Best Practices in B2B Customer Service Data Collection

Transcription

1 1750 H Street NW, 2nd Floor, Washington, DC P F hanoverresearch.com Best Practices in B2B Customer Service Data Collection This report examines the best practices for gathering customer service data in the B2B space. MARKET EVALUATION SURVEYING DATA ANALYSIS BENCHMARKING LITERATURE REVIEW

2 Table of Contents Overview... 3 Section I: Supplementary Forms of Data Collection... 4 Section II: Survey Contacting... 6 Section III: Survey Incentives... 7 Section IV: Survey Length... 9 Section V: Recommendations for the Annual Customer Service Survey

3 Overview In this report, Hanover examines the ways companies can improve customer service data collection efforts. The first section proposes several alternative methods of obtaining customer feedback and data. Sections II through IV review results from two surveys of business leaders on survey best practices in the B2B space. Specific topics include survey contacting methods, incentives, and survey length. Section V concludes by with several recommendations specific to the Company s Annual Customer Service Survey. Key Findings and Recommendations Alternative methods of collecting customer data o Usage of key performance indicators (KPIs): use logistics data to determine how well customers are being served. o Twitter: use to engage customers. o Voluntary online feedback: forum to gather satisfaction data throughout the year. o Sales reps: front-line employees who can provide customer insights. o Newsletters: customer engagement tool that can also provide web analytics data on customer preferences. Survey administration best practices o /online is the preferred administration method. o Sharing survey results is a popular incentive in B2B. o B2B surveys should last around 10 minutes. o Wednesday and Thursday are the best days to contact B2B targets. Recommendations for the Annual Customer Service Survey o Eliminate demographics questions by using a customer-specific survey identifier. o Move surveys online to provide convenience and save time. o Maximize incentives by sharing survey results and/or by offering monetary incentives in advance of survey completion. o Correct for multiple contacts at the analysis stage, not the pre-survey stage. 3

4 Section I: Supplementary Forms of Data Collection Usage of Key Performance Indicators By using key performance indicators (KPIs), a B2B company can track its customer service performance without obtaining customer service data directly from customers. For instance, monitoring on-time deliveries, unit costs, and measures of product quality will provide insight into customers levels of satisfaction. 1 Historical data can be used to gain insight into what the danger zones are for certain KPIs. Twitter An increasingly popular method of customer service and outreach is the use of social media. Twitter, in particular, has been an effective tool for many companies. Twitter offers companies two advantages when trying to improve customer service. First, Twitter provides a quick and easy platform for companies to establish a dialogue with customers through tweets and direct messaging. This is advantageous even for companies that are less publicly visible, because this type of dialogue can be established as long as the customer has a Twitter account. Second, companies can listen in on what customers are saying about them by conducting routine searches of the company s name. While this is particularly useful for highly publicized B2C companies, it is less of a consideration for lower-profile B2B companies. Within the paper space, Neenah has utilized Twitter as a tool to generate sales leads and keep in contact with customers. The impetus behind Neenah s decision to use Twitter was its inability to arrange phone calls or in-person meetings with prospective customers. Given that many of its customers spend a tremendous amount of time in front of computers during business hours, Neenah decided to make virtual contact with its target customers. Several sales reps at Neenah currently use Twitter to generate leads, and Neenah has a following of almost 10,000 users as of February Neenah s Twitter Profile*: Tweets: 13,880 Following: 2,979 Followers: 9,121 *Feburary Customer service as a strategy: Parcel Force Worldwide. The Times. 4

5 Voluntary Online Feedback Another way companies can provide an opportunity for fast and efficient customer contact is by establishing a perpetual web survey. This would allow customers to submit a very short online survey or comment whenever they want. Hanover would develop and maintain the survey, and submit the data to your company on a periodic basis. This would give its customers a sense of engagement and responsiveness while simultaneously providing the Company with another data source. Sales Reps Gathering customer feedback from sales representatives is a low-cost, simple solution to assessing customer satisfaction. Sales reps maintain close contact with clients, so they are likely to know if a customer is upset. While sales reps have an incentive to filter only good information to senior management, employees might appreciate the chance to share their opinions if they know that senior management will use that information to improve customer service performance. This approach requires sales reps to buy-in to the process, so the encouragement of senior management is necessary. 2 Newsletters Newsletters are a common and effective method of customer engagement. In addition to providing useful information about your company, this would be a good way to publicize new customer service efforts, such as a Twitter account or a perpetual web survey. Furthermore, using a newsletter can supplement existing data collection methods. By using a web-based newsletter, a company can collect a variety of useful statistics about the customer base. For instance, B2B companies often collect information about the number of people receiving the newsletter, opening the newsletter, and which articles/sections are the most popular. 3 2 B2B Customer Insights that Sell: How to Create a Customer Insight Process in Your Organization. The Mezzanine Group. 3 Pergolino, Maria. Understanding the Value of your B2B Newsletter. Marketo. July 27,

6 Section II: Survey Contacting In 2007, BuyLine Research conducted a survey of 275 executives with the goal of learning how to conduct better B2B surveys. The vast majority of respondents thought that /online survey methods were the most practical means of contact. This percentage is likely even higher now, as this survey was conducted almost five years ago. 100% Figure 1: What survey method do you consider to be the most practical? 80% 71% 60% 40% 20% 0% Source: BuyLine Research 10% 9% 9% /Online Phone Direct Mail Face to Face Fax According to the study, 34 percent of respondents said that the day of the week they are asked to participate in a survey affects their likelihood of participation. Among these respondents only, the most preferable days of the week included Wednesday (23%) and Thursday (24%). Monday (9%) was the least preferable day (not including weekends). Thus, contacting targets on Wednesday or Thursday could yield a higher response rate. Figure 2: Day of the Week Preference 1% Does the day of the week you are asked to participate affect the likelihood of your participations? [If so] Which day of the week do you prefer to be asked to participate in surveys? Monday 9% No 66% Yes 34% Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 5% 18% 18% 23% 24% Sunday 3% Source: BuyLine Research 6

7 Section III: Survey Incentives While monetary incentives have obvious appeal, data from two independent surveys suggest that another way of enticing respondents is through information sharing. According to a 2009 e-rewards survey of business decision-makers (n=529), the option to receive a brief summary of the survey findings is a more popular incentive among business leaders than a monetary reward. Over 90 percent of respondents said that would encourage them to participate; only 39 percent said the same of monetary rewards or incentives. In a separate survey of executives conducted by BuyLine in 2007, receiving a copy of the survey results ranked third, ahead of 11 other choices (some of these choices are not shown in Figure 4). While a gift certificate or free book ranked ahead of result sharing, the differences are not large. 4 These studies, even though they differ on the relative appeal of information sharing, strongly indicate that sharing results with customers is a strategy worth pursuing. It is low-cost and respondents should be more forthcoming and cooperative if they know the results will be shared. It should be noted, however, that customers might find survey data about customer service less appealing than findings related to purchasing or market trends. Figure 3: What would encourage business decision-makers to participate in surveys? (select all that apply) 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% 94% Option to receive short summary of results Source: e-rewards Survey 39% 9% Reward or incentive Donation to charity Opportunity to conduct own survey using research company 6% 4 Note that the e-rewards survey calculated this as a multiple response variable (thus, the values add up to more than 100%). The proportions in the BuyLine survey add to 100%, but it is not clear whether the values represent the percentage of total mentions or the percentage of respondents. 7

8 Figure 4: What types of incentives compel you to participate in a survey? (Only Top Five Choices Shown) Gift Certificate 19% Free Book 14% Survey Results 12% Charitable Donation 9% Business Pub. Subscription 8% 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% Source: BuyLine Research 8

9 Section IV: Survey Length BuyLine s survey of executives also highlights the importance of keeping surveys as brief as possible. When asked what the biggest mistake they see made in either survey construction or delivery, 56 percent of respondents said the survey was too long. In a 2009 e-rewards survey of business decision-makers, 58% of respondents thought the maximum length of a B2B survey should be 10 minutes When asked about what constitutes a survey of a reasonable length, the average response hovered around the 10 minute-mark with some variation depending on the type of survey. Respondents gave more time to surveys administered either face-to-face or through /online. Respondents thought customer satisfaction survey should be the shortest type of survey (average time = 9.1 minutes). Survey results from the 2009 e-rewards survey of business decision-makers corroborate these findings: 58 percent of respondents said the ideal B2B survey lasts 10 minutes. Figure 5: What is the biggest mistake that you see made in survey construction and/or delivery? Too long 56% Confusing questions 17% Uninteresting topics Poor timing Insufficient incentives Unclear invitation topics Unprofessional appearance Other (please specify) 7% 6% 4% 3% 1% 6% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% Source: BuyLine Research 9

10 Figure 6: What is a reasonable amount of time for the following type of survey? (in minutes) Face to Face 13.5 Best Practices Industry Trends 10.3 Direct Mail 9 Product Development 10.1 Fax 7 Service Development 9.8 Phone 7 Customer Satisfaction Minutes Minutes Source: BuyLine Research 10

11 Section V: Recommendations for the Annual Customer Service Survey Eliminate demographic questions and replace with a survey code Using a customer-specific code will allow us to eliminate several demographic questions from the existing survey. This will reduce the number of survey questions, which will presumably make the survey experience less arduous. Not only will the respondent need to answer fewer demographic questions, but he or she will receive a shorter, targeted survey that corresponds to his or her line of business. So, for example, a sales representative would answer questions related to sales support. In addition to shortening the survey, this could increase the quality of responses, because respondents will be answering questions related to their lines of expertise. The customer information linked to the code will be merged with the actual survey data at the analysis stage. Move the survey online As the data in Section II indicate, individuals tend to prefer online surveys. Not only can respondents complete the survey at their own convenience, but the online format typically reduces the total amount of time required to complete the survey. As additional survey data suggest, shortening the duration is a plausible way to increase participation and decrease frustration. The current survey also contains a fair amount of logic, which is easier to administer online; telephone interviewers can make mistakes. Finally, randomizing responses and categories is a standard best practice in survey design. Administering the survey online would allow for more randomization of questions/responses, which could improve overall data quality. 5 Maximize incentives Data from two surveys indicate that sharing results is a popular incentive among business leaders. This incentive has the added value that it will make customers feel more engaged like partners in the process. Monetary incentives are also popular, which is no surprise. What is surprising is the effect the timing of the payment can have on response rates. While the standard timeline of disbursing these types of incentives is after the respondent completes the survey, an Ernst & Young LLP study suggests that disbursing incentives prior to 5 Dalbor, Steve. July 27, Tips for Designing the Perfect B2B Survey. Godfrey B2B Insights Blog. Perfect-B2B-Survey.aspx 11

12 survey completion might actually increase participation. 6 In 2002, the authors invited 5,000 individuals to complete a survey. They promised a $10 incentive upon completion of the survey to 4,800 of these individuals. The response rate in this group was 22 percent. To the other 200 individuals, they sent a $5 pre-paid incentive with no strings attached. The response rate was 59 percent in this group a full 37 percentage points higher than the group promised an incentive. 7 Correct for multiple contacts at the analysis stage, not the pre-survey stage Given that the annual customer service survey is a convenience sample, the data do warrant some caution. However, it is Hanover s view that any sampling issues with the data can be attenuated at the analysis stage through some combination of averaging and weighting. For instance, Hanover could average the scores of all respondents from each company. This would essentially put every company on equal footing. Hanover could also apply weights based on sales revenue if there is a concern that certain companies are being over-/under-represented based on the amount of business they actually conduct with your company. There are three reasons why this approach is preferable. First, the number of respondents from the 2011 survey was adequate but not high. Taking additional steps to lower the number of observations could introduce statistical power concerns. The response rate in 2011 was above 60 percent, which is very high. Decreasing the frequency with which your company requests participation is not likely to push this much higher. Second, the multiple contacts per company problem is not widespread. In fact, 92.5 percent (148/160) of the companies on the contact list have fewer than five contacts listed (see Figure 8 on the next page). There really are only a handful of companies that might be causing a skew. As mentioned above, a targeted approach at the analysis stage could easily remedy this problem. Finally, several contacts at a company might have differing opinions. This would be especially likely if surveying individuals with different job functions. 6 Kaplan, A. and G. White. Incentives in a Business Survey: A Study in Improving Response Rates. Joint Statistical Meetings Section on Survey Research Methods. 7 For corroborating evidence, see: Tzamourani, P. and P. Lynn The effect of monetary incentives on data quality Results from the British Social Attitudes Survey 1998 experiment. Center for Research into Elections and Social Trends, Working Paper Number 73, September

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