There are those who say that the biggest challenge with customer satisfaction surveys is response rate.  Some of the choices facing companies are using a more sales oriented approach to generating participation or creating incentive programs to drive responses.

The other option is to leverage the self powering nature of real time surveys.

Emotional Motivation

Emotions play a big motivating factor in customer actions.  When are they highest? During and right after the experience.  Response rates can be highest when emotions are highest.

All This Points to Real Time (SMS based) surveys because:

1. They help avoid unnecessary investment in driving response rates
2. Allow striking when the customer is most motivated to provide a response

Level Headed Responses v/s Response Rates

Some argue that the emotional responses that are captured in real time don’t accurately reflect how customers internalize positive or negative experiences

There are two counterpoints to that argument:

1. Response rates are central to any survey success and there is no way to adjust/compensate for small sample sizes (There is on the other hand a way to adjust for emotion level in real time responses)
2. What is the feedback you really want? Is it what the customer wants to say to you (often toned down) or the real raw truth at the time the impression is created in the mind of the customer?