First, design the survey questionnaire.  Make sure that the questions you are asking really matter to your customers.  If you already have a survey in place, some basic regression analysis can tell you whether your survey is a good predictive model for customer satisfaction.  If it turns out that the survey needs work, there are lots of ways to start fixing it.  You can add or change questions based on customer verbatim comments.  You can conduct an attribute study to identify the key drivers of customer satisfaction for your business.   The goal is to have a survey that tells you how you are doing in areas that matter to your customers.

Second, design a sampling plan that gives you meaningful and fair data.  This requires taking margin of error into consideration when you create recognition or reward programs based on survey results.  You don’t want to discourage teams or individuals whose “scores” are within the margin of error for the goals you set.  For example, if you set a goal of 88.8, those scoring as low as 86 might, in fact, be performing as well or better than those that attained 88.8.  A sampling plan that provides 95% +/-5% margin of error is considered sufficient for customer satisfaction types of surveys.   And, remember that you can accumulate data over several months to get to that level.

Third, design a survey schedule that will protect those being measured from response influences outside their control.  The best solution is to survey throughout the year.  Even if your sampling plan calls for quarterly, semi-annually or even annually results, you’ll be better off if you conduct a specific number of surveys each month rather than doing them all at once.  Is it more work to do it this way?  Yes, but it is slight compared to having to throw out results because bad weather, a systems outage or other one-time event happens to occur during the survey period.

Fourth, design a reporting system that is accessible and understandable for everyone that is being measured.  It can be as simple as a monthly Excel report or as elaborate as a real-time Web report site.  The key is to let those being measured see the results.  We recommend daily or weekly review of customer verbatim regardless of how frequently survey scores are disseminated.  Using verbatims as a coaching tool is one of the most powerful parts of a survey program.  There is nothing stronger than the voice of the customer in reinforcing behaviors that support customer satisfaction. 

 
To summarize:
1. Ask the right questions.
2. Use the results fairly.
3. Measure throughout the year.
4. Report widely.

You’ll end up with a survey program that helps your company GET BETTER.

Take a look at these books for additional information that will assist you in designing an excellent survey program:
Improving Survey Questions: Design and Evaluation by Floyd J. Fowler
Measuring Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty, Third Edition:  Survey Design, Use, and Statistical Analysis Methods by Bob E. Hayes
Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative and Mixed Methods Approaches by John W. Creswell