Since the advent of digital Customer Satisfaction (C-Sat) surveys, a hotly contested debate in Customer Experience has lingered: "Which is better, in-depth interviews or web surveys?" The answer is about as vexing as the question: it depends. We use both, and they have merits when used appropriately. It depends on many factors, including goals, target audience, use, and timing.
We've assembled a cheat sheet to help you decide whether to collect VOC data using in-depth interviews or web surveys.
When selecting a suitable voice of the customer methodology, consider the study's goals and the population you need to study to achieve that objective.
Here, Mackenzie Holden shows you when to use which methodology based on target respondents and strategic objectives.
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If you have less than 100 strategic accounts driving the bulk of your revenue, and you want a deep understanding of their needs, go for in-depth interviews. Don't be afraid of your customers' willingness to participate. We recently performed a study that used a hybrid approach for a $20 billion client. Our client (who was more accustomed to web surveys) was skeptical of their customers' appetite to be interviewed. When the project wrapped, he stated, "I was skeptical, but it exceeded my expectations. The customers loved being interviewed. The process, to them, was painless, and they also found it to be a great value."
That said, if you need quantitative data from a large sample size, web surveys are ideal. We have seen great success using digital surveys in B2C, commodity, e-commerce, and high-volume/low-touch markets.
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Next, determine the level of qualitative information your team needs.
Here, Mackenzie shows us what we can expect from interviews vs. web surveys.
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Remember, the "better" method depends on your VOC objective. If you need to understand the "why" behind behavior, dive into customer experiences, and examine complex topics, in-depth interviews are a better choice. As one client from an $850 million packaging company put it, “The depth was more than we were expecting; the customers shared a lot more than I anticipated. The quality and depth of information were tremendous.” Web surveys are more appropriate if you need to gather broad data quickly and analyze quantitative trends across a large sample.
For many of Strategex's customer insights clients, the answer is not a simple "yes" or "no." Instead, they opt for the hybrid approach. In these cases, they use in-depth interviews with top, critical accounts and digital surveys for the rest of their customer base. In other cases, they might use web surveys as a way to calibrate their in-depth interviews.
By integrating both qualitative and quantitative methods, a hybrid approach provides a comprehensive understanding, capturing the nuanced perspectives of decision-makers at top accounts while also revealing larger patterns and trends.
Unsure which methodology is right for your objective? We can advise.
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We've led thousands of global Voice of the Customer studies for hundreds of clients. Here's what a few of our clients have to say.
The strongest improvement we’ve made was teaching our people about the importance of top accounts. The most significant benefit is the organization is aware of the “voice of the customer.” With day-to-day pressures, it’s easy to lose sight of our critical customers. It was validated when the CEO of a top account personally thanked us for interviewing his team – it confirmed that asking for feedback is something customers appreciate.
“We evaluated the targeted customers from the Strategex project, and in the past 12-month period, their performance and the orders they placed paid for the project itself.”
“Good customer due diligence allows us to leverage some of the positive aspects of a company while surfacing competitive risks and exposures at the same time. We rely heavily on the Net Promoter Score which influences how we think about the potential for future market share gains and losses.”
“I’ve used Strategex at two companies. They really partnered with us to simplify our organization, improve processes and drive results. They were great at helping us work through changes and build a better company.”
“We’re consultant adverse and Strategex didn’t feel like a consultant. It felt like you were in the cockpit with us instead of someone on the outside.”
Contact us to see how we can help your business today.
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