Have you ever felt that the feedback you receive from customers and partners is positive, but it...
A template for structured customer surveys
Intro
For the impatient reader, the template is available at the bottom.
In a recent coaching session, I encountered a startup grappling with significant customer churn. A staggering 80% of their customers used the product only once before terminating their subscription. The burning question: Why?
With a fairly technical founding team lacking commercial acumen, reaching out to customers seemed like an insurmountable hurdle.
Enter "Mom's test" to the rescue.
Drawing insights from the book, we crafted a brief survey, which you can find below. The aim was to contact at least 30% of the lost customers in this manner to gather sufficient data for analysis.
The way the questions were framed helped a non-commercial person initiate conversations. Soliciting feedback openly and honestly always leads to constructive dialogue. The method you employ determines whether you extract measurable insights.
The founders were surprised that so many of their former customers were receptive to discussing the termination of their subscription. From personal experience, I know that people are always willing to help as long as they don't feel they're being sold something.
Results:
- My client had a huge smile on his face because he took the leap.
- Invaluable feedback from customers on precisely what went wrong and potential solutions to address it. Temporarily offering additional services until certain functionalities were properly developed.
- And the most valuable feedback you can receive -> Referrals to other potential customers.
My Takeaway:
- Founders often fail to engage with their (former) customers enough, and when they do, it's often not in a methodical manner that allows them to distinguish between genuine answers and compliments.
- Too often, technical founders believe the problem lies with the product and that it needs to be solved through roadmaps/features, whereas an interim step, providing the solution through services first, often leads to a better product through better customer insights.
The Structured Customer Survey Template:
Instructions for the Respondent:
- Briefly explain that their feedback is valuable and how it will be used.
- Assure them that their answers will be treated confidentially.
Section 1: Understanding Goals/Motivation
1.1 What was the initial goal, what problem were you trying to solve?
1.2 How did you use the product? Can you recall/reconstruct a typical session?
1.3 What tasks were you trying to accomplish? (Important to focus on the task and not the aspiration/result)
1.4 Where did you often get stuck or frustrated with the result, if any?
1.5 Was there anything specific that you found confusing or unusually difficult?
Section 2: Understanding Why Customers Churned
2.1 Was an extension considered after the POC, or was it always intended as a one-off problem to be solved?
2.2 Were there technical reasons for not continuing with the product, if so, what were they?
2.3 Is there specific functionality missing? !! Be careful not to fall into the feature capture mode!!!
2.4 Dare to inquire why that functionality and how they would solve it differently or now. And if they'd pay for it.
2.5 Were there crucial needs the product did not meet?
Section 3: Understanding Alternatives
3.1 Have you found an alternative solution to this problem in the meantime? If yes, which one. If not, how do you solve the problem today? Or is there no permanent problem?
3.2 If an alternative - how does that better match your needs than our solution?
Section 4: Evaluating the Value Proposition
4.1 Did the solution provide the insights (value) you expected?
4.2 In what areas did the solution fail to create insights/value?
4.3 How do you weigh the costs against the insights/value our product provided?
4.4 Is there a reason you would say - "This product isn't worth its money."? If so, what? (Also be careful not to get into sentimental answers, but to get measurable input)
Section 5: Questions for Improvement
5.1 What adjustments or modules would convince you to use the solution again?
5.2 What feedback do you have regarding user interaction and interface?
5.3 How was the guidance during onboarding and support when using the team?
5.4 Were there any problems or uncertainties that weren't addressed by the team?
5.5 Were there any missing services you expected from us or were willing to pay for?
Section 6: NPS (Net Promoter Score)
6.1 When do you see yourself considering using our solution again?
6.2 Whom would you recommend using our solution? Are there profiles within your organization or network that you think our solution would be very valuable for?
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