57% of consumers who have completed a customer satisfaction survey said they did so in order to share a good experience, while half did so to improve the company, according to [download page] a survey released in February 2012 by Chadwick Martin Bailey (CMB). And although a significant proportion have more selfish motives, such as obtaining discounts (45%), entering into a raffle or sweepstakes (40%), or receiving a free gift (28%), many also complete surveys to praise a specific employee (39%) and to receive better service or products from the company (37%).
Completion Rates Low, Though
Only 27% of survey respondents who had been asked to complete a customer satisfaction survey in the past 12 months agreed to do so. Of those, the majority completed surveys somewhat frequently (3-10 times – 55%), while a greater proportion completed them frequently (11 or more times – 25%) than infrequently (1-2 times – 20%).
According to a survey released in January 2012 by Cint, money incentives (55%) would make most global consumers more inclined to carry out market research for a brand, followed by a free product (34%).
Customers Not Afraid to Express Dissatisfaction
Data from CMB’s “Opening the Door to Customer Engagement” indicates that consumers appear ready to share their frustrations with companies through satisfaction surveys: of those who had completed a survey in the past 12 months, the vast majority (82%) said they had expressed a poor rating or negative response at least once.
Overall, roughly one-third of respondents who had completed a survey did so specifically to register a complaint.
Most Companies Not Responding Well
Companies may be missing an opportunity to engage with dissatisfied customers. In fact, of customers who reported having given a poor rating or negative complaint on a customer satisfaction survey, just 35% recalled a response from the company the last time they gave a poor rating. And of those who received a response, only 39% said they were satisfied with the response (giving a rating of 8 or higher on a 10-point scale), while 35% were indifferent (a rating of 5-7) and roughly one-quarter were dissatisfied (a rating of 0-4).
About the Data: The CMB results are based on a survey conducted through the CMB Consumer Pulse. The data was collected through a 15-minute online questionnaire in October 2011, from 1,481 consumers aged 18 and older in the US through panel company Research Now.
