A well-designed customer survey can provide invaluable insights and feedback that can be used to better understand your customers and what they want. They can also help identify advantages that can catapult you over your competitors.
Designing an effective customer feedback survey is the difference between getting plenty of valuable information you can use versus a handful of questionable responses. Here are a few key elements to focus on to make sure you’re getting the best insights from your home builder survey.
Know your purpose
Know what your goal is for conducting each survey. What type of results do you want? Are you looking for ways to improve the buying process? Understand what customers think of your website? Want to know what features prospective homebuyers want in new homes? Do you want to monitor warranty service quality? Once you have a clear idea of why you want feedback, you can begin designing survey questions that will collect the right information.
Keep it short
Remember your customers aren’t as invested in these insights as you. It’s tempting to create a detailed survey filled with a lot of questions, but the longer your survey, the less likely your customers will finish; especially if they’re taking the survey on their phones. Respondents are more likely to bail midway through a long survey. In addition, response quality may suffer as well. Customers will spend less time on each answer in a long home builder survey, often defaulting to a ‘satisfactory’ answer so they can finish sooner, which is neither insightful nor helpful.
Encourage specific feedback
When creating your survey questions, use a mix of yes/no and open-ended questions. This will result in more detailed feedback that gives you a better idea of your customer’s experience. Don’t rely solely on questions that numerical ratings or yes/no questions. It’s tempting because respondents can complete a survey faster but they don’t provide enough information that can be acted upon.
Ask one question at a time
While it’s important to keep surveys as short as possible, this doesn’t mean you should double up on your questions. Packing too much information into a single question leads to confusion and inaccurate answers. Instead of asking questions like, “How did you learn about our company? Would you recommend us to a friend or family member? Why or why not?” break them out into separate questions so you can get accurate responses.
Put questions in the right order
Don’t start your survey with thought-provoking questions. Start with simple questions to warm-up respondents as they get acquainted with the survey. From there, you can begin asking questions that require more thought and then end with demographic questions and a space for additional comments. This format provides a natural entry into and an exit out of a survey, which reduces the pressure participants may feel.
Make it mobile-friendly
Chances are your customers will be responding to a survey request on their smartphone. Be sure to design a mobile-ready survey that works on any device or browser. This will improve the response rate and provide a good amount of data to review.
Act on the feedback
Show your customers you care by acting on the received feedback. This shows that you appreciate their feedback and actually care. When customers believe their opinions are valued and see changes that occur as a result of their feedback, they are more likely to meaningfully respond to future feedback requests. Once you’ve analyzed the results, create a plan of action to address concerns, improve customer experience, and reach out to respondents to address any specific issues brought to your attention.
Home builder surveys are an effective way for builders to connect with their customers. Not only do they provide valuable insights on their customers’ experience with their brand but they also give builders the opportunity to develop a relationship with their buyers and build an engaged and happier customer base.