How Businesses Can Incentivize Customers to Actually Take Surveys

Surveys are an excellent resource for effective customer feedback, and it's never been easier for businesses to share them with customers. It is, however, pretty difficult to get customers to respond to surveys. Just how difficult?

Typically, a response rate of 50% is considered excellent. Sadly, the typical response rate falls as low as 5%. The lower this percentage goes, the less likely it is that the results reflect the diversity of the business's customer base. Clearly, there is some difficulty in convincing customers to submit a survey.

Just think of how difficult it can be to convince customers to fill out a qualification survey first. For example, you may want to send different surveys based on whether the customer was happy. This is valuable information, but it adds yet another task for customers to put off.

A Challenge or an Opportunity?

By now, businesses have largely accepted the fact that survey responses are generally low. Some are even giving up on surveys altogether. This may sound challenging for market research firms, but it's actually a tremendous opportunity.

What if your firm could convince the majority - or even all - of a client's customers to respond to surveys? Your firm would instantly set itself apart from the competition in the best possible way. You could grow their clientele while also charging higher prices for better results.

Convincing Customers to Complete Surveys: What's in it for Them?

Generally, customers ignore surveys because, as far as they're concerned, there's no reason they shouldn't. Completing a survey takes time, and they don't typically see any value in filling out and submitting a form. In other words, they don't see anything in it for them.

Many businesses - including well-known brands - have offered a chance to win prizes in exchange for filling out a customer survey. Yet even in the midst of this, consumers are still becoming wary of surveys. And, who could blame them? The odds of actually winning the prize are so astronomical that no one really expects it to happen.

But what if companies can incentivize customers to complete surveys? What if customers could always expect those rewards? This might sound expensive, but it doesn't have to be. All it takes is a little creativity to make customers happier, gather valuable information, and still save money.

Strategies to (Affordably) Incentivize Customers

Imagine gaining valuable feedback and repeat customers simultaneously. This is why many businesses now offer promo codes to customers who complete surveys. Promo codes can provide discounts by percentages or dollar amounts. Even better, it's something that customers are guaranteed to receive. So if they wanted to add just one more item to their cart but decided it was too much, this might help change their mind.

Some businesses have also taken advantage of the latest cryptocurrency phase by offering small amounts of nano (an eco-friendly cryptocurrency that can send infinitely small values with no fees) in exchange for survey responses. The cost to businesses is extremely low, but customers are incentivized by a low-cost reward that can explode in value. The recent news surrounding the soaring values of some cryptocurrencies makes this strategy more lucrative.

If your business offers a rewards program , offer a few extra points for completing surveys. In fact, make it a defining attribute of the customer experience; remind social media followers that they can earn a few free extra points just by filling out surveys. This strategy also comes at a low cost to the business, helps promote future purchases, and incentivizes customers to complete surveys.

Distinguishing your Brand in the Attention Economy

There are many sources of information - especially on the Internet - that demand attention. As a result, attention spans are shrinking. In fact, studies have proven that it's having a physical impact on our brains. If you've been around long enough, just consider this for yourself: how quickly do you forget headline news now compared to the days before you were saturated with so much information?

This presents a new challenge for brands. We are all competing for more attention at a time when attention spans are shrinking. How can you do this? By distinguishing your brand with something that customers actually feel they benefit from.

When implemented correctly, rewards programs do build more loyal customers while remaining affordable. When these rewards are coupled with customer feedback surveys, businesses have a unique opportunity to hit two birds with one stone: build a more loyal audience through the process of collecting valuable data.

Get in touch with us to learn how to engage your audience with your own personalized rewards campaign.