How do you refine survey questions for launch?

One of the multitude of things which had been learned in graduate school: Anything can be proven with numbers. Question posed here is: What is management, marketing customer service coalescing task team(s) looking to demonstrate ? Truths- and part- truths can be illustrated with numbers. Are JD Power, as an example, focus groups, well-compensated consultants, may well be best to placate organizational self-fulfillling prophecies. Underlying primary concern: How much change is budgeted for future purposes - or lack thereof ?

Although there is great value in the short one or two question surveys aimed at measuring NPS, I prefer surveys that are 5-10 questions long. In a healthcare setting I like to ask the survey questions in an order that follows the patient journey. From initial phone call to arriving at the clinic and registering, going into the back office, interacting with support staff, meeting with the clinician and finally discharge and any follow up. Asking for quick ratings for each of these critical steps helps identify the strengths and weaknesses of the various components of the overall patient experience. Which you don't get with only one or two questions. It's also much easier to fine tune a specific area than guessing at the whole thing.

The survey templates will vary upon the time element and sophistication of the customer base. Exceedingly simple responses elicited from customers can very easily be misrepresented by the ones who answer. Usually their issued opinion without incentive might err on the minus side, or even demonstrate derogatorily. The composite, conclusive results can be weighted or skewed by the teams given the authority. This way, management can meld the resulting summary data to most any way they find advantageous.

Always remember that your survey is part of your customer's experience. Do you enjoy completing customer service surveys? Chances are you don't. And your customers feel the same way. They're tired of endless requests to take surveys, some of which take 10 minutes or longer to complete. Avoid surveys whenever possible. There are often alternative ways to get feedback. For example, the conversations you're already having directly with customers. When a survey is absolutely necessary, keep questions to three or fewer. The easier you make the survey, the better you make the experience.