Satisfaction Survey
When an organization overtly asks you for feedback from the outset, I tend to be favorably disposed toward them. My mental shortcut is that they are “genuinely” interested in my satisfaction.
BUT…
…watch out for small mind marketing. There are ways to turn the process into a nightmare. Here are four rules of how NOT to do a questionnaire on satisfaction:
- Set expectations beyond your product’s scope (disappointment)
- Make the questionnaire too long (test of endurance)
- Give a possible prize for filling it in, but make the prize more of the same product (bias)
- Use small print to trick people into your network, i.e. small print marketing. (abuse of trust)
In this particular case, my family and I had a week’s holidays organized by my daughter’s school. It was a great week, but no particular thanks to the facility in which we stayed. The point of this article is not to criticize the establishment. The item that really got me incensed was the ever so discrete small print on the bottom of the first page of the 4-page questionnaire. Read below:
“We do not pass any information to third parties but we may place your name and address on our mailing list for news and information about our other holidays which may be of interest to you. Please tick the box if you do not wish to receive these.”
The assumption here is that we would want to receive further solicitations.
Small print marketing
So, what’s the “big idea” behind small print marketing? Nail ’em when they’re not looking! It wreaks of small mind marketing. When it is common knowledge how polluted our mailboxes already are, you would think that the marketing team at HQ would wizen up to the notion that an uninvited email in my inbox will conjure up more bad feelings … especially if the satisfaction were below standard.
Opt in marketing to develop trust
Marketers need to wake up to why the trust level of consumers is so low with regard to the marketing community. I’m all for getting customer feedback, providing you use the feedback to good effect. Proving to the customer how you will use the information is a bonus idea. What if, every time you welcome the guests, you talk about how feedback from a prior group was implemented at your establishment? The questionnaire above operates under the opt out model and, therefore, presupposes that they provide value. I vehemently disagree with their presumptuousness and think such a large organization should know better. The opt in option would be a much better solution. It speaks to the notion: I’d rather buy, than be sold to. {Click to Tweet!}
Value through a worthwhile opt-in
If you want something from someone, make it known why and, ideally, what’s in it for them. {Click to Tweet!} If your survey offers a (potential) gift, make it something that even an unhappy customer would want to have. Marketers (and the brands they represent) should look to provide such value that the customers and potential customers will want to opt in.
Do you agree? Have you any other similar examples of small mind marketing?
