More than 8 in 10 (85%) consumers share their opinion with brands by taking surveys, making this the most popular method of giving feedback. A recent report [download page] from DISQO shares this and other insights into how and why consumers choose to make their voice heard by brands.
Encouragingly, a large majority (85%) of those polled by DISQO agree that brands do listen to consumer feedback, with though half of those (43%) only somewhat agree. Just 5% disagree.
Needless to say, consumers feel that these opinions should be listened to. Nine in 10 agree to at least some extent that brands should listen to their feedback, with 3 in 10 (29%) agreeing completely.
Surveys Are Important to Customers
Clearly, most consumers already think brands are doing a good job of taking on board key feedback. To maintain this, brands should note the different channels being used by customers to share their opinions.
A strong majority of respondents (85%) say that they share feedback via surveys. Other popular channels allowing customers to share opinions directly included posting reviews online (36%), contacting customer support (30%) and posting on social media (22%). On the last point, separate research by TELUS International found that nearly 4 in 10 Millennials provide weekly feedback to brands via social media, and that consumers across all generations say they would be more loyal to a brand that replies to them.
That being said, sharing an opinion alone is not the most common motivation for taking surveys. Though more than half (58%) of respondents use surveys for this reason, most consumers want to be rewarded for the opinion they share via a survey (72%). Other motivators are the desire to have an impact on products (44%), to have an impact on brands (40%) and to be part of a community (15%).
Nonetheless, respondents indicate just how important the availability of direct channels is to customer loyalty: consumers see voting with their wallets as a key method of feedback, given that the second-most popular method for sharing opinions is to change purchase behavior (45%).
Boomers and Gen Xers Share More
Throughout the report, feedback and the ability to share an opinion are shown to be more significant to Gen Xers and Boomers than others.
The share of respondents who believe that brands listen to consumer feedback – while high across age groups – increases steadily with age, with 88% of those aged 75+ believing this, compared to 76% of those aged 18-24.
Elsewhere, engagement with surveys and feedback peaks among GenXers/Boomers before declining again – those aged 55-74 were the most likely to agree that brands should listen to feedback, and those aged 45-64 are the most likely to take surveys to share their opinion. Unsurprisingly, sharing feedback on social media is where younger generations stand out, with 30% of 25-34-year-olds using this channel compared to just 8% of those aged 75+.
Finally, although marketers should be acting on customer feedback, other research shows that this isn’t always straightforward. A survey by UserTesting found that only around one-third of marketers believe that their firm’s approach to customer experience was proactive.
Read more in the full report here.
About the Data: Based on a March 2020 nationally representative online survey of 28,789 DISQO audience members.
