I don’t know exactly how many customer feedback surveys are sent out per year, but I do know it’s a lot. Being a consumer myself, I receive my fair share of feedback surveys. This is because most brands see value in hearing directly from their customers, which is a good thing.
Market research can provide critical insights for delivering best-in-class products, services, and experiences. It can help develop impactful sales and marketing campaigns, guide personalization efforts, and increase customer retention rates. It can strengthen relationships, foster loyalty, and show customers how much they truly matter to the brands they support. The benefits are clear and wide-ranging. That said, it’s important to note I’m saying market research can achieve these goals – but it’s not a guarantee.
With the emergence of online feedback survey tools, brands are able to quickly and easily send out feedback surveys as frequently as their hearts desire. However, this ease and convenience has its drawbacks. I often receive surveys that don’t seem very well thought out, are haphazardly pieced together, or are generally irrelevant to my experience with the brand. In these cases, soliciting customer feedback can do more harm than good. As previously noted, market research can be a powerful tool so long as it’s conducted effectively and appropriately.
As a market research professional and customer insights enthusiast, this topic matters to me. There is so much to gain from gathering feedback, but it needs to be done in the right way. Unfortunately, I see many brands hitting roadblocks and pitfalls that can be fully avoided with just a few tweaks in their approach.
Most frequently, the missing piece is an overarching and holistic Market Research Strategy. This process develops a framework for asking the right people the right questions at the right time, and ensures resulting insights are actionable and goal oriented. Without an overarching strategy, market research is like driving to a new destination without directions. You may eventually end up where you’re trying to go, but there will likely be a lot of wrong turns and unnecessary detours along the way.
So, what does a Market Research Strategy entail? I’ll start by saying it’s more than just sending out a series of surveys covering a variety of topics. Rather, it’s a coordinated effort where multiple surveys provide value on their own while also contributing pieces to a broader insights puzzle. There is crossover, interconnection, and collaboration where understandings are broadened, and insights are deepened with each new project. It considers where customers are along their journey to ensure the questions asked are timely and relevant. All of this takes careful planning, foresight, and commitment to effectively execute, but it’s well worth the effort.
As for the benefits of developing a Market Research Strategy, perhaps the biggest is simply producing actionable insights. Too often I see brands conduct feedback research only to be left with more questions than answers. This is typically because the initial goals and objectives were not clear, which is a key step of the strategy development process. Looking a bit deeper, market research strategies help avoid fragmented data sets and remove silos. They strengthen internal alignment, increase ROI, and help gain buy-in from key stakeholders. Overall, the mission is to maximize the efficiency and effectiveness of market research efforts so results are actionable, the data produces a meaningful impact, and desired outcomes are achieved.
Needless to say, I’m passionate and excited about empowering brands to get the most out of their customer feedback. That’s why we host half-day Market Research Strategy workshops. These collaborative sessions are built around the specific needs and situations of our partner brands, and step-by-step we walk them through the strategy development process. If you want to take your market research game to the next level, I’d love to chat! Feel free to reach out any time so we can discuss details. Or, for a high-level overview of the workshops we offer – click here.
Ultimately, customers want (and deserve) to have their voices heard. We want to help make that happen so you can craft and deliver best-in-class products, services, and experiences. Let’s show how much people truly matter to our brands by placing their thoughts, feelings, and opinions at the center of everything we do!
