When it comes down to it, so much of the retail business is about trying to read minds. To make your business thrive, you need to give customers what they want, but figuring out what they want isn’t easy. Sure, there are resources you can use like market data to see what customers seem to appreciate. At a certain point, though, there’s no better alternative than to simply ask customers directly.
A retail customer experience survey should be an ongoing tool you use to empower and grow your retail business. Our survey experts know how to design an effective, smooth customer experience survey, so allow us to fill you in with this guide and survey template.
Why a Retail Customer Experience Survey is a Must
Every business wants to keep costs low, but a customer experience survey is an investment you can’t afford to skip. In fact, there are several reasons why you need to have an ongoing customer survey campaign.
First, surveys are the only way to truly know if your customers are satisfied. Buying behaviors aren’t an indicator of satisfaction. Customers may only be buying from you because there are no other feasible options, and that leaves your business vulnerable because the moment an alternative option arises, you’ll lose a hefty slice of your revenue overnight.
Second, surveys allow you to understand what aspects of your customer experience are working and which ones aren’t. Maybe you have a large percentage of customers who are frustrated that your check-out process is too slow, so you’re in danger of losing those customers. Speeding up your check-out process alone could give you more stable revenue. You won’t know if you don’t ask.
Third, customer experience surveys are a powerful way to enhance your customer relations. Consumers want to know that you value them, respect their input, and want to give them a better experience. Asking for their opinion shows them that you’re putting in the effort. Of course, you then need to follow through by putting their opinions into action if you don’t want your survey to be in vain.
Questions to Ask: A Retail Customer Shopping Experience Survey Template
As you write your retail customer shopping experience survey, where do you begin? What questions can you ask to get the information you’re looking for? Start with this template of questions from our survey pros:
- On a scale of 1-5, how satisfied were you overall with your recent shopping experience?
- What aspects of your in-store shopping experience were positive?
- In what ways can we improve the shopping experience?
- On a scale of 1-5, how easy was it to find what you needed and make your purchase in our store?
- What feedback do you have, positive or negative, about our store’s layout or how we can make the shopping experience easier?
- How likely are you to return to our store?
- On a scale of 1-10, how likely are you to recommend our store to others?
- Is there anything that our in-store employees can do to improve your future shopping experience?
- Is there anything that our company leadership can do to improve your future shopping experience?
You don’t have to ask all these questions and you can certainly add more, but this list gives you a clear foundation to start building your survey.
Tips for an Effective Shopping Experience Survey
As we mentioned, an in store experience survey is an investment with substantial rewards. Get the best return on your investment with these expert tips for an effective survey.
Choose the Right Survey Tool
As you shop around for retail survey companies, be methodical about the survey tool you choose. This tool will affect the quality and reliability of your results. First of all, look for an open-ended survey tool. GroupSolver, for example, is an AI-driven survey tool that allows respondents to give open-ended answers, then uses its advanced AI to analyze those answers and give you concrete, quantifiable data. Open-ended questions like this allow you to get authentic, honest, and thorough opinions from your customers.
Second, be sure your survey tool is user-friendly for both the survey creator (you or your team) and the survey respondents. You don’t want to spend more time than necessary on building your survey, but more importantly, you don’t want customers to ditch the survey halfway through because it’s too cumbersome or confusing to use.
Establish Policies and Practices to Put Feedback Into Action
Asking for feedback is only the first step. If you don’t put that feedback to use with customer-guided retail experience solutions, you won’t be getting your money’s worth. Don’t ignore customer feedback if it isn’t telling you what you want to hear or if it’s bringing up problems that aren’t easy to fix. Appoint someone in your business to be responsible for monitoring surveys and pitching projects that address the issues your customers are raising.
Don’t Go Overboard
When you have a customer engaged with a survey, it’s tempting to want to pick their brain about every aspect of their experience. Your customers are busy people, though, and if your survey takes too long, they’ll leave it incomplete and you won’t get the information you need. Keep your in store customer feedback survey brief enough to be respectful of customers’ time.
Don’t Forget to Gather Demographic Data
As part of your survey, ask respondents for a few pieces of demographic data, like their age, gender identity, race, state or city of residence, income level, employment status, and/or living arrangement. This information allows you to see if there are some groups of customers you’re serving better than others. Keep in mind that these can be sensitive matters for some, though, so allow the option to opt out of any of these questions.
Developing a Simple Yet Effective Customer Experience Survey
The tips and template above can help you create a retail customer experience survey that gets the answers you need while enhancing your relationship with your customers. To jump in and get started, book a GroupSolver demo and learn how this unique survey tool can give your survey the boost it needs.
