Best Practices for Survey Calls [With Features]

A survey call is a structured phone call conducted by customer service teams or researchers to gather insights on market trends or feedback. Generally, it is an efficient and cost-effective way of collecting information in a wider geographical area.

Survey calls are conducted via phone, either manually or through automated dialers targeting the potential customers. You can use a pre-designed set of questions to make it easier to clarify responses and engage participants.

Surveying customers helps you to understand customers and their preferences on a deeper level, which helps to make informed decisions. It helps identify both the pros and cons of your service-providing system and refine them. If a customer mentions a problem, the agents can ask follow-up questions and discover insights to drive business growth.

With a survey call - unlike online or email surveys - you can get an instant response and feedback from the customers. It is easier to elaborate on your opinion on calls than to fill out online forms or respond to emails.

Survey calls help companies assess customer satisfaction, measure customer engagement, perform market research, and measure expectations.

Since survey calls are done over the phone and not in person, it is a faster survey method than other surveys. However, instead of conducting survey calls manually, the process could be further sped up using advanced features like power dialer, autodialer, dynamic called id, custom script, and so on.

While on survey calls, multiple dialers automatically dial the number of calls simultaneously, ensuring no calls are overlooked. It routes the calls to available agents, allowing agents to focus on customers and collect survey responses efficiently.

Multiple dialer options offer power dialer, predictive dialer, progressive dialer, preview dialer, and speed dialer. You can choose between these multiple dialer options based on your business to align with your workflow.

• Power Dialer: Dials a number at a time for each available agent, reducing the chance of canceled calls.
• Predictive Dialer: AI-based system calculates the dial rate based on the pick-up and drop call rate and predicts which numbers will be answered.

Generally, survey calls are conducted as a follow-up to gather feedback after a previous interaction. The custom script displays pre-written scripts, ensuring agents deliver the same message and questions, maintaining uniformity. It allows customization based on respondent details, ensuring all necessary information is communicated correctly and making interactions more engaging.

Call recording records the exact data as given, generally reducing the risk of misinterpretations. The recorded data confirm responses or revisit calls that might have been missed or not noted down. It also serves as evidence in case of future complaints or as a record to meet regulatory compliance in legal practices.

Businesses might use different numbers, so there’s a higher call abandonment rate, and the number is marked as spam. Dynamic Caller ID helps by displaying a phone number that aligns with the customer’s area code. It provides verified numbers, increasing the chances of answering the call instead of ignoring unknown or toll-free numbers.

The Do-Not-Call (DNC) List restricts organizations from contacting individuals who have opted out of telemarketing communications. By avoiding DNC-listed numbers, agents can focus on more potential customers, reducing complaints and improving response rates.

Survey calls are the easiest form of surveying, but that does not mean you can conduct it without a proper plan. It requires a systematic approach like timing, objectives, goals, and so on to maximize engagement and data quality.

Define your goals to achieve through the survey. Consider the following questions:

• What do you expect from this survey?
• How will the data collected from the survey impact your business?
• What key metrics will determine the success?

The insights you gain from the survey calls should align with your business goals and objectives. Similarly, provide insights on how the audience previews your products or services and make the survey short, avoiding unnecessary queries.

Determine your target audience and categorize them based on factors such as age, purchasing behavior, and service usage. Label them accordingly, such as new customers, potential customers, or other relevant tags. It helps modify questions about needs, preferences, and experiences, making the survey more effective.

While making survey questions, ensure to create clear and understandable questions so that the questionnaire segments can be completed quickly. It saves time for both agents and respondents. As an agent, avoid being biased toward your products or services, maintaining a logical flow for better engagement.

The main point of telephone surveys is that the structure and presentation of the survey impact the response rates. Use simple language and structure the questions logically, starting with general inquiries and moving to more specific ones. Personalize the questions when possible and maintain an engaging way of gathering both quantitative and qualitative data.

Test your survey to identify potential issues through a small test run. It evaluates the answer options, the underlying logic, and the reporting values and data. Ask test participants about the survey's length, question phrasing, and overall experience.

Timing determines whether your survey call will be received or abandoned. Make sure you are calling at a convenient time for respondents cause calling during busy hours may frustrate respondents.

For example, avoid finals and target winter and summer breaks for students. Similarly, plan the calls during mid-week (Tuesday through Thursday) for adults.

After completing the survey calls, analyze the collected data to identify trends and patterns in responses. Gradually compare the feedback with your predictive goals and adjust for the future survey based on responses.

Survey calls are ideal for situations where quick data collection is needed or when detailed responses are required within a short timeframe.

Survey calls allow for faster responses, making them ideal when quick data collection is needed. Since phone calls provide instant responses compared to email or online forms, agents can reach out to multiple respondents quickly.

Call surveys offer an alternative for individuals who may not have reliable internet access or prefer not to engage with digital surveys. It allows you to connect with an inaccessible audience through online surveys, such as older demographics or individuals in rural areas.

Survey calls are more comfortable and accessible to gather detailed responses, and as customers, you can explain in detail. It allows for longer and more descriptive answers than online checkboxes.

When addressing sensitive or personal matters, survey calls promote a more trusted situation because of the direct and personal interaction. It guarantees confidentiality in sharing sensitive topics, such as healthcare and financial issues, through personal phone conversations.

Survey calls are the most appropriate when the information can be conveyed verbally without needing charts, images, or other visual aids. It focuses on verbal communication, which can be more efficient and direct for data collection.

Survey calls are carried out to gather detailed information or data from customers in a short period of time. Executing telephone survey calls with a proper plan contributes to strategic decision-making and improved customer satisfaction.

The easiest survey method is a survey call, which is the direct method of interacting with customers.

You might have left your contact information while visiting websites, which is why businesses doing surveys might be calling you. So, if you're receiving frequent calls, your number is on a contact list organizations use for surveys.

Official surveys from reputable companies or research firms are generally reliable. However, it depends on the source; beware of scam calls posing as surveys.

You should answer company surveys honestly as it helps them improve their products and services. If you don’t feel comfortable, you can always decline to participate.

You can stop survey calls with the following steps:

• Step 1: Register your number on a Do-Not-Call list.
• Step 2: Use call-blocking apps to filter unwanted calls.
• Step 3: Politely request removal from the company’s call list.