Telemarketing surveys: What inquiries should companies make?

Knowing what customers think is more important than many people think. In fact, commercial strategies and the success of the products offered depend on this. This is why it is important to have ways of consulting large groups of users. In this regard, the telemarketing survey module of the virtual PBX seems to be the most effective.

Telephone surveys are one of the most reliable sources of user information. However, much better than calling customers is to place them in the customer service IVR. This option is often perceived as less annoying. This is precisely what the survey modules of the virtual PBX do.

What is the telemarketing survey module like?

Telemarketing survey modules allow you to take advantage of the contact generated by the customer himself, to ask him a question. When the customer contacts the customer service, the survey is placed to know data of commercial interest, or to evaluate the quality of the service. This is much more effective than making inquiries through outbound calls.

 

In order to operate, the system asks the question by means of a voice-over, similar to what happens with the robot call. After asking the question, the module indicates to the customer the available options to give his answer. Customers use the numeric keypad to choose the most convenient answer.

The response information is stored in the system for analysis by analysts. The process is very convenient and the customer takes no more than a couple of minutes to respond. This is the biggest advantage of this add-on to the virtual PBX.

Where does the telephone survey appear in the call?

There are two forms under which this module usually operates. Firstly, there are the telephone surveys that are made right at the beginning of the call. The survey appears as an element of the IVR, when the customer is going to be routed to the appropriate department.

The second option is to make the inquiry once the telephone agent has already handled the service. In this case, the teleoperator transfers the customer to answer the survey. Subsequently, the user listens to the survey and answers it by marking the numerical options that he/she considers appropriate to his/her opinion or feeling.

Placing telemarketing surveys at the beginning or at the end of the call can have both positive and negative effects. Placing it at the beginning forces customers to generate a response, although they might answer anything because they just want to receive attention.

On the other hand, making the inquiry towards the end implies a risk that the user will hang up. But those who answer the questions might do so voluntarily, so they would make an effort. In any case, everything will depend on the person, the company’s preferences and the type of query.

The company can ask anything

Many companies are satisfied with simply asking about the quality of their customer service. In fact, the telephone survey module can be used to consult anything of interest. By understanding this, the query tool acquires other dimensions and an important utility from a marketing point of view.

In fact, surveys of commercial interest are usually divided into two types: satisfaction surveys and opinion surveys. The former are basically the typical queries that are made to rate the quality of the company’s or the teleoperator’s customer service. However, questions of this type can also be asked for more commercial purposes.

Opinion surveys tend to be a bit more open-ended. In the world of statistical studies, these are usually divided into three types: entry, comparative and follow-up surveys.  An example of an entry product might be mentioning the characteristics of a service or product and asking customers if they would like to use it.

Comparative surveys are used to verify which product or service customers like the most. This is what happens when customers are asked which of the existing products they like best. Finally, the follow-up survey allows you to explore how the customer feels about what is being offered. An example of this modality, is when you ask what they would like from a product or service: «would you like a faster data plan, cheaper, or with more minutes?»

It’s all about having a little creativity and knowing what is the specific information you want to know. However, this is a module that has no limits.

Some examples of telephone surveys

All types of surveys can be carried out using the telemarketing survey module. The important thing is to think about how to pose both the question and the options to answer with the numeric keypad. It is feasible to move away from the typical quality of service question and go on to evaluate commercial aspects.

For example, a company might ask about the quality and perception of its products. To do this, it can ask «When you think of our products, what is the rating for our brand?». From here, it is feasible to place at least five options ranging from exceptional to lousy.

The phrasing of the question is vital to get an honest response from users. In fact, you can play with this to verify what the perceptions are. For example, instead of asking about quality, you can ask something like «Would you recommend our service to your acquaintances?».

A key question to ask when following up with customers has to do with shortcomings. It is feasible to ask customers «What aspects of our product would you improve?». If you are a service company, this will let you know what needs to be improved compared to the competition.

Now, a key type of question that few companies dare to ask is about new products. This is very positive because it allows to know preferences and the feasibility of launching a new commercial proposal. In this case the question could be something like «Would you like a product that meets the following characteristics?», mentioning of course the most important ones.

Another quite interesting type of question is the one that invites the user to compare the company’s products. This type of survey is queried as follows: «Which of our products do you like the most?», or «What is your favorite service?». After formulating the question, the options to answer will carry the name of each of the products and services. In this way, it is known which is the purchase intention or which product has greater acceptance.

Telephone surveys as part of the commercial strategy

Many entrepreneurs are unaware of the scope of the telemarketing survey module. To be sure, what is most valued in the marketing field is information on consumer preferences. Social networks provide some data, but it is much better to consult customers directly.

Using the telephone survey module makes it possible to develop efficient business strategies. From this application, it is possible to know what customers need, what they like, what works and create better offers. This applies to companies that market products and also to those that offer services.

A positive aspect of telephone surveys is that they cover consumers of all ages. In fact, one of the problems with social networks is that they do not cover the longest-lived customers. Precisely in this reality lies the need to maintain communications and consultations via telephone.

The use of surveys can lead the entrepreneur to offer a product or service that can generate many sales. One of the great problems of the companies is the development of commercial strategies based on deficient information. It is believed that today’s companies plan with only 8% of their customers’ preferred information.

Neotel offers a state-of-the-art telemarketing survey module

Neotel’s telephone survey module is innovative and above all easy to configure. The system allows you to design several surveys quickly and its navigation is intuitive. You can even activate several surveys at the same time and have all the numbers as options to answer.

The data obtained can be exported from the module to Excel for review by analysts. It is also possible to create graphs from Excel. Everything is configured to provide practical results for the company’s coordinators and decision makers.

Neotel’s module allows to launch surveys automatically and also to perform them after finishing a call with the client. Undoubtedly, this is one of the most interesting modules of our call center system. It does not matter if the company is small or does not have a contact center, each plan is adjusted to the needs and investment of each client.