If you’re not regularly surveying your clients, you’re playing the guessing game.
Sure, they’re your “best guesses” and they are educated ones…but unless you actually ASK, you’ll always have the second best answer.
I also know that because you’re reading this post right now, you’re not interested in second best.
Client surveys give invaluable feedback on how to improve your programs and services…and also gives you a great way to evaluate how you’re actually doing.
You’ll be able to find out what your clients REALLY think and give you insight on ways to get even better.
Using surveys the right way will help you deliver a better program, connect with your clients on a deeper level, AND improve your client retention rates.
This means…. Better client results, more referrals, less time & money spent on marketing … and more cash in your pocket. WIN.
I’ve found that quarterly client surveys do the trick.
I’ve also found that quarterly anonymous surveys do even better.
I’m a systems gal….so naturally, I set up a system to make sure these quarterly surveys are automated so we never missed one.
I’m going to show YOU exactly how to set up your Quarterly Client Survey System AND even give you a survey to swipe!
Part 1: Asking the RIGHT Questions:
To get the most out of your surveys, you need to ask great questions.
It’s always good to mix up the types of questions, for example: multiple choice, yes / no questions, open-ended questions, rankings, etc.
Here Are Some Survey Tips:
- Keep it SIMPLE and DIRECT. Don’t be too wordy and get to the point quickly. The easier questions are to answer, the more likely your clients will complete your survey.
- Ask questions that will draw out their biggest challenges. An example may be something like: “What is the biggest challenge that you’re currently facing on your road to getting results.”
- Make it FUN and add an “Out-of-the-Box” question! An example of this is the survey below. “Please use ONE word to describe each of our Your Business Name Team members.” This makes the survey fun and interesting, and it’s really great insight for your team! I love to share the responses with team members also- it really makes their day!
- Ask questions about their results. Questions like “What specific results (both physical and emotional) have you seen since you’ve began working with us?” These make for AWESOME testimonial quotes.
- The Golden Question: I end each survey with this question: “Is there anything you think we can do to make our program even better?” I’ve made significant changes to our programs over the years based on this one question.
AND…if you need a little extra help coming up with some questions, feel free to SWIPE the Client Survey Questionnaire at the end of this post 🙂
Part 2: How to Get REAL Feedback from Your Clients:
Like I mentioned above, anonymous surveys tend to work the best to get REAL, genuine feedback.
If people know their names are attached to their responses, they’re most likely NOT going to give you their real thoughts…and you’ll end up with sugar-coated answers.
I personally like and use Survey Monkey.
It’s free if you have 10 questions or less, and it gives you the option to create anonymous surveys.
Remind them that their Survey is anonymous every step of the way so they feel comfortable.
I even use this script on the survey itself to remind clients:
Hi Your Business Name Family!
Thank you in advance for taking a couple of minutes to complete this short survey. We read each and every answer and use it to help make our programs and services even better.
I know you’re busy and we truly value your time and feedback! This survey is anonymous, so please be completely honest. We are constantly trying to improve and want to make Your Business Name the BEST it can possibly be for you.
Your Signature
Part 3: How to Get Your Clients to Take the Survey:
No matter HOW much your clients love you, sometimes they need an extra push to take a survey.
#1: ALWAYS give them a deadline to complete the survey. I’ve found 5 days work the best. This means, if you ask them on Monday, they need to have their survey completed by Friday.
#2: Incentivize. There are 2 ways I’d incentivize my clients to take the survey:
- I’d do a raffle for something they all want…. like $50 credit towards their next months membership, a free personal training session, a $50 gift card for a local restaurant, movie tickets, etc.
- Or, I’d make a donation for $2-$5 for each survey completed
***Bonus Tip: Since the surveys were anonymous, I simply had clients post the word “DONE” in our private Facebook Group survey thread, once they’ve completed the survey. This would enter them in to the raffle or add their name to the donations.
#3: Make it FUN! A raffle makes it fun and engaging for your clients! I like to film short 90 sec video talking about the survey and how important it is. Then I’ll talk about the awesome the raffle/donation and how it works.
Videos give a nice personal touch to the survey and makes your clients more likely to complete it. Post it in your private Facebook Group. Clients love it and leave a ton of comments!
***Bonus Tip: if you do a raffle, video yourself drawing the winning name(s) and post it in your private Facebook group.
#4: Remind them at least 3 times. Make sure to remind them in class, in your private Facebook Group, and via email throughout the week to take their survey! Don’t just ask them once and expect them to remember.
Part 4: Creating your Client Survey System
You should never be scrambling to put together a last-minute survey.
I’m a big fan of time blocking.
Set aside 1-2 hours to dedicate to creating your survey questions. (see part 1 above for how to create your questions)
Create your client survey questions for the ENTIRE year. (It’s only 4 surveys worth of questions, so don’t freak out.)
Then, load them all into one giant word doc called “2016 Client Survey System.”
On the first page of your new word doc, you’ll want to have directions on how to create the survey.
This will make it easy for you to delegate this to an admin or someone else. Here’s an example if you use Survey Monkey:
How to Create a Survey in Survey Monkey:
- Login to Survey Monkey
- Choose ‘Create Survey’ on the top right side
- You will then have the option to create a new survey, or copy an existing one
- To build a new survey from scratch, add the ‘Title’ of the survey
- Next, select “Customer Feedback” for the category
- You will then need to choose the format of the question, multiple choice, ranking, text box, etc.
- You can continue down the survey creating the type of questions and answer format that you want. Then choose save and add the next question.
- You can then ‘Preview Survey’ to make sure it looks correct
Once you’ve got your directions for how to set up your survey AND you have your questions planned out for the entire year, you’ve almost done!
Next, pick your dates that you’re going to run your client surveys for the year.
Once you’re done with that, simply pick which incentives (if any) you’re going to use for each survey.
Then, either delegate the execution of each quarterly survey to your admin, or set a reminder in your calendar to get this out to your clients.
That’s IT!
Part 5: Sample Client Survey Questions
Here are a few sample client survey questions to get you started! (The first question is “text” and the script for this can be found in part 2)
1. Overall, how are our trainers doing?
- Trainers Names down left column,
- Ranking across top row: needs improvement, just OK, average, Great, Amazing!, haven’t had that instructor yet
- Leave a comment box for elaboration “If anyone scored less than AMAZING, please give us constructive feedback how we can improve:”)
2. How is our Administrative Assistant (add name) doing?
- Variables down left column: 24-hour email response time, 24-hour phone call response time, knowledgeable and ability to answer your questions, Friendliness
- Ranking across top row: needs improvement, just OK, average, Great, Amazing
- Suggestions for improvement box:
3. Has any member of our team provided you a WOW experience or does something special that they did jump out at you? Please comment below (comment box)
4. Please use ONE word to describe each of our Team members (if you don’t know who the person is, please put n/a)
- Staff member in column (ALL staff)
- Blank comment box to the right
5. What specific results have you achieved since you began training with us (physical and mental)?
6. What’s the one thing you in your life that has changed the most since you’ve joined our program?
7. If a friend was thinking about joining and asked you about Your Business Name, what would you say?
8. Is there anything you’re still struggling with to reach your goals? If yes- please expand and let us know how we can help! We’re here for you!
9. What one thing can we do to make our program even better?
I hope this post helps you to put together an AWESOME Client Survey System in your own business.
I love comments…so feel free to leave me one or ask any questions below!
Alicia 🙂
