Many marketers use surveys to understand customers and listen to the voice of the market. However, the true value of surveys goes beyond simply collecting data; it lies in making wise business decisions based on the collected information. If the answers obtained from a survey do not lead to actual actions, their meaning fades, no matter how many responses are received. Therefore, the first step to a successful survey begins not just with "what I want to know," but by clearly defining "what problems will this information solve, and what opportunities will it help capture?"
To achieve this, it's crucial to distinguish between survey goals and specific survey objectives and set them clearly.
- Survey Goal: This refers to the big picture you ultimately want to achieve through the survey, the overall direction. It's usually linked to solving business problems or formulating strategies.
- Survey Objectives: These are the specific items or steps you need to find out to achieve the survey goal. Multiple specific objectives can exist under one goal.
For example, if the business problem is an increase in customer churn over the last three months, you could set goals and objectives as follows:
- Bad Goal Example: "Learn more about customers." This goal is too broad and vague, failing to provide a specific direction on what information to collect or how to use it.
- Good Goal Example: "Identify the main reasons for the increase in customer churn in the last three months to improve customer retention strategies." This goes beyond mere cause identification and includes a clear action-oriented point: 'improvement.'
Good Objective Examples:
- "Identify the top 3 dissatisfaction factors among customers who churned in the last three months."
- "Identify our product/service's main weaknesses compared to competitors X and Y."
- "Analyze the differences in service usage patterns between churned customers and retained customers."
When clear goals and objectives are set, it naturally determines what questions to ask and which responses will be useful information. Conversely, if goals are unclear, questions become scattered, and you end up with a pile of low-value data.
Furthermore, it's advisable to set survey goals and objectives according to the SMART principles. The SMART principles make goals more specific and actionable.
- Specific: Is the goal clear and specific?
- Measurable: Can you measure whether the goal has been achieved?
- Achievable: Is the goal realistically achievable?
- Relevant: Is it relevant to business goals and the current situation?
- Time-bound: Is there a deadline for achieving the goal?
SMART Principle Application Example: "(Specific) For the key customer segment (top 20% by average monthly purchase amount) that churned in the last quarter, (Measurable) through an online survey on our service's price competitiveness, feature variety, and customer support satisfaction compared to competitors, (Achievable) identify the main reasons for churn (Relevant) by (Time-bound) the 15th of next month."
Finally, when setting survey goals, it's important to discuss and agree with all relevant stakeholders (e.g., sales team, product team, customer service team). Converging opinions on how each department will use the survey results and what information is needed will make the survey goals clearer, and consequently, increase the likelihood that the survey results will lead to actual business actions. Many marketers, when setting survey goals, focus only on 'what they want to know' and often overlook 'what our team or company will do with that information.' To bridge this gap, it's essential to consider everything from the survey planning stage to the final decision-making and execution plan.