Your customers expect a perfect experience with your brand or company. This means that customer experience at every touch point with your organization (offer, sale, delivery, service) must be at the highest level.
Researches show that as many as 73% of customers are willing to pay more for a better experience. At the same time, only 43% of customers are satisfied with the way they are served today and with their experience with companies and brands.* There is still a lot to do, and there is a lot to fight for.
* A survey conducted in the USA by PwC, Future of Customer Experience Survey 2017/18.
There are many ways to measure customer experience and satisfaction on the market. We have gathered the most popular for you. We present the 25 top questions about experience and customer satisfaction.
1. How would you feel about recommending us to friends or family?
1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5
The NPS (Net Promoter Score) methodology and questions have recently become very popular. This is not a typical question about customer satisfaction. NPS question allows you to measure customer loyalty to your company or brand. The collected answers are mapped into three groups of promoters (5), neutral (4), and detectors (1 – 2 – 3). Based on the collected responses, the score is calculated with the formula NPS = % Promoters – % Detectors.
You can read more about NPS in the article The One Number You Need to Grow, HBR 2003.
2. What can we do better?
…
A must-use question if you conduct an NPS survey. The score alone is not enough. Try to learn what went wrong and what you should improve or do differently. This is a good starting point for further actions.
3. What are we doing really well?
…
Solving problems is extremely important, but it is equally important to know why your customers give you good rates. Find out what are you doing really well and what your customers like about your company. Thanks to this you will be able to develop and improve your strengths. This is also valuable knowledge for your marketing and PR teams. Thanks to this you will be able to show your achievements or strengths.
4. How much effort did you personally have to put forth to handle your request?
Please answer on a scale from 1 (very little effort) to 5 (very high-level effort).
1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5
The CES (Customer Effort Score) is another methodology for testing customer experience. The creators of the methodology assumed that customers do not expect that someone will try to impress them, but that they will be professionally served. Based on the collected responses, the CES score is calculated = total sum of points from all surveys / number of responses
You can read more about CES in the article Stop Trying to Delight Your Customers, HBR 2010.
5. How did this effort compare to your expectations?
…
The received score is always worth deepening. Thanks to this you will gain additional knowledge about what “eats” your customers and you will be able to plan corrective actions.
6. To what extent do you agree with the following statement?
[Company] made it easy to handle my issue.
1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5
Answering the same question over and over again may be boring, so it is good to change something. This is the CES (Customer Effort Score) question, but it is asked in a different way.
7. Overall, how easy was it to get the help you wanted today?
Easy
Neither
Difficult
Another modification of the CES question. In this version, the rating scale has been simplified to only three answer choices. Thanks to this the answer to the question is very simple and fast. Here we also have a different approach to calculate the score. Net Easy Score or NES = % Easy – % Difficult.
8. Overall, how satisfied or dissatisfied are you with our company?
1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5
The question about customer satisfaction is easy to implement and analyze. Most often this kind of question is built with the five-point Likert scale, sometimes also with a seven-point scale.
9. Overall, how satisfied are you with the customer service experience that you received from us?
1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5
A question about customer satisfaction ideal for support and helpdesk departments. You should ask this type of question right after the customer’s contact with your service department. This way, the customer will be able to refer to his / her experience.
10. How would you rate the quality of your most recent service interaction?
1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5
Another version of the question about the customer experience with the service or helpdesk department.
11. How easy is our website to navigate?
Do you run an e-shop or sell online services? You need to take care of your users. Check if the navigation is clear and all important information easy to find.
12. How did we do today?
Good, I’m happy
Bad, I’m not happy
Sometimes the most simple question is the best one. You can replace descriptive answer options with icons. It will make the answers more spontaneous, and it is what really matters. To measure the real feelings and emotions of the customer.
13. Did we answer your question today?
Yes, I’m satisfied
No, I’m not happy
Another variant of the question “How did we do today?”, adapted to the specifics of customer service departments.
14. Did we meet your expectations?
Exceeded expectations
Met expectations
Did not meet expectations
A similar approach as in the case of the CES question. You ask whether the customer’s expectations have been met.
15. How did [Agent’s Name] do today?
Make the question more personal. Ask about customer experience with a specific consultant. It is good to build a bonus system for your service department based on the obtained scores. This way, your team will be better motivated for better customer service.
16. Were you able to find the information you were looking for on our website?
Yes
No
Your customers visit your website for a specific purpose. They are looking for specific information, products, or services. If they do not find them, they may not come back. Unfortunately, most customers will not tell you about their problems but will go to the competition. This simple question can help you identify the problem and if you solve it efficiently, perhaps keep the customer.
17. How responsive have we been to your questions or concerns about our products?
1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5
Many factors affect customer satisfaction. However, most often it is at the moment of customer’s contact with your company that his experience is built. Find out if you were able to efficiently serve the customer and answer his questions.
18. How likely are you to buy again from us?
1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5
Satisfied customers will come back to you to make a purchase again. Unhappy people will look for an alternative offer. Research shows that 82% of dissatisfied customers are leaving due to a poor experience.
19. Is there anything that almost prevented you from using our product or service?
…
It is said that a loyal customer is worth its weight in gold. It takes time to build customer loyalty, unfortunately, you can lose it quickly. Take care of every detail that makes your customers return to you.
20. What should we do to WOW you?
…
The dream of many business owners and marketing managers is to achieve the WOW effect. Who would not want his brand or products to be loved by customers? Remember, take care of the basics first. Only then you can think about how to amaze a customer. There will be no use of a welcome drink if the hotel rooms are not clean and the registration process is in working.
21. How would you rate your overall experience with [Facility]?
1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5
A question about the total customer experience related to your facility. It is worth starting from this and then asking for details.
22. How easy was it to schedule an appointment with our [Facility]?
1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5
In the case of health clinics and medical facilities, one of the key elements is the possibility of easy contact and making an appointment with a doctor. Registration is often the first point of contact of the patient with your facility, so it is worth doing it well.
23. How was your stay at [Hotel]?
1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5
General satisfaction question from the stay in the hotel.
24. Please rate your experience at [Hotel] on the following:
Overall service received
Speed of check-in process
Overall cleanliness of guest room
Overall dining experience at breakfast
Overall room service experience
Excellent
Very Good
Good
Fair
Poor
Not Available
The hotel guest experience consists of many factors, such as the efficiency of the registration process, the cleanliness of the hotel and rooms, breakfast, or service. It is good to build a survey so that you can immediately gain knowledge of which processes work and which need to be fixed. Just try not to overdo it with the number of questions. Nobody likes long surveys.
25. During your stay did you experience any problems?
…
Was the guest’s stay pleasant or maybe there were problems or unexpected events?
Yes, there were to be 25 questions. A small gift at the end, and two additional questions. Are you looking for customer insights inspirations. Check our 25 most popular employee engagement questions.
26. How helpful is this article?
1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5
Useful question if your application or service has an online help system or if you run an online blog.
27. How did you like this blog?
You run a blog. This question will help you measure the satisfaction of your readers.
15 Best Practices for Asking About Customer Experience
1. Prioritize Open-Ended Questions
Open-ended questions are a gateway to understanding the nuances of customer experience. They invite customers to share their stories and provide valuable insights that closed questions might miss. By asking your customers to elaborate on their customer journey, you can uncover specific customer pain points and customer expectations that quantitative data may not reveal. These responses are rich in detail, offering a deeper dive into the customer’s perspective and can significantly impact how you improve customer service.
2. Keep Questions Neutral
Neutral questions ensure that the customer feedback survey is unbiased and that the data collected reflects genuine customer sentiment. This approach helps in accurately measuring customer satisfaction and customer effort score without leading the respondent towards a particular answer. By maintaining neutrality, you respect the customer’s experience and encourage honesty, which is extremely important for customer experience improvements.
3. Use Simple and Clear Language
To gather customer feedback effectively, it’s essential to use language that is easily understandable, avoiding industry jargon that might confuse the target audience. Clear language ensures that customers can provide feedback without misinterpretation, which is crucial for service quality assessment and customer experience surveys. Simple language helps in collecting customer feedback efficiently, leading to more accurate customer data.
4. Ask One Question at a Time
Asking one question at a time helps to keep customers focused and ensures that each query is answered thoughtfully. This practice avoids overwhelming the respondent, which can often lead to poor customer service experiences during the survey process. It also ensures that each aspect of the customer service experience is explored thoroughly, which is vital for customer experience survey accuracy.
5. Ensure Questions Are Relevant to the Customer
Relevance is key in designing customer survey questions. When customers see that the questions relate directly to their experiences, they are more likely to engage and provide meaningful feedback. Relevant questions can lead to discovering how much effort customers feel they are exerting and can influence lifetime customer value by addressing issues that matter most to them.
6. Avoid Leading or Loaded Questions
Leading or loaded questions can skew customer feedback and compromise the integrity of your customer satisfaction score. It’s important to frame questions that allow customers to provide an honest appraisal of their customer service experience without feeling swayed to respond positively or negatively. This ensures that the feedback is genuine and can be used to make informed customer experience improvements.
7. Follow a Logical Sequence
A logical sequence in customer experience survey questions helps customers to follow the flow of the survey without confusion. It mirrors the customer journey, making it easier for respondents to recall their experiences and provide accurate feedback. This structured approach can enhance the customer experience of the survey itself, making it more likely that customers will complete it.
8. Be Mindful of the Customer’s Time
Time is of the essence, and customers appreciate when businesses respect this. Keeping surveys concise and to the point shows that you value the customer’s time, which can positively affect their willingness to participate and their overall service experience. Time-efficient surveys tend to have higher completion rates, which is beneficial for businesses looking to improve customer experience.
9. Include Rating Scales for Quantitative Feedback
Rating scales provide a quantifiable measure of customer satisfaction, customer effort, and service quality. They allow customers to express the degree of their satisfaction quickly and can be a key metric in assessing customer loyalty. Including a Likert scale for questions can help in benchmarking and tracking customer experience improvements over time.
10. Offer Anonymity When Appropriate
Anonymity can be a powerful tool in encouraging candid responses, especially when dealing with sensitive topics. It reassures customers that their feedback is valued without any repercussions, which can lead to more honest and critical insights. This can be particularly effective in identifying customer pain points and areas where customer expectations are not being met.
11. Tailor Questions to the Customer Journey Stage
Understanding where a customer is in their customer lifecycle can help tailor questions that are most relevant to their experiences. Segment customers based on their journey stage to ask targeted questions that yield more specific and actionable feedback. This customization can lead to a superior customer experience as it shows that a company is actively listening and adapting to their customers’ needs.
12. Use a Mix of Question Types
A mix of open-ended and closed-ended questions can provide a balanced view of the customer experience. While open-ended questions explore the qualitative aspects, closed-ended questions offer quantitative data that can be easily measured and compared. This combination can provide a comprehensive understanding of both the customer sentiment and the customer satisfaction score.
13. Regularly Update and Refresh Questions
The market and customer expectations are always evolving, and so should your survey questions. Regular updates to your customer feedback survey ensure that you’re capturing the most relevant information and staying ahead of any shifts in customer perception or service quality. This practice also prevents survey fatigue and keeps questions aligned with current product or service offerings.
14. Allow for Additional Comments
Providing a section for additional comments in customer surveys can reveal unexpected insights that structured questions might miss. It gives customers the freedom to share their thoughts in their own words, which can be invaluable in understanding the customer’s mind and enhancing the customer service experience.
15. Test and Refine Questions Regularly
Testing and refining survey questions is crucial for maintaining the effectiveness of your customer experience surveys. It’s a process that helps in fine-tuning the way you ask your customers for feedback, ensuring that the questions remain relevant and that the survey continues to meet its objectives. Regular testing can lead to better customer data quality and help in making informed decisions to improve customer experience.