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Creating Customer Loyalty with Surveys
It’s a standard rule of thumb in marketing. It costs 10 times less to keep the customers you have than to generate new ones. That means one of the best uses of your marketing dollars is maintaining customer loyalty. One of the easiest ways to do that is to use customer surveys.

What makes customer surveys so effective?

Protecting Customer Relationships
Let’s look at an example. A regional grocery store chain was experiencing increased competition from a large, national chain and wanted to protect its most valuable customer relationships. The chain sent two personalized surveys to its top 400 customers: one in the fall and one in the spring. The first survey included six personalized questions and a letter addressed to the shopper, signed by the store manager of the location they frequented most. In the second survey, they designed the questions to see how well the chain had done addressing issues raised in the fi rst survey. Recipients also received a personalized cover letter from the store manager. The surveys received a 52% response rate. While specific data on customer retention was not provided, a research study conducted by Rice University and published in Harvard Business Review found that, over the course of a year, customers who received similar customer surveys were twice as likely to continue their relationship with the company than those who did not.

Different Ways to Survey
How often should you survey? Some marketers use customer surveys only on an as-needed basis. Their goal might be to understand different customer behaviors, such as a drop in sales or a shift in purchasing patterns, or to get to know their customers better in order to drive 1:1 personalization programs. Alternatively, they might have an ongoing commitment to customer surveys, such as sending regular post-sale follow-ups to monitor customer satisfaction.

Regardless of the approach that works best for you, customer surveys are an extremely valuable tool in maintaining the loyalty of those customers who help your bottom line the most.

They make customers feel valued. Customers tend to stick with companies that notice and value their business.
They provide an opportunity to learn about customer habits and purchasing patterns. Surveys give you the opportunity to gather relevant customer data for creating more targeted, relevant offers.
If there is a problem with the customer relationship, they open the door to correct it. Not only that, but the fact that you took action on a customer’s request reinforces the sense that you value them.


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