Versta Research uses Survey Monkey for its own Versta client satisfaction work. At the end of an engagement we send clients a link and ask them for an evaluation of our work.
Why would a market research firm use such a primitive tool for its own feedback? Are we like the cobbler who can’t afford shoes for our own children?
No. The reason is that our feedback survey is exceedingly simple. We ask just two questions: What was valuable about our work? What do we need to improve? (Actually, there is a third question – we’ll leave you in suspense until we complete our first engagement with you.) We do not ask rating questions because we have no need to quantify the information, and we do not need to quantify because we do not have tens of thousands of clients. All we need to know – from each client, personally and individually — is what we should keep doing, and what we need to fix.
Versta always uses and recommends the tools that get the job done most effectively. While there are a lot of terrible do-it-yourself surveys on Survey Monkey, it can be a decent tool if you know how to use it and your needs are simple.
If you’re not sure about your needs, or would like some help with your own DIY project on Survey Monkey, give us a call and we would be happy to lend our expertise.
–Joe Hopper, Ph.D.
Tags: Online Surveys, qualitative research., satisfaction research, survey technology
Great post! We are heavy users of survey monkey as well. It’s simple, easy to use, and it works. I just wish that the interface was more visually appealing. Hopefully they’ll invest a small amount of funding to improve that.
But more importantly, I like your client feedback process. It’s something that all businesses should do. They’d be amazed at what they can do to grow their business with some small recommendations from their clients. I’m a big fan of Net Promoter Score, so if you have a chance check out the Ultimate Question by Fred Reicheld.
Thanks Mike.
Versta has done a bunch of work with Net Promoter Score (NPS) — so thanks for the reminder that it is worth several future posts. One of the best outcomes of Reicheld’s work is that he has shown people they don’t need to burden their customers with 60 questions. All it takes is a couple of smart questions.
Joe