communication. When and how you ask for feedback is just as important as what you’re asking.
Pulse and transactional experience surveys ask the right questions at the right moments, so you can capture feedback that actually makes a difference. With that knowledge in hand, you can refine your marketing messaging, improve customer communications, and build healthier relationships. So give your customers a voice.
