Many MSPs and IT support teams currently assess customer satisfaction via long format surveys.
As customers become more and more time-poor, these surveys are getting increasingly low response rates.
In fact, in many cases long surveys are an added irritant after an IT failure or issue. This means customers are not only trying to catch up on work because their system or computer was down, but are then asked to give up even more of their time to fill in a multi-question survey like the below:
You’d have to be really motivated to want to fill that in! This method of obtaining CSAT data is pretty disruptive and intrusive – not ideal after a service failure.
As a result, when customers do bother to fill the survey in, they are mostly made up of angry people which skews the survey results. The picture an MSP gets back of its CSAT is therefore heavily discolored by negative feedback. This is called a negative feedback bias.
It doesn’t reflect reality.
Fast forward to the next quarterly business review (QBR).
As MSPs prepare their review and visit customers, they are often relying on that very skewed survey feedback. It’s during this QBR that those low response rate surveys really come home to roost, and the MSP ends up relying on anecdotal feedback to defend their position and ultimately their contract.
As customer and end-user attention-span and time diminishes, MSPs and tech support leaders need to seek feedback from users in a fresh and unobtrusive way:
Want more feedback from customers?
Make sure your MSP survey approach has these 3 critical elements:
1. Real-time
What’s needed is real-time customer feedback from the point where the IT support service is actually delivered. A survey sent once a year or once a quarter is simply not relevant or timely.
Think about the last time you took an Uber. They ask for feedback the minute you step out of the car. That way, they can be sure it’s that car, that driver, that city and that ride that you are rating.
If MSP and tech support leaders take the same approach, they can absolutely pinpoint issues as they occur.
It leaves MSPs in a poor position to defend themselves if they must rely on customers’ memories. Memories have been shown to decay rapidly; consumers frequently recall a company’s actions and communications inaccurately. By asking for feedback in real-time, the latest issue or emergency doesn’t derail the entire team’s performance.
The power of real-time corrective action to protect contracts is phenomenal. A customer who gets a call, an apology and a rectification after something has gone wrong is often a customer (and an advocate) for life.
2. Brevity
Instagram, Facebook, Amazon, Uber – all of these companies have embraced the power of brevity. By keeping their requests for input and feedback short (1-click feedback, 1-click ordering, 1-click rating) they get a lot more feedback.
Because of the ubiquity of these companies, end users are now very used to giving feedback in this way and are much happier to give it. And when something takes seconds, rather than minutes, more customers will be happy to engage in the process.
Consider that long-form surveys are actually a way of simply digitising a paper process from the early part of the 20th century! Why not use the more modern tools to keep feedback requests short and to the point? It respects users’ time.
In order to get feedback, simplicity is key. Busy end users don’t want a complex system, they want to click and get on with their day.
3. Engagement
Customer churn is a real problem for service businesses. It’s the eternal leaky bucket problem.
You win a new customer, but offset it by losing an old one. So most of these companies and teams spend a fortune training their people, coaching their teams, investing in a great website and marketing collateral to keep customers engaged and to keep them buying.
However, tech and MSP services are increasingly being rendered more and more remotely. On-site presence naturally becomes less common.
This makes it harder to deliver great, personable service in many instances, and can amplify issues where they do go wrong. If your customers are feeling alienated, a lengthy survey won’t help them feel more engaged.
If your IT support survey isn’t working, the chances are it’s because engagement with your survey is low. So why not consider implementing a system that customers actually like using? If you consider your customer feedback mechanism to be part of the customer experience, part of the service you offer, you’d probably change a few things!
What does your current survey say about your team or company? Is it modern, fun and engaging? Is it responsive, does it make the customer feel like their voice matters? Or is it flat, boring and repetitive?
In summary
Being a customer-centric team or company requires you to look hard at every element of the customer experience. the way you ask for customer feedback says a lot about your ethos, your servicing approach and your commitment to customer service.
Assess the way you’re reaching out to customers for their opinion. Is it real-time, short and engaging?
Change your MSP survey today
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