Can Your Survey Sell?

When is the last time your customer survey made a sale? At E.G. Insight, we think surveys are great tools – for some things.

Surveys can be effective, for example, at quickly getting input about customer satisfaction with recent transactions, measuring the impact of a marketing campaign, or assessing end-user perceptions of quality. They can also be quite useful at identifying strengths and problem areas related to customer service or recent experiences with service and support personnel.

But, when is the last time one of your salespeople made comments like these about your survey process?

“A recent interview with my customer led to the discovery of an upcoming bid opportunity. The customer suggested that my company submit a bid on a project which will amount to over $100,000. I should know soon whether we got the business.”

“My [structured feedback interview process] discussions with my customer contact opened many doors in procurement and operations, and gave me a well-rounded view of their organization. As a by-product, they are giving us promotion and partnering with us on a new technology project. We can now bid on work with them.”

“[As a result of the customer feedback interview process] we decided to manufacture a new product that will reduce the cost of operating fluorescent light. The process really helped facilitate this conversation; in fact the conversation was prompted as a result of it. This new product could have a business potential of anywhere from $500,000 to $1 million. The process acted like a catalyst.”

Let’s face it, companies don’t do customer surveys just to capture ratings and get graphs, charts, and scores in reports. Ultimately, companies want to use what they learn to help them sell more – by attracting new customers and selling more to the ones they already have.

So, if your survey isn’t doing that for you, if it’s not “making quota,” we’d like to talk with you about how E.G. Insight can help.

Eric Engwall
Managing Partner, E.G. Insight