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57% Of Shoppers Abandon Customer Feedback Surveys Because They’re Too Long

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Retailers always need to properly analyze customer feedback if they want to evolve their business to meet shopper needs. But when collecting that feedback, they better make it quick for the shopper. As many as 44% percent of shoppers have abandoned a customer feedback survey without completing it, with 57% of those citing length as the primary reason for doing so, according to a survey from Medallia.

Beyond the length of the survey, these characteristics have caused consumers to abandon customer feedback surveys:

  • Too personal/asked for sensitive information (23%);
  • No resolution (22%);
  • Too impersonal/generic (20%);
  • Unclear purpose (20%);
  • Not mobile friendly (14%); and
  • Survey fatigue (14%).

Retailers must realize that even those consumers willing to share their opinions don’t want to spend a lot of time and effort responding to long-winded surveys. Feedback requests should require minimal effort from the customer — asking just a few personalized questions and using formats such as a short survey, live dialogue or a brief feedback form on the web site. Additionally, consumers want surveys that are more engaging, visual and conversational in nature: 66% of consumers want to be able to include photos as part of the communication; 42% want to include screenshots; 28% want to include voice messages; and 19% want to include videos.

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Retailers Must Tie Feedback To Action

Consumers also want the feedback they provide to engender action. More than half (51%) of the respondents reported ignoring a customer survey because the company didn’t make enough of an effort to resolve past issues. Slightly more (52%) of consumers report that a negative experience in the past year could have been improved, if they had had the opportunity to give real-time feedback and the brand took immediate action.

“Today, experiences are won or lost in the moment they occur,” said Emma Sopadjieva, Head of Research at Medallia in a statement. “Brands need to be able to engage with consumers on the right channel, at the right time, and provide a seamless digital experience. Brands that do not, will suffer.”

In fact, 78% of shoppers expect to be able to contact a customer representative right away when they need help. Most consumers expect an immediate response to their feedback across digital channels:

  • 67% expect an immediate response from an online chat with a representative;
  • 57% from a video/voice chat;
  • 50% from an online chat with a bot; and
  • 29% when texting with businesses.

Many consumers don’t even want to wait until the transaction is complete to voice their opinion: 53% want the ability to provide immediate feedback about their interaction with a brand — and 19% actually want to give feedback while the experience is still happening.

 

Personalize Communications, Offer Help Before The Shopper Needs It

When brands request feedback, consumers would like the companies to anticipate their needs based on what they already know about them, and to deliver value in the right context before they feel the need to request help. For example, 58% of shoppers would like retailers to personalize communications such as emails and messages based on what they know about their past experiences with the brand.

Just under half (49%) of respondents would like the companies they interact with to offer to help (via chat, connected devices or messaging) before they ask for it themselves. Additionally, 66% of shoppers expect to be able to provide feedback about products and services on the channel they are currently using, while 63% expect easy transitions between channels when they engage with a business.

Medallia conducted the panel survey of 3,000 consumers from three countries — the U.S., the UK and Australia.

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