Surveys aren’t something I can hold my hand up and say we as a company have tried on a large scale; however we do send out emails to customers as we go through the various sites to just have a look at the different communities we are supporting and which ones we can anonymously help occasionally

Id agree as to not providing an incentive other than that of the company will take the comments onboard and improve where possible as I am as I know many of you are, against those hosts that ether pay for or “doctor” reviews which essentially is what it is, although not as underhanded (that is if they are publicly available?).

And those that spend say 5 to 20 minutes to fill out a survey or questionnaire are more likely to give you their real opinion and suggestion as long as it is taken onboard, as their only incentive is that you are working to resolve whatever issue that you can and that their opinion counts! As a lot of companies these days will close the door the moment a bad comment is fielded their way.

Are you saying that a reward for customer loyalty isn't necessary when they spend time out of their day to provide their feedback to help you better your company?

The customer helping the company get better with service and customer support is the reward. They will be getting far better service afterwards and the $ they spent will go a lot further. I do give incentives to my clients when I require something from them, but I feel having the client fill out a survey that in turn will make the service, customer support, and their dollar go further is just not needed.

I did award a few of my clients becuase their surveys was very detailed and gave us a lot of information that will help us improve.

Honestly, it doesn't have to be a million dollars. Could be something small and I think that if it gives the client more than just more for their money, the client will be like look they really are trying hard to make things better and they are willing to give me something in return. For me, time is money as the more time I spend doing something has a direct effect on income, which a lot of clients feel like this as well. When you actually are taking that into consideration and reimbursing them for their time, you would probably get an even more detailed response from them.

I never said you did not have too, I am just saying you should not do it all the time. If clients want better service they will complete the survey. Sometimes, an incentive is required to get the results your looking for, but it should not be something you have to do everytime.

I agree with romes, maybe do a survey every month or so.

Thanks Cyberworldhost....

i again agree with romes, which is the point i was trying to make in a sence, its good and the incentive is the fact that they will improve the service they are getting from said company. the occasionaly prize, speical offer etc isent totaly out of the question but it can be a case of "do this, get this" every time somone answers a questionare/survey.

Yes, and the answers might be fake. Offer an incentive each time and you will set the precedent from there on that each time you ask your clients for something there is an incentive to back it up. Incentives are great, but should not be used each and every time.

My take on incentives is that you don't need them.

I was just reading an article on managing power consumption in data centers and came upon this saying that also applies to surveys and many other facets of operating any business - "you can't manage what you can't measure."

Great quote steve.

To add...
IMO those who want to & take the time to give feedback are going to do much more for you than those just doing it for a perk.

It adds the perception of value in their minds. It involves them in the process, solidifying them as business partners - and not just customers.

Great thread.

The surveys are helpful in many regards to get a feel for exactly what your customers think of you. Much like sending out a holiday card at the end of the year, or sending out an anivarsary card at their 1 year anivarsary etc.

We send out a brief survey 30 days after signup, then 90 and 180. We then send out a survey very 6 months and the response is very good. While not all positive, that's exactly what we need. We encourage our users to write any feelings directly to us, or put it on the survey so management can deal with the issues. We have a very large customer base that have been with us for 5 years or more.

Customer service is one of the main things that separates hosting companies. Knowing what your customer thinks of you, and how to improve and continue relationships with them is vital to the survival of any business.

Exactly Handsonhosting. I send out an survey once every two months to get a feel of where my company is at with service and support. About 80% of my clients respond so it is a good number, but I am hoping to increase that to 100%.