"We innovate by starting with the customer and working backwards" Jeff Bezos.
While businesses consistently place customer experience at the forefront of their priorities, the current landscape of gathering customer feedback is fraught with inefficiencies and fragmentation. Most companies think that launching large traditional surveys every few months has met the requirements for customer input. While surveys offer speed and ease of deployment, it has become apparent that customer needs and feedback behaviors have evolved significantly over time. Customer feedback communities also known in market research circles as MROC's (Market Research Online Communities) are the future, as they allow traditional surveys to be launched, but also allow customers to see that their feedback was heard. Surveys can also be combined with deeper dive insights through private discussions, or group discussions.
Customers today desire more than just a standardized questionnaire to express their opinions; they seek meaningful engagement that assures them their feedback is genuinely heard and acted upon. Feeling valued as a customer becomes a paramount expectation.
Survey fatigue is real. With an overwhelming influx of surveys, customers' willingness to participate dwindles, leading to lower engagement levels. Consequently, this raises questions about the reliability of surveys as an effective CX management tool.
The Wall Street Journal's report on the decline in response rates to major economic surveys adds further weight to these concerns. The pandemic seemed to exacerbate this issue, resulting in even more diminished responses. The consequences of this trend go beyond the corporate world, affecting governmental data collection efforts. The challenge of capturing accurate and representative data has become increasingly difficult, potentially leading to biased outcomes in decision-making processes.
To surmount these challenges and make informed decisions, it is important to embrace innovative and customer-centric approaches. By actively engaging with customers in authentic ways, businesses can better understand their evolving preferences and expectations. This ensures that customers feel genuinely valued, fostering stronger and more enduring connections with their respective customer communities.
If you would like to truly tap into the power of your customer base, we highly recommend a customer feedback community. If you would like to find out more please contact us!
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