Contrary to what you might see on business graphs, the sales process doesn’t end with the customer purchasing a good. After the sale is closed, businesses must perform a follow-up and determine what the customer thinks about the product or service. However, many companies still fail to conduct proper follow-up on their customers, which might mean they are missing out on a lot of benefits.
The benefits of conducting follow-up
Software surveys and eCommerce customer surveys do what other business tools cannot, which is to get into customers’ minds and understand their real thoughts. With surveys to follow up on the sale, you can reap the following benefits:
- Increases the chances of a customer doing business with you again
- Encourages existing customers to refer your business to others
- Gains valuable feedback that can help you improve
- Helps uncover customer points-of-view that you might not have considered before
- Tracks changes in feedback which can reveal points for improvement
- Establishes a mode of communication between you and the customer
- Makes customers feel heard and valued, which increases the chances of retention
Given the advantages mentioned above, it’s no secret that customer surveys are essential tools in eCommerce marketing. If you haven’t maximized this tool yet, no worries. It’s not too late to create your own eCommerce customer survey. But first, you have to know what kind of questions to ask.
The best examples of post-purchase survey questions
To create an eCommerce customer survey that will give you valuable information about your customers, you have to know the right questions to ask. Here are some of the best examples of post-purchase survey questions you can consider:
- What do you love about our product/service?
- How can we improve our product/service?
- Would you consider buying from us again in the future? If yes/no, what is the reason?
- What was your main concern before making your purchase?
- Did you have any trouble navigating/using our website?
- How likely are you to recommend us to your friends, colleagues, family members, etc.?
- How can we make your customer experience easier next time?
- How/where did you first hear about us?
- What almost stopped you from making your purchase?
- Out of all the options you had, why did you choose us?
- Is there anything missing from this website/page?
- What product/service/feature do you want to see in the future?
- What are your hobbies? (if you this is something relevant to your market research)
- What do you think sets us apart from the competition?
- What are the most important factors you look for in a product/service?
- Do you feel that you got the value for your money? If not, why do you think so?
- How can we make the purchasing process easier for you?
- What do you dislike most about our website/product/service?
- What are three other brands that you are considering purchasing from?
- Who are you buying this product for?
Of course, questions should be worded according to the survey style that you decide to use. But in any case, these are some useful examples of what you should ask in eCommerce customer surveys.
Tips for creating an excellent eCommerce customer survey
Don’t ask too many questions. If the customer sees five pages worth of items on your survey, best believe that they will X out of there as fast as they can.
Keep questions short, clear, and simple
Don’t write a wall of text for each question. Keep questions straightforward and easy to understand so that customers will have an easier time answering them.
Make your survey mobile-friendly
The majority of Internet users use mobile while browsing. That said, ensure that your survey is formatted for mobile screens. Avoid adding too many elements that increase load times, and break the survey into multiple pages to reduce scrolling.
Choose the right response scale
There are three main types of response scales, namely dichotomous, rating, and semantic differential response. Choose the one that best fits your survey goals.
Send your surveys at the right time
You have to give the customer enough time to experience the product before sending them a survey. Depending on shipping times and the type of product they ordered, time your emails so that they’ve at least received the product before you send the survey.
Customer feedback is essential to business growth in more ways than one. But to gain more insight from a customer’s perspective, sending a post-purchase survey is the best way to find out what your customers think about your products and brand.