Launching an Agency Client Satisfaction Survey
Keeping and growing your best clients is the simplest way to improve your bottom line. Although marketing agencies understand the importance of providing quality service, many do not have a program in place to measure client satisfaction. Client feedback programs allow you to pinpoint relationship issues and opportunities to improve service delivery, identify new service opportunities, and spot trends and needs.
How to Implement a Customer Satisfaction Survey
If you’ve never engaged in a client satisfaction survey program at your agency, here are a few pointers to get started.
Commit to the process.
Asking clients for insights is one thing. Doing something with those insights is another. If clients fill out surveys and you fail to respond to their feedback, you won’t fare well.
Be honest with yourself. Are you willing to do something different based on the information you receive? The answer must be “yes.” What you do post-survey will signal to your clients whether you care about their business.
Partner with a third party to gather insights.
Clients tend to be more open and honest on surveys when they’re not speaking with your business directly. After all, the emotional attachment is removed. It’s almost impossible to get a candid answer when you’re the one asking all the questions.
Find a third-party business to help you develop and distribute your next client satisfaction survey. A third party injects objectivity and consistency into the mix.
Solicit client feedback throughout the customer management lifecycle.
Conducting surveys doesn’t have only top-of-funnel or mid-funnel value. It’s valuable at every stage of your client relationship.
Even clients you’ve worked with for a long time should receive surveys or be led through a guided conversation. Frequently, they’ll have in-depth knowledge to share that you can use to understand how to improve client satisfaction. Plus, if they’re on the fence about switching agencies, they may tell you their concerns so you can stop them before they go.
A client satisfaction survey lets you get the scoop directly from clients instead of wondering what clients really think about your business.
Questions to include in a client satisfaction survey
Survey questions are generally customized to match the type of agency services provided. However, there is usually some variation of the following five statements included in every survey.
{your agency name} shows creativity in proposed solutions
{your agency name} keeps promises on deadlines
{your agency name} doesn’t wait for me to initiate everything; they do a good job of anticipating our needs
On a scale of 0 to 10, how likely are you to recommend our {insert a service you offer this client} to a colleague?
How do you benefit from working with {your agency name}?
You will make these statement easy to answer by providing a scale (i.e., “Strongly agree” to “Strongly disagree” or “0 to 10” options. It is also good practice to leave room for additional feedback below each question, so that clients can elaborate on their answers.
Please feel free to reach out to me if you are interested in launching a client feedback program for your agency. Most agencies spend too much time chasing new business and not enough time growing their current accounts. A client feedback program is a systematic way to capture insight and grow business with your current clients.