The Ideas Distillery
  • Home
  • ISO systems
    • Benefits of ISO systems
    • How to get (and keep!) ISO certification
    • ISO certification FAQs
  • Implementation
    • ISO Implementation overview
    • ISO 9001 QMS Support
    • ISO 14001 EMS Support
    • ISO 45001 H&SMS Support
    • ISO 27001 ISMS Support
    • Certification Threshold Service®
  • Maintenance
    • Maintenance Services Overview
    • Certifications Compliance Package - Bronze
    • Certifications Compliance Package - Silver
    • Certifications Compliance Package - Gold
    • Internal Audits Service
    • Online Compliance Management
  • Improvement
    • Business Process Mapping
    • ISOs and business improvement book
  • About
    • Contact
    • About Us
    • Meet our team
    • Video Testimonials
    • Blog
    • Knowledge Base
    • Press Room

how to get feedback from customers

8/7/2019

0 Comments

 
Picture
To ensure that questions asked are valid and meaningful, it is sound practice to test a questionnaire on a number of respondents, so that potential problems can be solved before the cost of a full survey is incurred. 

If a computer is being used for analysis, this also needs to be part of the test, so that it is known whether the questions asked will yield the clarity of information required. Clear questions are amply rewarded by clear results. Next we will look at the two main types of question used in surveys. 

Survey question types 

Open questions. The respondent answers in their own words. The questions are asked in the same way each time, but there is no preconceived set of expected answers. However, to be statistically useful the answers then have to be categorised in a meaningful way. This imposes extra costs, and requires that the person analysing the results understands what cryptic comments by respondents mean. 

A simple open question is ‘Why did you buy Brand A?’ The respondent can give any answer they like, such as ‘Because it was the only one available’ or ‘I have tried all alternatives and found this to be the one that suits me best.’ 

Projective techniques such as the three below can generate answers which are more consistent in style for analysis purposes: 

Sentence completion. “When I chose Brand A, the most important thought on my mind was ... (complete the sentence)”. 

Word association tests. The interviewer reads a word to the respondent, and asks them to say the first thing that comes to mind. Word association tests are used to select brand names, slogans and advertising campaigns. 

Third-person techniques. Rather than asking someone about themselves, questions are asked about, for instance, ‘most people’. For example, a researcher might ask, ‘Why don't most people get as much exercise as they should?’ This is useful if they want to avoid embarrassing a respondent, or if a respondent might not want to answer a question. 

Closed questions 
Most questionnaires are based on closed questions, in which the respondent is asked to choose between a number of answers. Alternatively, the interviewer is asked to assign the respondent's answer to an apparently open question to one of a number of answers which have been decided in advance. 

Answers to closed questions are easier to analyse and less ambiguous. However, the respondents are precluded from giving an answer outside these parameters, unless an ‘other’ response category is included. Typical approaches to closed questioning are: 

Numbers. Questions are in the form ‘How frequently do you give donations to Organisation A?’ or ‘How much did you pay for Brand X?’ These are dependent on the accuracy of respondents' memories, unless the ‘process’ being investigated is very regular or easily remembered. 

Yes / No statements. The respondent is simply asked to agree or disagree: for example, ‘I have donated money to the International Red Cross (Yes/No).’ 

Multiple choice questions. The basic question is expanded so that the respondent chooses an answer (or sometimes more) from various alternatives. For instance: ‘Which of these organisations have you ever supported, by becoming a member or by giving money?’

Often interviewers simply ask questions such as 'Which organisations have you ever supported?' and code the answer on a preprinted list. This is a ‘spontaneous’ or ‘free-form’ answer. 

Semantic differential scale. The respondent is asked to choose their position on a scale between two contrasting words (or a range of words or numbers representing different viewpoints). For example: Excellent; Good; Adequate; Poor; Inadequate.

Some scales deliberately omit a middle answer, so that the respondents have to choose which side of the scale they are on. Sometimes a question may combine numbers and phrases: ‘In the last year, have you contacted the Citizens Advice Bureau —five or more times; between two and four times; once; not at all?’

If you would like to look at how to implement an ISO 9001 quality management system, then simply contact us.

Or, if you want to see what's involved in more detail, then get a completely free, no obligation, totally tailored ISO Gap Analysis for your business (only available to UK businesses).

0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

      NEVER MISS AN ARTICLE - SIGN UP FOR OUR BLOG UPDATES
    Submit

    Welcome

    Here you'll find the latest blog articles on all things compliance, particularly focussed on quality, environment, health & safety and information security.


    Get a completely free, no obligation, totally tailored ISO Gap Analysis for your business...
    FREE ISO GAP ANALYSIS

    Categories

    All
    Environment
    Health And Safety
    Information Security
    ISO Management System
    Quality


    Archives

    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018

    RSS Feed

Ideas Distillery logo
E: info@ideasdistillery.co.uk
Picture
Picture
Read about our ISO implementation services...

Read about our ISO maintenance services...

Sign up to our free, genuinely useful Monthly Newsletter full of ISO news, regulation bulletins, top tools and blogs
​GDPR Data and Information Policy
​Privacy Policy
HTML sitemap
XML sitemap
  • Home
  • ISO systems
    • Benefits of ISO systems
    • How to get (and keep!) ISO certification
    • ISO certification FAQs
  • Implementation
    • ISO Implementation overview
    • ISO 9001 QMS Support
    • ISO 14001 EMS Support
    • ISO 45001 H&SMS Support
    • ISO 27001 ISMS Support
    • Certification Threshold Service®
  • Maintenance
    • Maintenance Services Overview
    • Certifications Compliance Package - Bronze
    • Certifications Compliance Package - Silver
    • Certifications Compliance Package - Gold
    • Internal Audits Service
    • Online Compliance Management
  • Improvement
    • Business Process Mapping
    • ISOs and business improvement book
  • About
    • Contact
    • About Us
    • Meet our team
    • Video Testimonials
    • Blog
    • Knowledge Base
    • Press Room