To determine customer satisfaction, various factors must be surveyed, analysed and evaluated using a customer satisfaction questionnaire. As already described in the general section on customer satisfaction, the level of customer satisfaction depends on a range of requirements and the extent to which they are met. In principle, the same checklist applies to a customer satisfaction questionnaire as to customer surveys in general.
In short, a customer satisfaction questionnaire is naturally aimed at your customers. It should begin with a friendly invitation to take part in the survey, offer plenty of variety and be as engaging as possible. Use your own corporate design, keep it short and concise, provide added value, engage customers with your questionnaire and consider including a prize draw for participants.
Your questionnaire should be aligned with the objectives of your customer satisfaction measurement. You should also consider the analysis at the planning stage, as the type of questions you ask and, in particular, the wording of questions in the questionnaire affect the answers and therefore the survey results.
Table of Contents
Measure customer satisfaction with surveys
Customer surveys are a very important tool for measuring customer satisfaction. They allow you to identify customer needs, structure and evaluate requirements, uncover customer wishes and assess how well they are being met. This enables you to make specific decisions and derive measures that have a positive impact on customer satisfaction. With the right survey tool, you can measure customer satisfaction regularly with little effort, at low cost and with a high degree of efficiency.
Feel free to use our questionnaire templates for measuring customer satisfaction. You can copy the templates to your account with just one click and adapt them to suit your organisation.
Measure customer satisfaction instead of guessing
Many of our partners believed they knew how to delight their customers. It seems logical: customers want to pay as little as possible and receive as much as possible. But it is not always that simple. Before you “optimise” in the wrong places and potentially make the status quo worse, ask your customers.
One study shows how important it is to set the right priorities. Your customers generally place great value on the service you provide. Bear in mind that customer opinions can vary enormously, which makes it particularly worthwhile to ask customers about their satisfaction with your service. The following example shows just how close the results can be:
Customer satisfaction & consistency
A McKinsey study
Customers find out about your products through relevant forums, blogs, your website, television and print advertisements, recommendations, your Facebook page and more.
You do not sell your products solely through a traditional local shop either, but through many different channels. Studies have confirmed that a snapshot of customer satisfaction at one of these points, or even at a single interaction point, is less meaningful than cyclical measurements and regular customer surveys across all touchpoints with the aim of achieving consistency. McKinsey also explores consistency as a key driver of customer satisfaction. It states that companies which communicate effectively and convincingly with consumers at every touchpoint can increase customer satisfaction by 20 per cent and revenue by up to 15 per cent, while reducing customer service costs by up to 20 per cent. These are the findings of McKinsey’s current Customer Experience Survey in the USA. To achieve these or better customer satisfaction results, consistency is required in three areas:
- Consistency across all touchpoints – from the online offering and quotation through to the invoice. Organisations that do not pursue high customer satisfaction throughout the customer journey will lose out.
- Emotional consistency – positive emotions and a sense of trust have the greatest influence on customer satisfaction. At the same time, companies that score highly for a “consistent presence” generally enjoy 30% greater trust.
- Consistency in communication – keeping promises is no longer enough. Support your services with consistent communication that makes customers aware that promises are being kept and explains how they have been kept.
4 golden rules for a customer survey
The 5 biggest mistakes when creating a customer satisfaction questionnaire
Sample customer satisfaction questionnaire
An example of a questionnaire for measuring customer satisfaction with support:
Dear Mr Smith,
Your opinion matters to us!
We would like to invite you to help shape the redesign of our customer support. We want to take action based on your requirements and feedback.
As a small thank you, you can enter our prize draw with no obligation. Every [second] participant will receive [example: a voucher for their next purchase from us!]
You can complete the questionnaire in just a few minutes.
Many thanks
Ms Smith
info@musterfirma.de
The questionnaire is anonymous. Data is collected, processed and secured in accordance with the GDPR and the German Federal Data Protection Act.
More information about data protection »
Have you had any contact with our customer support team by email or telephone in the last 30 days?
- Yes
- No
Tip: In an online customer satisfaction questionnaire, customers who answer “No” could be taken directly to the end of the questionnaire so that they do not have to answer questions that are irrelevant to them.
Please allocate a maximum of 10 points across the following options.
Note: The more important an option is to you, the more points you should give it.
- Availability of the customer service hotline
- Response time for support emails
- Friendliness of support staff
- Professional expertise of staff
Tip: In an online customer satisfaction questionnaire, you can also use a ranking question that allows respondents to arrange items by importance. Ranking questions are interactive and customers generally enjoy answering them.
What is missing from our support, and what bothers you most?
Text field
Tip: You could also ask what the customer likes most. The choice is yours. Starting with the negative question may produce more critical responses – and critical feedback is more useful to you than praise.
Question 1: I find the response time for my emails to be
- Very fast
- Fast
- Average
- Long
- Too long
Question 2: The availability of the support hotline by telephone is
- Very good
- Good
- Average
- Poor
- Very poor
Question 3: The support staff are
- Very friendly
- Friendly
- Not very friendly
- Unfriendly
Question 4: The support staff are
- Very knowledgeable
- Knowledgeable
- Not very knowledgeable
- Not knowledgeable
Do you have any comments, criticisms or suggestions for improvement?
Text field
What do you like most about our support?
Text field
Tip: We recommend placing the question “What do you like most…” at the end so that the customer finishes on a positive note.
Thank you for taking part!
This questionnaire will close on [date].
Are you interested in the results?
If you are interested in the results and the measures we are planning, you are welcome to leave your email address here:
Text field
Save the best for last
Ask questions, base your decisions on evidence and measure customer satisfaction. The reason for dissatisfied customers is not always as obvious as it is in the following example:
