Customer Service

Customer Surveys - techniques

Typically, there are three techniques to use when carrying out a customer survey -

Interviews,
Focus Groups,
and Questionnaires.

Each is suited to particular situations and the following tables summarises when they are best used and their pros and cons.

Interviews

When individuals interviewed have considerable expertise in a subject matter.
When the targeted population is small and/or dispersed.
To get in-depth understanding of how work is conducted.
To get in-depth thoughts or opinions of key individuals.
To get/give information and gain commitment to a course of action.

Pros	Cons
Are personalised Offer flexibility Yield rich data Can be arranged quickly	Can be costly Are tedious to analyse Requires skilled interviewer

Focus Groups

To hear the voice of the customer in a group setting.
To get at the underlying attitudes and feelings.
To gather information from many people, when money and time are limited.
To use customers as a "sounding-board" for safely exploring ideas.

Pros	Cons
Ensures that all critical issues are covered. Gives "why" as well as" what" Yield rich data Can be arranged quickly	Can be costly Are tedious to analyse Requires skilled moderator

Questionnaire Surveys

To do a quantitative analysis.
To gather information that is representative of a large population, or from a specific large number of individuals.
When face-to-face meetings with respondents are difficult, impossible, or undesirable.

Pros	Cons
Are efficient Ensures standardisation of data.	Danger of "garbage in - garbage out" Response rate cannot be guaranteed Interpretation affects results